You've probably heard the expression "rats leaving a sinking ship." That seems to be an apt description of what his happening right now around embattled Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. Today she lost her spokesman, Francis Zamora.

Francis Zamora, the chief of communications for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, tells ABC7 that he resigned his position in the wake of the FBI raid on the mayor's house.

Zamora has been in the position for nine months, and there's no information directly from him about his reasons for resigning.

Zamora didn't specify his reason for leaving but he sent a statement by email which conspicuously left out his boss: "I resigned my position as Chief of Communications. I thank my colleagues for their professionalism and dedication. It was an honor to serve the City of Oakland beside them."

BREAKING: Francis Zamora has resigned his position as spokesman/chief of communications for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.

He's been there for nine months. No information directly from Zamora about the reasons, at this point. Working ...

UPDATE at 9:51am -- Zamora just messaged me,… pic.twitter.com/MgWCGuAEPw

— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) June 25, 2024

Zamora's departure came just 24 hours after Mayor Thao's criminal attorney, who she hired last week after the FBI raid of her house, also left under circumstances that were disputed. Thao claimed she had found a new attorney over the weekend, though she wouldn't name that person. But according to lawyer Tony Brass, he asked to withdraw as her attorney Monday after hearing her press conference in which she angrily denied any wrongdoing.

"I asked to withdraw from being her attorney today, and she accepted," Brass told KTVU. "She thanked me for the work I've done, and it appears she is going to be moving on with different counsel."

Brass said that it "became clear" to him when he saw her speak at the news conference that they have different approaches to handling the FBI raid, which he still insisted that he had no information that Thao was the target of any investigation. 

Still, Brass said: "I think our approaches are inconsistent, and I think I am not the right advocate for her message."

What actually happened here, according to Brass, is that he had no idea his client was going to give that press conference Monday and he did not appreciate some of the conspiracy theory stuff Mayor Thao included in it, i.e. her suggestion that the timing of the FBI raid was suspicious.

BREAKING: Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's attorney has officially withdrawn as her counsel.

Former federal prosecutor Tony Brass has worked many high profile cases. Thao's news conference took him by surprise -- he had no idea she was going to speak in public, did not work on the… pic.twitter.com/9xquVWlxCV

— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) June 24, 2024

Finally, I missed this report from KPIX last week, but it's worth a look. Mayor Thao's former chief of staff, Renia Webb, resigned and walked away from a salary close to $200k because she believed Thao's boyfriend was running a "pay-to-play" operation alongside the mayor's election. She told KPIX she wasn't surprised by the FBI raid. Essentially, she accused Andre, the boyfriend, of promising jobs to various people, apparently in exchange for money and support.

Webb later spoke to the FBI and said they had lots of questions about Thao's campaign funding.