Barbara Lee, a trailblazing former member of Congress, has been elected as the next mayor of Oakland, California, after fending off an insurgent challenge from the center at a critical moment for the Bay Area city.
Lee defeated the former city council member Loren Taylor after nine rounds of ranked-choice voting gave her more than 52% of the vote to Taylor’s 47%, according to the Alameda county registrar of voters.
“This morning, Loren Taylor called me to concede the race,” Lee said in a statement on Saturday. “While I believe strongly in respecting the democratic voting process and ballots will continue to be counted through Tuesday, the results are clear that the people of Oakland have elected me as your next Mayor. Thank you, Oakland!”
“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love,” Lee added. “Oakland is a deeply divided City; I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”
Lee must confront a series of acute challenges, including a gaping budget shortfall, widespread public safety concerns and an affordability crisis. She will serve out the remainder of the term of Sheng Thao, who was recalled by voters in November amid frustration over crime and homelessness.
Earlier this year, Thao was indicted on federal bribery charges; she has denied wrongdoing.
Both Lee and Taylor – the leading contenders in a wide field of candidates – prioritized addressing public safety and the city’s financial crisis, but offered different visions.
“Right now, we’re in a period of instability and voters are looking for somebody to stabilize the city government,” said Chris Higgenbotham, an Oakland-based political consultant who was not involved with the mayoral race.
He added that residents had wanted the city’s next mayor to “move us not in just the right direction for the next two years but to put us on a road map back to where we were at before the pandemic – one of the best cities, highlighted in magazines, and not just in the news for the negative”.
The 78-year-old former representative, a hometown hero, promised to move Oakland past the rancor that has clouded city hall over the last few years. Taylor had cast himself as a tough-on-crime moderate who would shake up city hall and “fix” a “broken” city.
Though Lee entered as the heavy favorite, Taylor’s campaign gained momentum as outside groups working to push the Bay Area’s progressive politics to the center took an interest in his campaign.
Lee was backed by most of the city council, the interim mayor, the local Democratic party, labor unions, faith leaders and business leaders. She earned the endorsement of the editorial board of the East Bay Times. Taylor drew support from the business and tech communities and was endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board.
