Mayoral Race
In an event designed to showcase a wide cross-section of Oakland leaders backing her candidacy, Jean Quan said she wants to be a mayor who spearheads change through “block by block” community organizing.
It’s an early February twilight in Rockridge, and commuters are making their way from the BART station to homes and shops along College Avenue. Mayoral candidate Jean Quan and a small group of canvassers are gathering around a silver Prius on Claremont Avenue.
Oakland’s mayoral election is still 11 months away, but City Council Member Jean Quan received an early vote of confidence from Sandré Swanson, one of Oakland’s State Assembly representatives.
Jean Quan will be the first to admit she is not expected to win next year’s Oakland mayor’s race. But she’s also the first to say her chances are better than a lot of people think. “I have, in every race I’ve run in, been outspent and have been the underdog,” Quan said in a phone interview. “I’m not intimidated.” An Oakland City Council member since 2003, Quan issued a press release in mid-September announcing her decision to form an…