Nicolas Heidorn, executive director of the Public Ethics Commission, is set to leave his position in July, as announced by the agency last week.
The ethics commission serves as Oakland’s government watchdog, responsible for overseeing the administration and enforcement of campaign finance, lobbying, transparency programs, and government ethics laws.
In a recent interview with The Oaklandside, Heidorn stated that the ethics commission plans to conduct an open recruitment process for the next executive director.
This role involves overseeing the commission’s small team of paid staff, helping volunteer commissioners craft policies, recommending changes to city law, and managing enforcement cases and settlements.
The city administrator will ultimately make the final hiring decision for the executive director.
Applications for the position are being accepted until June 2, and interested candidates can apply through the commission’s website.
“It’s been a privilege to serve the people of Oakland these past two years,” Heidorn remarked.
He expressed appreciation for the commission’s excellent staff and dedicated volunteer commissioners, highlighting their commitment to providing ethical governance in Oakland.
Heidorn’s announcement follows the departure of another high-level staff member from the commission.
Last September, Simon Russell, the commission’s enforcement chief, announced his resignation and voiced concerns about a lack of resources from city officials.
Russell criticized the city for not allocating sufficient support to his unit, which was overwhelmed with work.
He raised fears that the city might be deliberately underfunding his unit due to ongoing investigations into elected officials and other influential entities.
According to the most recent commission report, there are currently 171 pending cases, with only one investigator available to manage them.
The PEC was involved in settling a significant cluster of cases against former Mayor Libby Schaaf, who faced accusations of secretly running political committees aimed at undermining her rivals and promoting a ballot measure.
Additionally, the commission helped initiate the FBI investigation that led to the indictment of former Mayor Sheng Thao, her boyfriend Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong, who were charged with orchestrating a bribery scheme.
In the interview, Heidorn emphasized the necessity for the city to allocate adequate budgets and personnel to the commission to tackle the enforcement backlog effectively.
He also expressed hope that city leaders would reserve funds to implement the Democracy Dollars initiative.
This program, approved by voters in 2022, aims to help level the political playing field by providing Oakland residents with small vouchers to contribute to political campaigns.
However, due to the recent financial crisis, the previous mayor and city council postponed the program’s rollout.
Heidorn speculated that implementation of Democracy Dollars may not occur until at least 2026.
Heidorn will officially leave the commission following the city council’s approval of Oakland’s new budget, which must address a substantial $265 million structural deficit over the next two years.
Although the mayor has yet to publish a proposed budget, other oversight agencies have hinted at the likelihood of severe budget cuts.
“In the long run, there needs to be a dedicated funding source for the PEC and its programs,” Heidorn stated.
He highlighted the importance of ensuring that the funding and staffing of the PEC are not reliant on the elected officials it regulates.
Last year, the City Council rejected a proposal to create a parcel tax to support the ethics commission and other oversight bodies.
However, they did approve a different measure aimed at benefiting the commission, which included hiring an additional investigator and imposing restrictions on budget cuts from the council.
Voters overwhelmingly supported this new measure.
Currently, the commission is working on another parcel tax proposal that, if approved by city leaders, will be presented to voters in a future election.
Such measures could provide greater stability in the commission’s staffing and operations.
Commission Chair Francis Upton IV praised Heidorn for his leadership and dedication to transparency, accountability, and effective governance.
“While his departure is a significant loss for Oakland, it underscores the urgent need for better resources and support from city leadership to sustain the critical oversight the PEC provides,” Upton stated in a press release.
image source from：https://oaklandside.org/2025/04/17/another-top-staffer-quits-oakland-public-ethics-commission/
