"To foot the bill for last year's Diwali festival, Ramachandran solicited money from at least one company with business before the city, Waste Management's Alameda County subsidiary. Ramachandran's organization also asked for and received support from a lobbying firm that represents Waste Management and multiple clients who have come before city leaders in recent years, asking for contracts and other official city decisions affecting their businesses."
"Ramachandran's role as a decision maker on the City Council gives her direct authority over some city contracts. Ethics experts said this makes it ethically tricky for Ramachandran, in her capacity as board president of a nonprofit, to ask companies with business before the city to give money to her organization. "That's kind of ticking all of the wrong boxes," said Delaney Marsco, an ethics director at the Campaign Legal Center."
Partygoers gathered at a Jack London Square event hall for a free Diwali celebration organized by Tiger Arts, a nonprofit created by Oakland Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who serves as the group's president. Hundreds attended the event, which featured dance, music, and catered food. To fund the festival, Ramachandran solicited donations from at least one company with business before the city, Waste Management's Alameda County subsidiary, and from a lobbying firm that represents Waste Management and other clients who have sought city contracts. Ramachandran's authority over certain city contracts raises ethical concerns about soliciting funds from firms with pending city business under behested payment practices.
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