District attorney clears Hosterman of email abuse charges

Alameda County’s Deputy District Attorney Trevor White has ruled that emails sent by Mayor Jennifer Hosterman on city-owned computers during her re-election bid last year did not violate state laws governing the use of government-owned equipment and services.

White examined scores of emails sent by Hosterman from city computers at her office in City Hall and on a city-owned laptop that was made available for her use at home. Some of the emails sought campaign help and others talked about campaign initiatives and fundraising rallies. On at least one occasion, a campaign flyer was composed on one of the computers.

When notified of the possible violation of a state policy that prohibits such activity, Hosterman apologized and explained that she often replies to constituents and others from home early in the day. She has since quit using city-owned computers for any political purposes.

The emails were uncovered late last summer by Dan Carl, a Ruby Hill homeowner who also served as campaign treasurer for then-Councilman Steve Brozosky, who was in a close election bid for the mayor’s office against Hosterman. Brozosky lost by 189 votes.

Carl said his research that led to the possible state law infractions had nothing to do with Brozosky’s campaign but was in response to emails he had received from Hosterman that he thought were inappropriate. He asked for duplicates of the emails from city officials, who, under state law, were obliged to provide disks containing all emails sent on city computers.

At the request of City Manager Nelson Fialho, who warned Hosterman early on that she might be violating state law, White was asked to review the same email disks that Carl had reviewed. In his report Thursday, White said his review “found insufficient evidence to find a violation of state law.”

Even so, Fialho, with the City Council’s agreement, is reviewing and updating the city’s code regarding the use of city services, equipment and office staff and facilities for elected officials.

“Elected officials are held to a much stricter standard than others, both staff personnel and those in the private sector,” Fialho said.

His revised code, which will also set specific time requirements for retaining email files, will be reviewed and acted on by the council next month.