Yibin Shen to depart the Alameda City Attorney’s office
At the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 21 [1], Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft read a proclamation honoring City Attorney Yibin Shen as he departs from his role after nearly eight years of service to Alameda. Shen became Alameda’s City Attorney in May 2019 after serving as Chief Deputy City Attorney for the city of Santa Monica.
[2]The City Attorney’s Office is responsible for all civil litigations involving the City of Alameda and provides expert legal counsel to the City, its elected officials, City departments, and various boards and commissions.
In her proclamation, Mayor Ashcraft listed Shen’s many accomplishments for the City, including guiding Alameda’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting the City’s food delivery ordinance, developing the Prosecution and Public Rights Unit that has resolved over 1,000 cases to date, instituting an in-house Victim Services Division, helping to establish the Police Auditor role to provide objective oversight of the Alameda Police Department, launching the City’s first Fair Housing Conference and fighting for rent control protections, and, most recently, creating a Housing and Victim Services Mobile Clinic [3].
The Alameda City Attorney’s office was selected by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2025 to receive the Hodson award [4], a prestigious honor awarded for outstanding performance and extraordinary service to one government or public-sector law office. The award was in recognition for the work Shen and the office did to protect renters at Barnhill Marina, who were facing extraordinary rent increases.
The City Attorney’s Office “moved quickly to draft an urgency ordinance that would extend local rent control protections to maritime residential tenancies,” the ABA commendation stated. “With just two days to spare before a deadline for residents to pay the rent increases, the Alameda City Council unanimously adopted the urgency ordinance.”
Ashcraft praised Shen before allowing a rare moment of applause during a Council meeting. “To the City Council, Yibin has been a trusted confidante, sharing his legal acumen and professional judgement to help us make informed decisions,” the mayor said. “For all who had the pleasure of interacting with Yibin, we will fondly remember his upbeat disposition, friendliness and keen intellect combined with humility. Yibin, you truly leave Alameda a better place than you found it.”
Several others added their tributes for the outgoing City Attorney, including Matt Senekeremian, who serves as external affairs manager at the California Department of Justice for California Attorney General Rob Bonta; Vice Mayor Michele Pryor; and City Councilmembers Greg Boller, Tony Daysog, and Tracy Jensen. Their remarks highlighted the impact Shen provided, creating valuable programs as well as educating and protecting the City and its residents. They expressed a strong appreciation for all he has done and a sense of great loss at his departure.
Adam Gillitt is the Editor and Publisher of the Alameda Post [5]. Reach him at [email protected] [6]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt [7].