Office of the District Attorney Rene C.

Davidson Courthouse
Alameda County 1225 Fallon Street , Suite 900
Nancy E. O' Malley, District Attorney Oakland , CA 94612

September 28 , 2010

OCT 0 6 2010

Michael Colantuono & Levin , PC CIT OF AlEDA

11406 Pleasant VaIley Road MAYOFrS OFFICE
Penn Valley, California 95946- 9001

RE: City of Alameda

Dear Mr. Colantuono:

I am in receipt of your letter dated September 20 , 2010. I am disturbed by the

unprofessional tone of it and also feel compeIled to address the mischaracterizations you
have made , as weIl as the false or inaccurate presumptions you have attempted to proffer.

Your effort to assign a nefarious motive to the actions of the three senior lawyers on my
staff involved in this review , Senior Deputy District Attorneys Larry Blazer , Ann Diem
and Jeff Stark is misplaced. All three enjoy sterling reputations and their work is highly
regarded. AIl three invested substantial time in evaluating both the evidence you
submitted , and the relevant legal authorities , including those you submitted and those you
chose to ignore. At the conclusion they presented me with their conclusions and
recommendation , which I accepted. While you may argue that Steiner has misplaced
relevance , I do not agree. Steiner is good law and provides a sound legal framework.

I find your comments regarding a potential conflict of interest on my part bizare. Your
suggestion that my ratification of a thoroughly professional and objective evaluation
conducted by my senior attorneys was biased was particularly offensive. Upon reviewing
your aIlegations I find them based on false facts , inaccurate assumptions and
exaggerations. I am hopeful your comments were made out of ignorance and not malice.

To set the record straight the incident that you describe never took place. To be clear
the car incident you described is completely false. It appears exceedingly odd that you
base such a serious aIlegation on unnamed sources and rumor. My relationship with
members of the Alameda City Council and other leaders in Alameda is respectful and
professional. I do not have a social relationship other than to see some of the City leaders
at community events. I have worked with Council Members on public safety issues , such
as the criminal court closure and advocacy for youth programs. I am even more disturbed
to find you making aIlegations that because certain of Ms. Tam s political supporters , a

Phone: (510) 272- 6222 .. Email: askrcd- daQY acgov. org .. www. alcoda. org
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Colantuono

number of them Asian- American , also supported me in the recent election , in which I ran
unopposed , I have a personal bias. Nothing is further from the truth and I find it
offensive that you have singled out Asian- American leaders. Your reference to the
involvement of the media is also misplaced. It is you , Mr. Colantuono , not I or the
Alameda County District Attorney s Office , who has courted and manipulated the media
in this matter.

This sort of thinly veiled , political attack has no place in modern society. I am personally
deeply offended that you would suggest that either I , or any member of this Office , would
make a decision for political reasons. The Alameda County District Attorney s Office
since well before the time of Earl Warren , has stood firmly for the proposition that we
enforce the law equally for all. Likewise , I am committed to the principle that all
members of our community have access to justice. This sort of racially charged
accusation has no place in professional dialogue. Frankly, having reviewed your
investigation personaIly, I am not surprised you would make wild and completely
unsupported aIlegations like these. Whatever your motives in making these false claims
I remain mindful of our role in this process: to objectively and dispassionately evaluate
the facts and the law so that a just decision can be reached. We have done so in this case.

In conclusion , this Office considers the matter closed and plans to take no further action.
I consider the comments you made , both in your letter of September 20 , 2010 and in a
public session of the Alameda City Council on or about September 8 , 2010 to have been
made out of ignorance and disappointment , not out of malice and accordingly plan no
additional action against their maker.

cere1Y yours

/004f4

NCY
Distrt'Attorney "-
Cc: Mayor Beverly Johnson
Ann Marie GaIlant
Theresa Highsmith