OAKLAND, California — Oakland’s mayoral election was too close to call on Tuesday night, a setback for frontrunner and former Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee that underscores the profound voter frustration animating the progressive city’s politics.
As of late Tuesday, former City Council member Loren Taylor held a narrow lead and neither candidate had secured a majority in a 10-candidate field. The tight margin all but guarantees the vote tally will stretch into the coming days as mail ballots are counted and could come down to voters’ backup selections under the city’s ranked choice system.
“We all know this is going to be a long week,” Lee told a crowd at an event space in downtown Oakland bedecked with yellow and green decorations — Athletics colors — that included cheerleading gear in a nod to her biography.
Lee had hoped to win outright in the special election, which would have required her to secure a majority of first-place votes. If she does not, the vote tally will move to the next round, which means the last-place candidate is eliminated and their lower-ranked selections are redistributed.
The tight result underscores the deep political divisions fracturing resolutely Democratic Oakland. Frustration with crime, homelessness, business closures and public corruption led voters to recall former mayor Sheng Thao last year — along with former district attorney Pamela Price — triggering a special mayoral election.
“It’s a closer race than any of us expected,” state Sen. Jesse Arreguin, a former Berkeley mayor, said in an interview as a band pumped Stevie Wonder. “Voters in Oakland are frustrated.”
Lee ran as a candidate who could unify the beleaguered city, vaulting into frontrunner status as she touted endorsements from a broad cross-section of local powers and emphasized her ability to bring stability. Multiple supportive city council members made speeches at her event.
“What Barbara did is build a coalition,” Council member Zac Unger told the crowd.
But Taylor found traction by arguing Lee would perpetuate a broken system, outpacing her in fundraising and winning outside support from some of the same wealthy donors who helped drive the recalls.
