Oakland venue manager who defied health mandates dies

For months, Oakland officials had struggled to figure out how to handle David Oertel, the outspoken manager of a large events space in Oakland who defied health orders and held weddings, funerals and parties at the space, indoors and often without masks.

After neighbors and public health experts complained, the city finally moved to try to shut down the space.

Officials persuaded a judge in late November to issue a temporary restraining order to require that the event space close down. Oertel was due in court Tuesday for a virtual hearing, but he never called in. Officials learned at the court hearing that he died Dec. 5. He was 67.

Oertel had railed against local officials, describing health orders as “torture,” calling the COVID19 a “bad flu,” and accusing the city of engaging in “fascism, tyranny.”

Antonio Lomeli, a caretaker for the Humanist Hall, said Oertel had a heart attack. The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau will release

“He had a big heart. He loved seeing people happy, he loved congregating and social events.”

Antonio Lomeli, caretaker for Humanist Hall, on manager David Oertel

a toxicology report on the official cause of death.

Lomeli said that early on Dec. 5, Oertel “didn’t look too good” but refused to go to the hospital. Lomeli went home, but returned to the hall — at 411 28th St. — that evening to drop off dinner for Oertel. When Lomeli arrived, he said Oertel’s wife, Florence Windfall, was at the hall and told him that Oertel had died.

“I am just devastated. I am just heartbroken,” Lomeli said. “He was a great guy. He had a big heart. He loved seeing people happy, he loved congregating and social events, and gatherings and having a great time and being happy in life.”

Lomeli criticized the city’s moves to shut the hall down and said he called into the hearing Tuesday to alert the city of Oertel’s death.

“He was under a lot of stress,” Lomeli said. “He believed in what he was doing. He did not want to shut the Humanist Hall down.”

Lomeli said he will manage the hall in Oertel’s absence, but all of the December events have been canceled because of the county’s stayathome orders. Alameda County went into voluntary shutdown again on Dec. 7 as the virus threatened to overwhelm the region’s hospitals. The order, which bans gatherings with people from other households and is now statemandated, will stay in effect until at least

Jan. 7.

On Tuesday, the judge extended the city’s restraining order until Jan. 7. The city will then return to court to argue for an injunction, which would make the restraining order permanent, according to a spokeswoman for the City Attorney’s Office.

City officials had been slow to deal with the Humanist Hall even though neighbors complained about the hall’s activities and infectious

disease experts publicly described the indoor weddings, birthday parties and wakes there as potential superspreader events.

After The Chronicle revealed that the Humanist Hall was hosting gatherings since at least July — some with more 100 people and many with maskless attendees — the City Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit on Oct. 28 arguing the events center is in “flagrant, knowing, and repeated violation” of the county health order that bans events.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle David Oertel, who managed the Humanist Hall event space, had railed against health orders as “torture” and accused Oakland of engaging in “tyranny.” A caretaker said his death Dec. 5 was from a heart attack.