Phil Tagami

Phillip H. Tagami (born 1965) is an American investor, politician, land developer and executive. He is the CEO of California Commercial and Investment Group and managing general partner for California Capital Group.

Biography Tagami was born in Oakland, California in 1965. The son of an auto-mechanic, Tadao "Frank" Tagami, he received an athletic scholarship to attend St. James boarding school in Maryland, but left at 16 to live briefly with his mother in Berkeley, California before moving to West Berkeley on his own. The $50 million renovations to the building that followed produced the Rotunda, which according to a 2005 article in the San Francisco Business Times was "widely regarded as the city's most attractive office complex."

In 2009, Tagami and the California Capital Group were endorsed by a committee chosen by Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums to redevelop of the former Oakland Army Base. The base was divided in 2002, with given to the city of Oakland and 168 to the Port of Oakland. Tagami, in conjunction with the San Francisco maritime developer AMB, is also a front-runner for the port's renovation project.

In 2015, Tagami became involved in controversy surrounding the potential shipment of coal from the re-developed Oakland Army Base. Concerns over the effects of coal shipments on local air quality and global climate change led to increasing concern among both activists and Oakland politicians. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf asked Tagami to live up to his verbal agreement not to ship coal from the base.

In June, 2016, the matter came to a head when the Oakland City Council acted on a proposal by Mayor Libby Schaaf and Councilman Dan Kalb to prohibit coal and petroleum coke trains from bringing coal to be shipped from Oakland. Schaaf and Kalb, along with medical, public health, neighborhood and union officials, advocated for their measure by arguing that these fossil fuels pollute the air and pose serious risks to workers and nearby residents. Subsequently, the Oakland City Council unanimously voted to ban the local storage and shipment of coal. On December 7, 2016 Tagami sued the city over its action. Tagami is seeking to overturn the ban on exporting fossil fuels and allow his company, Oakland Bulk Oversized Terminal, to ship coal and petroleum coke from the Port of Oakland, according to court documents.

Politics

Tagami served as an Oakland Planning Commissioner appointed by Mayor Elihu Harris.

Subsequently, Tagami earned a further reputation as a political insider, with particularly close connections to Jerry Brown, Grey Davis and Don Perata. This announcement followed on allegations by KTVU news that for a third of record workday Mayor Ron Dellum's calendar could only verify his working four hours or less. Tagami announced that he was considering a spring 2010 ballot if the city council did not alter the charter.

In 2011, Tagami was appointed to the California Lottery by Governor Jerry Brown. In May 2012 other lottery commissioners voted Tagami chairman for a one-year term.