June is
Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month Vol. 28, No. 24
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June 12, 2026
Brentwood City Manager put on leave Action ‘not a final determination’
when it is appropriate and legally permissible.” While no official cause was given for why Duffey was placed on leave, the decision comes in the wake of news that Duffey had been implicated in a texting scandal during his tenure as a city employee in Oakland prior to coming to Brentwood. During his time in Oakland, Duffey and his boss, Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson, engaged in “certain degrading and unprofessional communications,” according to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. Johnson resigned on May 17 as a result of the newly-uncovered messages. The text messages, which were made public on May 12 on Oakland’s public records portal, were part of a broader probe tied to a corruption investigation of recalled Mayor Sheng Thao. Among the thousands of messages released that include Johnson, there are messages that show comments be-
By Jake Menez Staff Writer
Following their special meeting on June 9, the Brentwood City Council announced that City Manager G. Harold Duffey will be placed on paid administrative leave in a 4-0 vote. Vice Mayor Pa’tanisha Pierson abstained from voting on the matter. Her reason for doing so was not disclosed. “I want to be clear that paid administrative leave is not a final determination of any matter,” Mayor Susannah Meyer said in a statement following the closed session. “I know residents may have questions, and I understand the desire for transparency. This is a personnel matter and there are legal, privacy and due process limits on what the city can publicly discuss at this time.”
G. HAROLD DUFFEY With Duffey on leave, his role will be overseen by Brentwood’s “executive team” and department heads, said Meyer while touting the council’s confidence in city staff. “We appreciate the community’s engagement and patience,” she said of the situation. “We will share additional information
tween him and Duffey about various female city employees in ways that Lee characterized as degrading. “Got the old player mesmerized,” a text from Duffey to Johnson reads in reference to an employee identified only as Holly in the exchange. “I have to force myself to only look in her eyes. She had me a little giddy yesterday when we had to take pics,” Johnson replied. Duffey was first appointed to be Brentwood’s City Manager in a 5-0 vote last October. He had been selected as part of a nationwide search conducted by the firm Peckham & McKenney, which included an “extensive background check,” Meyer said at the time. The decision to place Duffey on leave follows backlash from local residents regarding his actions. During the annual State of the City address on May 18, one resident see City Manager page 22
Oakley council The Grove gets Council approval with one caveat approves ‘balanced’
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2026/’27 budget 10-year funding plan also approved By Connor Robles
Correspondent
The Oakley City Council voted 4-1 to approve the city’s budget for fiscal year 2026/’27, as well as a fiveyear capital improvement program for city projects and an information technology plan, at their June 9 meeting. Projected expenditures are lower than last year primarily because of there being fewer capital improvement and public works projects in the budget this year. According to the budget document, total citywide expenditures
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Serving East County
see The Grove page 22
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During their June 9 meeting, the Brentwood City Council praised The Grove, a proposed public market for downtown, as “amazing” during a unanimous approval of the project. However, the Council’s decision to approve it hinged on the decision to not include one particular type of alcohol permit for the space. The Grove had previously been approved 5-0 by the Planning Commission during their May 5 meeting, with chairperson Kristo-
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Staff Writer
would be about 24,000 square feet. Projects approved by the Planning Commission generally do not need discussion by the City Council, but the Council has 10 days from the approval of a project to determine if they’d like to pull the items for further discussion. In the case of The Grove, Councilmember Jovita Mendoza elected to bring the project before the Council based on two concerns she had, she explained during the June 9 meeting. The first concern was related to the request for a Type 42 license, a specific type of alcohol sales license., said Mendoza, whose day job is in alcohol sales. According to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), this type
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By Jake Menez
pher Brand likening it to a “heart transplant” for the city in terms of how it would help to bring new life to the downtown area. It is a twostory public market with an outdoor seating area and proposed community theatre, according to the agenda packet for the May 5 meeting. The 18,366-square-foot first floor would feature multiple small tenant spaces focusing on artisanal and boutique products, as well as service uses such as barbers or beauty shops, according to the agenda packet. The second floor would consist of a central open area with two large tenant spaces and one small tenant space, as well as a 1,396-square-foot open-air seating area that could potentially be used for cafés or larger retail stores. The project’s outdoor area
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One type of alcohol license nixed
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are projected at $79 million, with revenues at $84 million. Expenditures are lower than the previous year’s $96 million due to there being fewer public works projects in this year’s budget. Within this amount, General Fund expenditures are expected to total $40.8 million, while General Fund revenues are expected to be $34.7 million. The discrepancy between the latter two numbers is due to a proposed one-time transfer of $7.16 million to the city’s Capital Projects fund, to be used for a remodel of the Police Department and for beginning the extension of Laurel Road and the widening of Main Street. Oakley also applied for see Oakley Council page 22
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