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Jerry Brown made his first public appearance as governor-elect Wednesday morning, telling a roomful of reporters at a press conference in Oakland that he has no plans to move permanently to Sacramento. Brown went on to address issues ranging from government transparency to state worker pensions.
On Tuesday, Oakland residents decided the fate of several local education and public safety funding measures, along with statewide ballot initiatives like Proposition 19.
Though mayoral candidate Don Perata leads at the ballot box—11 points above his nearest competitor, with all Oakland precincts reporting—the city’s new ranked-choice voting system means it could be more than a week before a new mayor is formally selected. Under the rules of ranked-choice voting, a system approved by nearly more than two-thirds of Oakland voters in 2006, voters rank their top three choices for mayor on the ballot. First choice votes are tallied, and if no candidate receives…
Despite a hotly contested gubernatorial race and a controversial ballot initiative that would have decriminalized marijuana throughout California, voter turnout in Alameda County for Tuesday’s election dropped to its lowest level in at least a decade.
A familiar herbal scent filled the air in the Oaksterdam University parking lot Tuesday night as dozens of Proposition 19 supporters heard word that the bill had been defeated.
Democratic candidate Jerry Brown has taken the lead in California’s gubernatorial race, and has claimed victory as the state’s new governor. According to the California Secretary of State’s website, as of 11:26 pm, with 39 percent of precincts counted, Brown led opponent Meg Whitman by 8.7 points.
Despite a clear leader, Oakland’s mayoral race is not over. Don Perata holds a 13 percent lead over his nearest competitor, but he is about 14 percentage points short of a “50 percent plus one” majority, meaning the race will be determined Friday by a ranked choice voting run-off. The run-off scenario leaves hope for three candidates—Jean Quan, Rebecca Kaplan and Joe Tuman—who trail Perata but garnered significantly more votes than the race’s other six candidates. “I think if it’s…
The Green Party’s Laura Wells was one of four other candidates who took a stab at the governor’s seat. Wells is a longtime Oakland resident, with a background in both citizen-activism and business. On election night, she gathered with other local Greens to close out the election season at La Estrellita Café and Bar in East Oakland.
Early returns tonight showed that Jerry Brown was winning his campaign for governor of California—36 years after he won the office the first time—by defeating businesswoman Meg Whitman, who spent at least five times more money, but could not win the hearts of voters.