The former Democratic congressman of a lifetime, Barbara Lee, entered the lead in the race to become the next mayor of Oakland, according to the results of the votes published on Friday night.
The last count showed Lee moving forward in front of its main challenger in the race, the former member of the Loren Taylor City Council, with 53% of the votes compared to 47% of Taylor. Your leaders Called the raceDeclating that Lee “has been chosen to the next mayor of Oakland.”
Oakland, a city or 436,000 people, uses elections of classified choice, allowing voters to select multiple candidates by order of preference. The method complicates the vote count, and could spend weeks before the electoral officials of Alameda County announce a final account for this week’s special elections.
Lee’s campaign remained to declare victory on Friday night, although campaign officials published a statement by calling the latest “encouraging” results. Taylor, who represented East Oakland in the City Council for four years, could not be contacted to comment.
If the results are maintained, Lee, 78, a progressive icon that represented Oakland and the surrounding areas in Congress for almost three decades, would replace the mayor expelled Sheng Thao, a progressive chosen in 2022. Thao was Retired from the office in November In the midst of deep frustrations of voters with crime, the lack of housing and the generalized sense that Oakland is in crisis. Thao was accused of hooking the finances of the city, contributing to a budget deficit that almost certainly requires broad cuts in government departments.
The efforts to remember Thao of the position were already underway when, in June, the FBI agents raided their home as part of an investigation into an alleged corruption scheme that involves Thao’s boyfriend and a father-son team that is directed. That probe energized the withdrawal, which was easily approved with more than 60% of the votes. Thao, her boyfriend, Andre Jones and Andy and David Duong from California Waste Solutions were accused of Federal bribery charges In January. The four have declared themselves innocent.
“I decided to run for the mayor to know that Oakland is a deeply divided city, and I ran to unite our community,” Lee said in his Friday statement.
The election created an unexpected professional opportunity for Lee, who left Washington in January after Lose your offer for the Senate In last year’s elementary school, Democratic representative Adam Schiff, who won the seat in November.
With Oakland in the sudden need for a new mayor, a wide coalition of business groups, labor organizations and elected leaders dedicated past autumn asking Lee to run in the special elections of April 15 and save his city of collapse.
He thought that nine people competed in the race, Taylor, a business management consultant who has 30 years of Lee’s Junior, Arose as its main opponent. He painted the city as “broken” and necessary desperate from an executive director with experience in the land in the City Council that could make difficult decisions without fear of disappointing political followers of pulmonary time.
Taylor received a financial impulse from Technological and Business Leaders Who channeled tens of thousands of dollars in independent expenses committees that support their candidacy.
Lee ran his record as a veteran politician with decades of experience forging connections in several interest groups. She promoted the hundreds of millions of dollars that brought home to the East Bay duration of her time in Congress, where she advocated the policies against war and promoted the legisation that went to racism, sexism, poverty and labor exploitation. These values express their roots as an activist of the black panther and its educational training in Mills College and UC Berkeley.
She promised to “improve life for all” in Oakland, while promising to fight crime and encourage the 5,400 homeless people in Oakland in shelters and homes. He has pledged to hire more police, stop government spending and increase transparency in decisions taken in the City Council.