Complete Oakland election results: Mayor Thao officially leaves office

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s tenure officially ended Tuesday, when Oakland City Council certified the November election results that included the vote to recall her.

The local elections were complicated this year by two successful recalls, the second involving Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price; the inclusion of 16- and 17-year-olds in voting for Oakland Unified School Board candidates; and lingering questions about ranked-choice voting after errors in the 2022 election tally prompted a lawsuit and a change after the vote had been certified.

Thao called into Tuesday’s meeting via Zoom to take her last official actions, including casting a tie-breaking “yes” vote on prohibiting landlords who are delinquent on property taxes from increasing rent.

Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas then assumed the role of acting mayor, and President Pro Tempore Dan Kalb, who is in the final days of his term, became council president. Bas, who was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, will serve until the new council is sworn in on Jan. 6. That council will elect a president who then will serve as interim mayor until a special election in April.

Here are the complete results:

Oakland voters also approved Measure OO, which beefs up the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and Measure NN, which increases property taxes to fund police, fire, and violence prevention services.

Tuesday’s meeting was the last for the present council, which includes three exiting members: Kalb, Rebecca Kaplan and Treva Reid, all of whom decided not to seek another term. “You guys all worked extremely hard, and we’ve all worked on different projects and issues together,” Councilmember Kevin Jenkins said to his colleagues. “I know that we all deeply love and care about the city of Oakland.”

(Top photo of Oakland City Hall by Richard H. Grant)

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