Longtime Oakland commissioner resigns seat with two years left in his term

Oakland Commissioner Rick Polland resigned from the town commission Monday, effective immediately, according to the resignation letter he submitted to Town Manager Andy Stewart and the Assistant Town manager/Town Clerk Elise Hui.

In his letter, Polland, 68, said it was a “very difficult decision,” but that he had decided to “step down due to personal endeavors that would interfere with the time necessary to continue on as commissioner.”

VoxPopuli reached out to Polland by email for clarification about what he meant by "personal endeavors." We'll update the story when we get a response. 

Polland, who served nearly 13 years on the commission and on the Parks and Recreation Committee and Zoning Appeals and Adjustments Board before that, was in the middle of his fourth term, which was set to end in 2026. In a bit of symmetry, he was tapped in 2012 to fill out Ramona Phipps’ Seat 1 term when she stepped down. She cited “too many projects” to continue as commissioner, according to minutes of the Dec. 11 meeting when she gave up her seat. 

Polland ran unopposed in 2014 and 2018. In 2022, he drew his first opponent, prompting Oakland’s first election in 16 years. Polland won that election handily. But in March, he was the target, together with Commissioner Joseph McMullen, of a recall campaign, which was tied to their efforts to restore Sal Ramos to the commission after he’d vacated his seat to run unsuccessfully for mayor. They, along with Vice Mayor Mike Satterfield, backed Ramos over any of the town residents who had applied to be nominated for Seat 3 following a mayoral election that demonstrated with Shane Taylor's 65 percent win that a significant portion of the town sought change.

Anne Fulton, president of the Oakland Society, who led the ultimately unsuccessful recall effort, told VoxPopuli that she “appreciated Polland’s long, dedicated service to the community, but looks forward to a fresh, new perspective at the commission table.”

Taylor told VoxPopuli  he was “surprised” by Polland’s resignation, but with a vacancy on the commission to fill, he’d like to once again open up the application process to town residents interested in serving the community.