Oakland Mayor Owes $239,000 in Taxes

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and wife Cynthia Dellums seem to have decided to stop paying the taxman in 2005, and the Internal Revenue Service has now placed a lien on their personal property for at least $239,000.

While the job as mayor was thought to be a pay cut from his previous job as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., it seems the back tax bill stretches back to before he began campaigning.

And, frankly, according to public records researched by the East Bay Express, when Dellums quit the lobbying gig, it was actually paying worse than the $184,000 Dellums earns as mayor -- plus the pension he receives as a former congressperson.

None of which has stopped Dellums from renting a four-bedroom manse in the Oakland hills and eating at fancy restaurants.

A spokesperson for the mayor told the Oakland Tribune "There were previous disagreements with the IRS regarding the amount owed," adding, "The issue has been addressed and will be resolved in short order."

Regardless if he wouldn't make enough as mayor to run for a second term, the revelation of the dispute with the IRS doesn't bode well for reelection even if he did decide to run.

Jackson West feels for Dellums, as he's had his share of trouble with the IRS, though not on that order of magnitude.