Post-November elections, Oakland confronts a political future of uncertainty and, likely, more upheaval. Mayor Sheng Thao, facing multiple scandals, was resoundingly recalled. Current city council president Nikki Fortunato Bas is now the interim mayor until Jan. 6, when she must resign to become an Alameda County supervisor. Whichever councilmember is chosen as council president will become the new interim mayor until Apr. 15, when a special election will decide Oakland’s next interim mayor. Multiple people have already indicated interest in running for mayor, including the runner-up to Thao in the 2022 election, Loren Taylor.  But longtime former congresswoman Barbara Lee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2024, is being urged by a large and diverse coalition to run. If she decides to do so, many if not most of the other contenders will drop out. Oakland’s city council will also include new members. Rowena Brown, a staff member for State Assemblymember Mia Bonta, will become member-at-large. Zac Unger, an Oakland firefighter and president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, will represent District 1, and Ken Houston, best known for serving as executive director of the city’s Beautification Council for 10 years, was elected in District 7. When city attorney Barbara Parker announced she would not run again after 13 years in office, the chief assistant city attorney, Ryan Richardson, announced his candidacy. Richardson won decisively, and will immediately face a raft of issues, including the ongoing battle over allowing coal to be shipped through Oakland and—inevitably—fights with the incoming Trump administration over immigration, environmental protections and other Trump goals. IN THE RUNNING Former City Councilmember Loren Taylor is running for Oakland’s mayoral seat. (Photo: public domain) Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín is moving up to the position of state senator (see State District 7 section). After a competitive race, voters chose civic organizer Adena Ishii over councilmember Sophie Hahn, a surprise for many politics-watchers, who had predicted that Hahn, benefiting from endorsements by Arreguín and many others, would prevail. However, Ishii had the support of State Sen. Nancy Skinner, and State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. When Ishii takes office, she will be the first woman of color selected as Berkeley’s mayor, and also its first Asian-American mayor. By contrast, the winners of the four city council seats being contested were not upsets. In District 2, first-term incumbent Terry Taplin easily retained his seat against Jenny Guarino. Taplin’s endorsements included Skinner, Wicks and the Sierra Club. Ben Bartlett also kept the District 3 seat, in a race that in early returns looked to be competitive, but in final results showed Bartlett holding onto the seat by a wide margin. Arreguín and multiple fellow city councilmembers endorsed him. Berkeley high school math and science teacher Shoshana O’Keefe, also endorsed by Arreguín and city councilmembers, also won a decisive victory in District 5. She will replace Hahn, who gave up her seat to run for mayor. The District 6 race was characterized by candidates with similar views on many issues. However, the winner, Brent Blackaby, boasted the most substantial endorsements, from outgoing councilmember Susan Wengaf—who held the seat for 16 years—Skinner and Wicks. He defeated Katz by a substantial margin. Richmond Richmond’s mayor, Eduardo Martinez, was not up for re-election this year. But several city council seats were contested, with one councilmember, Gayle McLaughlin, retiring, and two other members, Melvin Willis and Claudia Jimenez, up for re-election.  The city’s anti-Richmond Progressive Alliance bloc poured cash into attempts to oust the RPA’s majority on the council, which includes Martinez. Willis lost his bid to continue to represent the Iron Triangle area, one of the poorest in the city, to newcomer Jamelia Brown, in a race which reflected only 52% of registered voters. Brown, an Iron Triangle native, is an educator with a doctorate in sociology and a long history of engagement in social justice issues.  Gayle McLaughlin’s seat, representing a diverse area that includes the Richmond Panhandle and Marina Bay as well as parts of southern Richmond, will be filled by longtime activist and RPA member Sue Wilson, who bested Ahmad Anderson in a race characterized by the civility of both candidates. One of Wilson’s major campaign themes was the effective and targeted use of funds from the more-than-half-billion dollars the city will receive from Chevron in the most recent settlement with the fossil-fuel giant. Civility also marked Jimenez’s contest with Shawn Dunning, with the outspoken Jimenez, also an RPA member, easily defeating her opponent to represent Richmond’s North, East and eastern neighborhoods. More than $105,000, including $22,000 supporting Dunning from the Richmond Police Officers Association PAC, was spent in this race. However, the anti-RPA bloc did achieve its goal of passing an initiative to add primary elections, so that only two candidates will face off in the general election. Sponsored by Richmond Votes Matter, the petition to put it on the ballot was funded by multiple building trades unions, including Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 342, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 302 and Boilermakers Union Local 549, as well as the Richmond Police Officers Association. Prop. J passed with 58.12% of the vote. The competing initiative, Prop. L, placed on the ballot by the Richmond City Council, would instead have instituted a ranked-choice voting system. It also passed with 54.39% of the vote, but because if both measures passed the one with the highest vote total would win, Richmond’s city elections will now include primaries. Alameda, Contra Costa County Supervisors, District Attorney Both Alameda and Contra Costa will see newcomers replacing longtime county supervisors. In Alameda County’s District 5, which includes Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, West Oakland, North Oakland, Rockridge, Grand Lake and portions of the Fruitvale, Manzanita and Dimond District neighborhoods, incumbent Keith Carson’s retirement created a competitive race between former Emeryville mayor John Bauters and Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas. Though Bauters was considered the frontrunner, Fortunato Bas emerged as the winner. She will swap hats several times in the near future (see Oakland city section above). Alameda County voters also recalled District Attorney Pamela Price. Right now, Chief Assistant DA Royl Roberts has taken over the role, and was appointed by the Board of Supervisors as an interim DA, serving until June 2026, at which point another election will be held to elect a DA who will serve a two-year term. In 2028, voters will again choose a DA who will serve a full four-year term.  The retirement of Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover sparked a race in that county’s District 5, which includes Pittsburg, Martinez, Hercules and Rodeo, portions of Antioch and Pinole, and multiple unincorporated communities. This eventually narrowed down to a competitive contest between Pittsburg mayor and longtime aide to Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, Shanelle Scales-Preston, and Antioch City Councilmember Mike Barbanica. The race toggled back and forth as votes were counted, with Scales-Preston finally winning. OAKLAND UPHEAVALS Current city council president Nikki Fortunato Bas is now the interim mayor until Jan. 6, when she must resign to become an Alameda County supervisor. (Copyright (c) 2024 Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock) California State Senate, District 7 State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who has represented District 7 since 2016, is termed out in 2025, so multiple candidates initially indicated interest. This district includes portions of Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties, and contains the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Hercules, Oakland, Piedmont, Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo.  It narrowed to a race between Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and former Richmond city councilmember Jovanka Beckles. With endorsements across the Democratic political spectrum, including those of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Skinner herself, Arreguín prevailed. California Assembly, 14th District Buffy Wicks, who since 2018 has represented the area encompassing mostly coastline from Hercules through Richmond to Berkeley, but also includes Piedmont, was again easily re-elected against another Democratic opponent, 94-year-old Margot Smith. Wicks gained worldwide notice when in 2020 she appeared on the Assembly floor, masked and carrying her newborn baby, to cast a vote. She had been denied a request to vote by proxy by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on the grounds that maternity leave did not qualify. Rendon eventually apologized, stating, “I want to make a full apology to Assemblymember Wicks. My intention was never to be inconsiderate toward her, her role as a legislator, or her role as a mother. I failed to make sure our process took into account the unique needs of our members. The Assembly needs to do better. I commit to doing better.” The Takeaway The East Bay once again bucks national trends, electing people of color, highlighting women of color and women themselves.  Oakland may well see a Black female mayor if Barbara Lee decides to run. Before the special election to replace Nikki Fortunato Bas as interim mayor, the city council will include four women of color and three men of color. Berkeley’s new mayor will be both female and a person of color. Its city council will include two men of color and three women, two of whom are persons of color. In Richmond, the city council will seat five women, of whom four are women of color, joining two men of color, including Mayor Eduardo Martinez. What this likely bodes for the future is an East Bay determined not to see the progress of the last few decades eroded—no matter what comes out of Washington, D.C.