OAKLAND — The city will be thoroughly reshaped by the almost-final Nov. 5 election results, which included a successful recall of Mayor Sheng Thao and victories by three new City Council candidates, with another replacement likely on the way.
The political stakes amid all this turnover are high, with a crippling budget crisis and unresolved sale of the Coliseum leaving the city possibly on the path to fiscal insolvency.
Who are the eight council members set to lead Oakland next year, alongside a new mayor? Here’s where things stand:
At-Large seat: Rowena Brown
The only seat to represent the entire city was fought over by 10 candidates vying to replace retiring Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.
Brown, a staffer for state Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, emerged successful, fending off the name recognition of former police Chief LeRonne Armstrong by a 56% to 43% margin in ranked-choice votes.
Of all the candidates for council, Brown received the most financial support from SEIU Local 1021, the city’s largest labor union. She has promised a multi-pronged solution for taking on crime, including an increase in funds for Oakland’s unarmed crisis-response program, MACRO.
Brown, who did not respond to an interview request, could possibly look to avoid some more contentious routes to fixing the budget, including negotiating a pay cut for the unions or slashing city services to spare reductions at the Oakland Police Department, which frequently overspends.
Zac Unger will fill the District 1 seat
Unger handily won the race to succeed retiring Councilmember Dan Kalb in representing areas of North Oakland near the Emeryville border and the Rockridge, Piedmont and Grand Lake neighborhoods, plus part of Adams Point above Lake Merritt.
His labor backing will come as no surprise given his longtime role leading the Oakland firefighters’ union and his previous political alliance with Thao.
But the Brown University and UC Berkeley grad, a former firefighter, bills himself as a “pragmatist” who has seen the city renegotiate its past labor contracts and recognizes that such a move could be part of a solution to the crisis.
“We need to fund public safety fully,” Unger said of police, fire and other violence-prevention staff, though he said cops and firefighters may ultimately be lost through attrition. He also noted a possible quarter-cent sales tax may appear on next spring’s special election ballot to replace the mayor.
Nikki Fortunato Bas represents District 2, but likely for not much longer
Thao is likely to leave office after the council certifies election results at a Dec. 17 meeting, at which point Bas, who has two years left in her District 2 term, would become interim mayor as president of the council.
But she may end up holding that office for only a few weeks. Bas likely will join the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in January, if her lead over Emeryville’s John Bauters remains when results are finalized.
At that point, the new City Council would select from its 2025 roster both a new president and someone to serve as interim mayor, given that the current next in line, President Pro-Tempore Kalb, is also leaving office.
Bas’ likely departure means Oakland would have another special election next year to permanently fill her District 2 seat, which represents Chinatown, Jack London Square and areas south of Lake Merritt, including the San Antonio neighborhood.
The election would take place within 120 days of Bas leaving office, per the city charter, but the council may also have a pathway to appoint a temporary replacement until then.
It’s very possible the election, which county officials estimate will cost several million dollars, could replace Thao and Bas in one go.
Carroll Fife won re-election to represent District 3
By a 58% to 41% ranked-choice margin, Fife defeated her closest opponent, Warren Logan, withstanding the financial backing he received from a tougher-on-crime, more fiscally conservative political outfit.
She credited a boots-on-the-ground campaign approach for her success. But now she faces a budget crisis exacerbated by the still-pending sale of the Oakland Coliseum. Meanwhile, she is pondering a mayoral run next spring if Congresswoman Barbara Lee isn’t convinced by Fife and other Democrats in Oakland to go for the job.
At a meeting last week, she railed against unnamed city officials for misrepresenting the core problems behind the crisis — heavily intimating that the police department should be held to account for its overspending.
Janani Ramachandran will continue to represent District 4
Ramachandran, who just gave birth to a son, is on maternity leave “for the next few weeks,” she told this news organization on Nov. 18.
How long she’s gone may end up being relevant to the council’s ability to hold quorum, with Bas leaving District 2 vacant and another member likely to become the interim mayor.
The eight-member council needs five members present to hold meetings and vote, and additional absences could jeopardize that if Ramachandran misses extended time.
A social-justice lawyer, Ramachandran has been most notable on the council for opposing Thao’s budget plans and pushing for more conservative spending amid an uncertain Coliseum sale.
She has said a mayoral run isn’t under consideration, despite the last three mayors hailing from District 4, which spans a diverse range of Oakland neighborhoods from Allendale in the east to Montclair in the north.
Noel Gallo is re-elected to District 5
Gallo soon will be the longest-tenured councilmember — and in recent years, the one who’s least engaged in policy talks.
But his community work and name recognition helped him win 59% of ranked-choice votes in a bid to continue representing District 5, which covers parts of East Oakland between 23rd and 54th avenues, including the Fruitvale neighborhood.
He is often hostile toward city officials over Oakland’s budgetary woes and is likely to support hardline measures for fixing the crisis.
Kevin Jenkins remains the leader in District 6
As the city’s financial situation worsens, Jenkins is adamant that the council’s budgeting of still-pending Coliseum revenues in the summer had its benefits.
He was keen to note at a meeting last week how budget saves in the fire department may have helped spare homes during the recent Oakland Hills wildfire.
Jenkins’ community relationships are steadily growing his clout as a first-term councilmember in District 6, which spans areas between the Coliseum and Merritt College and across to the Eastmont Hills neighborhood.
Ken Houston takes flight in District 7
The fast-talking Houston benefited from a chaotic musical-chairs game that followed Treva Reid’s decision not to seek another term to represent East Oakland near the San Leandro and Alameda borders in District 7.
Houston, who won 52% of the ranked-choice votes, is as vocally pro-police as anyone on the council next year and his lack of political experience make him a wild card in the upcoming budget talks. He didn’t respond to an interview request.