Jacques Barzaghi
Jacques Barzaghi, the controversial longtime aide to Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, has left the mayor's staff as of Monday, six days after police were summoned to his Oakland home in connection with a domestic disturbance between him and his wife.
"He has left the staff but, because it's a personnel matter, I cannot discuss it," said Brown's press aide Gil Duran. Duran would not say whether the 66-year-old Barzaghi resigned from his $114,000-a-year post or was fired.
"People can draw their own conclusions," he said. Barzaghi could not be reached for comment.
Last Tuesday morning, Barzaghi's wife, Aisha, called police and complained that her husband had pushed her during a quarrel in their home at 200 Harrison St., the converted warehouse near Jack London Square that was the former home and headquarters of the mayor.
When police officers -- including Oakland Police Chief Richard Word -- arrived, Barzaghi said his wife had pushed him first. There were no injuries. Husband and wife declined to press charges and no one was arrested.
Duran did not say whether Brown was sorry to see his old friend depart but that Brown "didn't seem to be upset." A source close to Brown said the domestic disturbance directly led to Barzaghi's departure.
For nearly 30 years -- from Brown's days as governor to his three presidential campaigns and his trips to Japan to study Zen Buddhism -- Brown and the French-born Barzaghi had been inseparable.
The aide was known for dressing in black, sporting a shaved head, uttering enigmatic statements in a thick French accent -- and attracting controversy. His duties have reportedly included vetting potential appointees, picking out drapes for Brown's offices, approving his campaign commercials and selecting the mayoral clothes.
One of his quips from Brown's third run for president in 1992 became a favorite quote of the campaign: "We are not disorganized. Our campaign transcends understanding."
Barzaghi, a former French soldier, actor and director, met Brown at a party in Los Angeles in 1971 after he had mistaken Brown for someone else.
His prickly personality made him no shortage of foes at Oakland City Hall.
In 2001, the city of Oakland agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against Barzaghi, whose alleged comments to a female employee led to a three-week suspension.
During an investigation into the complaint, several female employees reportedly complained about Barzaghi, who was ordered to undergo counseling.
Word said Aisha Barzaghi declined to seek a restraining order against her husband following the disturbance call, or to receive counseling.
Aisha is Barzaghi's sixth wife. Barzaghi said he left his fifth wife in New York when she would not follow him to Oakland to help Brown run for mayor.
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/OAKLAND-Barzaghi-leaves-Jerry-Brown-s-staff-2740217.php
"He has left the staff but, because it's a personnel matter, I cannot discuss it," said Brown's press aide Gil Duran. Duran would not say whether the 66-year-old Barzaghi resigned from his $114,000-a-year post or was fired.
"People can draw their own conclusions," he said. Barzaghi could not be reached for comment.
Last Tuesday morning, Barzaghi's wife, Aisha, called police and complained that her husband had pushed her during a quarrel in their home at 200 Harrison St., the converted warehouse near Jack London Square that was the former home and headquarters of the mayor.
When police officers -- including Oakland Police Chief Richard Word -- arrived, Barzaghi said his wife had pushed him first. There were no injuries. Husband and wife declined to press charges and no one was arrested.
Duran did not say whether Brown was sorry to see his old friend depart but that Brown "didn't seem to be upset." A source close to Brown said the domestic disturbance directly led to Barzaghi's departure.
For nearly 30 years -- from Brown's days as governor to his three presidential campaigns and his trips to Japan to study Zen Buddhism -- Brown and the French-born Barzaghi had been inseparable.
The aide was known for dressing in black, sporting a shaved head, uttering enigmatic statements in a thick French accent -- and attracting controversy. His duties have reportedly included vetting potential appointees, picking out drapes for Brown's offices, approving his campaign commercials and selecting the mayoral clothes.
One of his quips from Brown's third run for president in 1992 became a favorite quote of the campaign: "We are not disorganized. Our campaign transcends understanding."
Barzaghi, a former French soldier, actor and director, met Brown at a party in Los Angeles in 1971 after he had mistaken Brown for someone else.
His prickly personality made him no shortage of foes at Oakland City Hall.
In 2001, the city of Oakland agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against Barzaghi, whose alleged comments to a female employee led to a three-week suspension.
During an investigation into the complaint, several female employees reportedly complained about Barzaghi, who was ordered to undergo counseling.
Word said Aisha Barzaghi declined to seek a restraining order against her husband following the disturbance call, or to receive counseling.
Aisha is Barzaghi's sixth wife. Barzaghi said he left his fifth wife in New York when she would not follow him to Oakland to help Brown run for mayor.
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/OAKLAND-Barzaghi-leaves-Jerry-Brown-s-staff-2740217.php
