Dellums Opts Out of Promised Pay Cut

Records show Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has not taken the 10 percent pay cut he promised last spring as a gesture to help the city fill its budget gap.

The mayor's salary information -- obtained by the Oakland Tribune -- shows he has continued to draw his yearly $183,000 salary into 2010.

The mayor's office acknowledged in a statement that Dellums made the pay cut pledge at a June 16 news conference.

But it said circumstances following the death of a close member of his family made it impossible for him to fulfill it. The statement also pointed out that unlike other elected officials, Dellums is not allowed to earn outside income because he is the mayor.

Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente told the paper he's not surprised about tha apparent change-of-heart.

"I think he said publicly it was going to be everyone, so we expected it to be everyone," De La Fuente told the paper.

Most city employees took 10 percent pay cuts last year either through furloughs or actual reduced salaries and benefits. At the time of the mayor's pledge, the city was facing an $83 million budget deficit.

City Attorney John Russo and City Councilmember Deslely Brooks also did not take a pay cut.