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Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums May Leave Term Early

OAKLAND (KCBS) - It looks like the current mayor of Oakland may want to leave his job before his term ends. KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier said that Ron Dellums' wife has been talking with city officials about the possibility that her husband depart before January third.

Listen to KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier's Comments:

The mayor is under pressure to give the IRS a payment to clear up his $252,000 tax lien by the end of the year. To erase the lien, Matier said he is exploring conducting some speaking engagements, getting a signing bonus from a new lobbying job, and quickly accessing his city pension.

The mayor recently canceled his farewell State of the City address. It had been scheduled for Wednesday. He decided to post it on the city's website.

If Dellums does step down early, Mayor-elect Jean Quan would automatically replace him. Quan is also expected to go ahead with plans for a new A's baseball stadium near Jack London Square. Matier said that Quan wants to present the option to Major League Baseball.

The proposal for a new 39,000 seat ballpark is expected to go public next month. The city's planning commission has scheduled a December 1st hearing to consider what an environment impact report on the site should focus on.

According to the East Bay Express the project would include 180,000 square feet of retail space, 540,000 square feet of offices and 700 condos.

It would be built on private and city redevelopment agency land near the Lake Merritt channel between 880 and the Embarcadero.

The team's owner, Lew Wolf, is actively seeking to move the A's to San Jose, but the Giants insist they have territorial rights to the South Bay.

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