Transportation Director Josh Rowan, Human Resources Director Mary Hao and Assistant City Administrator Chuck Baker are leaving; the mayor’s office says City Administrator Betsy Lake made the decisions with Ms. Lee’s support, and it has not given reasons.
Days after Mayor Barbara Lee won a full four-year term in unofficial returns, Oakland’s city administrator told staff on Friday, Nov. 6, that three of the city’s senior executives were leaving: Josh Rowan, director of the Oakland Department of Transportation; Mary Hao, director of human resources; and Chuck Baker, an assistant city administrator.
The message from the office of City Administrator Betsy Lake named acting leaders: Megan Wier, OakDOT’s assistant director, at transportation; Andrea Mariano, a human resources manager, at the Human Resources Management Department; and Lauren Moeslein at the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards, The Oaklandside reported. “We thank Assistant City Administrator Chuck Baker, OakDOT Director Josh Rowan, and HRMD Director Mary Hao for their service, and look forward to a smooth transition,” the message said.
Sarah Henry, Ms. Lee’s communications director, did not say why the three were leaving. She told the San Francisco Chronicle that the personnel decisions were made by Ms. Lake and supported by the mayor, who “remains focused on ensuring that City Hall delivers faster, more efficient services for our residents.”
The Inquirer emailed Ms. Henry and IFPTE Local 21, one of the city’s two main staff unions, on Sunday with questions about the departures. Neither responded by publication. Mr. Rowan and Mr. Baker did not respond to the Chronicle’s requests for comment.
Who has the power to hire and fire
Under Oakland’s current charter, the city administrator, not the mayor, hires and fires department heads, though the administrator typically acts with the mayor’s guidance. Voters in last week’s election approved Measure EE, a charter change that will give the mayor direct authority over department heads, according to unofficial results; the changes announced Friday were made under the existing rules.
Oakland is not alone. Across the bay, San Francisco voters approved Proposition F, which expands Mayor Daniel Lurie’s power to hire and fire most department heads. In both cities, supporters argued that voters should be able to hold one elected official accountable for how departments perform; critics warned about concentrating authority in a single office.
Three departures, three portfolios
Mr. Rowan came to Oakland in April 2024 from Atlanta, where he had been transportation director, and was hired by former City Administrator Jestin Johnson, who resigned in May. Under Mr. Rowan, OakDOT rolled out automated speed cameras and Sunday parking meter enforcement, built downtown bike lanes and continued a paving program that has covered more than 200 miles of city streets in six years, The Oaklandside reported.
He also served for several months as acting director of Public Works, beginning in late 2024. In that role, the Chronicle reported, he pressed to award a $45 million security contract to Allied Universal, the top-scoring bidder, while some council members favored a local firm; the contract went back out to bid this summer. The Oaklandside reported that Mr. Rowan filed several complaints in July related to his removal from the Public Works post and his concerns about how contracts were awarded, and that he accused Ms. Lake of hostile treatment after he filed a whistleblower complaint against her. The mayor’s office has given no reason for Friday’s decisions and has not connected them to those disputes.
Ms. Hao, also appointed by Mr. Johnson, led human resources since 2024 and oversaw contract talks with city unions that stretched for months and led SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21 to threaten a strike. The city reached tentative agreements with both unions last month, including raises of 9 percent over three years. Some union members told Ms. Lee they blamed Ms. Hao for the drawn-out process, the Chronicle reported.
Mr. Baker joined the city in December 2025 from Santa Clara to oversee economic and workforce development, business attraction and information technology. He had been closely involved in negotiations over the sale of the Oakland Coliseum and Arena, but had been sidelined from the deal in recent months, a person familiar with the matter told the Chronicle. He had also worked with street vendors seeking to operate legally. “He really cared about the Black community here,” Anita Miralles, a lumpia vendor who is part of a group suing the city over enforcement, told the Chronicle.
What it means for residents
The three posts touch daily life in Oakland in concrete ways: the condition of streets and crosswalks, city hiring and labor relations, and the handling of the Coliseum sale and downtown business recruitment.
Ms. Wier has led OakDOT before. She served as acting director for several months before Mr. Rowan’s arrival, after running the department’s Safe Streets Division, and earlier worked on Vision Zero at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, The Oaklandside reported. Ms. Lake’s office described all three acting leaders as experienced, and said it expected a smooth transition.
The city has not announced whether it will run national searches or when Measure EE’s new hiring authority will take effect once the election is certified. Those answers will show whether Friday’s changes are a one-time reset or the first step in a broader reshaping of City Hall under Ms. Lee’s full term.
Desmond Akers covers the cities and counties of the greater Bay Area, from Oakland and San Jose to the Peninsula, the North Bay and the East Bay suburbs, for Around the Region. More from Desmond Akers
