Politicos are eyeing the soon-to-be vacant office and rumors are swirling. One person has already set up a committee to run.
by Natalie Orenstein, Eli Wolfe, Darwin BondGraham and Oaklandside staff
Nov. 13, 2024, 2:01 p.m. Updated Dec. 20, 2024, 12:43 p.m. (Oaklandside.org)
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Voters overwhelming recalled Sheng Thao in the Nov. 5 election, setting the stage for a special election in April 2025 to pick a new mayor who will serve out the remainder of Thao’s term.
Local politicos wasted no time floating names of potential successors or declaring intentions to run for the office themselves.
Now, over a month since the recall election, 11 people have pulled papers expressing an intent to run. And there’s speculation that other well-known leaders are considering entering the fray.
This is a living list. We will update it over the coming days and weeks, as plans evolve and firm up for the next era of Oakland politics. Know of a candidate or possible contender we missed? Email us.
Who’s definitely running for mayor?
Wendy Adams: Adams pulled papers to run, according to the City Clerk. Information about her wasn’t immediately available. We’ll update this post when we learn more.
Tyron Jordan: A military veteran, Jordan ran for Mayor in 2022 and City Council District 3 in 2024. A legal practice assistant at Morgan Lewis and Bockius, Jordan has served on Oakland’s Library Advisory Commission. Jordan outlined many of his ideas for the city in 2022 when we interviewed him.
Peter Liu: Liu crashed out of the 2022 mayor’s race after repeatedly spamming antisemitic statements over email to members of the press and other candidates.
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Mindy Pechenuk: An economist, classical music scholar, and follower of the deceased conspiracy theorist and perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche, Pechenuk announced her candidacy on Nov. 11 on Facebook, writing that she will “end the insane ordinances and oversight commissions that are making it impossible for our police to do their job,” and “go after the drug cartels.” Pechenuk said she welcomes “President-elect Donald J. Trump’s offer to help our cities. Oakland can not do it alone.”
Fabian Robinson: A pastor, Robinson sought the at-large City Council seat in the November election, finishing in eighth place among the 10 candidates with 2% of the vote. In an Instagram post announcing his candidacy, Robinson wrote that he plans to “bring a casino to Oakland.”
Andrea Smith: Smith pulled papers to run, according to the City Clerk. Information about her wasn’t immediately available. We’ll update this post when we learn more.
Derrick Soo: Another 2022 mayoral candidate, Soo, is throwing his name in the ring again, he told The Oaklandside on Wednesday. Soo, who grew up in Oakland, was unhoused when he last ran. He’s since secured housing. He said he plans to officially file in December.
Elizabeth Swaney: Swaney is famous for her halfpipe skiing performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics. According to her Wikipedia page, she briefly ran for Governor while a student at UC Berkeley, and she’s also done stand up comedy.
Loren Taylor: The former city councilmember officially filed to run for mayor on Tuesday, exactly one week after the election. But Taylor first expressed his intentions to run months ago. He was the runner up to Thao in the 2022 election by a slim margin and was a vocal supporter of recalling his former opponent. In 2023, he founded Empower Oakland, an advocacy group that’s gotten involved in local politics by backing candidates.
Renia Webb: A former staffer in Thao’s District 4 City Council office, Webb officially announce her candidacy for mayor on Dec. 10 with an event at OMCA. Webb became a vocal critic of Thao in 2023 and claims she served as a witness in the FBI’s investigation.
Larry Lionel Young, Jr.: A real estate agenty with Century 21, Young ran in the 2010 mayoral election, coming in eigth place among the 10 candidates. In 2012, he unsuccessfully ran for City Council District 3.
Who might run for mayor?
Ignacio De La Fuente: “If Barbara Lee runs, I’m out. If Baraba Lee doesn’t run, absolutely I’m in,” De La Fuente told The Oaklandside. The former trade union leader who served on the City Council representing District 5 from 1992 to 2011 unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2022. He criticized Thao and said the city is in bad shape and that he’s in a unique position to fix it. “I always believed i could have been the best mayor of this city. It takes a political backbone to make the decisions that need to be made.”
Carroll Fife: The city councilmember, who was reelected to her District 3 seat this year, told us in November that she’s prepared to run for mayor, depending on the ultimate “lineup” of candidates. “I want to make sure Oakland stays on the right track and has some kind of continuity for the successes and wins” of progressives, Fife said. But she quipped that anyone interested in the tough job has to be either “a sociopath or a glutton for punishment or a saint.”
Richard Fuentes: Fuentes is co-owner of LGBTQ bar Fluid 510, which hosted the Alameda County Democratic Party election watch party. Fuentes’ name was included in a survey reportedly sent by lobbyists McConnell Group, according to a Twitter user who received it, polling respondents about who they might support for mayor. Fuentes told us he’s “exploring” a run, but doesn’t want to jeopardize his business, which has received boycott threats over the owner’s support of Thao.
Kevin Jenkins: “No plans. Right now” is all the District 6 councilmember had to say about the upcoming race in a brief text message in November.
Barbara Lee: Political insiders believe Lee, fresh off a 26-year stint in the U.S. House of Representatives, may run for Oakland mayor, though she hasn’t publicly stated intentions to do so, and has refused to say anything when asked directly by the press. There is precedent for a federal politician moving into the mayor’s office; Lee’s Congressional predecessor Ron Dellums later led Oakland. And on Dec. 19, a group of supporters issued a public letter urging her to run.
Marshawn Lynch: During a podcast with Gov. Gavin Newsom a few months ago, former Cal and NFL football star Lynch — who has zero experience in government — didn’t do much to dispel the notion that he might run for mayor.
Nate Miley: The Alameda County District 4 supervisor’s name has been floated here and there. When we asked Miley in November, he said he’s “surprised” to hear that. “I will neither confirm nor deny,” he said about the possibility of a run. “As an Oakland resident I am looking to support someone who is tough enough, knowledgeable, seasoned, and prepared to right this ship of state and restore a universal sense of pride in this City!”
Allyssa Victory: ACLU attorney Victory told The Oaklandside in November that she’s weighing a run for mayor. “I am speaking with my consultants, supporters, and my family to consider whether I will run or not,” she wrote in an email. Victory made headlines in 2022 when a city clerk error initially disqualified her from the mayoral ballot that year. She was ultimately able to run but lost. Victory’s name was also included in the McConnell Group survey.
Who’s not running for mayor?
Nikki Fortunato Bas: “I am not planning to run for mayor,” the City Council president told The Oaklandside. “I am really focused on what’s in front of me right now.” Bas is interim mayor until she takes her seat on the county supervisors representing District 5.
Dan Kalb: “I’m not planning to run for mayor — and I have no intention to create any plans,” the District 1 councilmember told us. Kalb said many people have asked him whether he will, and some have encouraged him to do so, but he declined to comment on why he’s staying out of the race. Kalb ran unsuccessfully in the District 7 State Senate primary in March and is leaving his council seat after three terms, handing it over to Zac Unger.
Janani Ramachandran: The District 4 councilmember said she’s not interested in running for mayor in the special election. “My priority is focusing on our budget and legislative duties as a council to navigate through these tough financial times for the city,” she told The Oaklandside.
Isaac Kos-Read: A longtime lobbyist who has represented companies doing business with the city including billboard firms, hotels and affordable housing developers, Kos-Read has served on Oakland’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and is an avid salsa dancer. Kos-Read confirmed to The Oaklandside in November that he planned to run but then signed onto an open letter asking Barbara Lee to run.
Seneca Scott: Scott is another name included on the McConnell Group survey. The activist and agitator ran for mayor in 2022 as well. He was a leader of the Thao recall campaign, announcing on X on election night, “I just recalled the mayor.” However, he said on X a few days later, “I’m not running for mayor. Please stop asking!!!!!”
Correction: Renia Webb did not work in Thao’s mayoral administration. She was a staffer in Thao’s City Council office in 2022. We also incorrectly identified Nate Miley’s supervisorial district. He is the District 4 supervisor.
NATALIE ORENSTEIN
Natalie Orenstein covers housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. She was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where her extensive reporting on the legacy of school desegregation received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal and the Education Writers Association. Natalie’s reporting has also appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle and other Bay Area publications, and she’s written about public policy for a number of research institutes and think tanks. Natalie lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley, and has only left her beloved East Bay once, to attend Pomona College.More by Natalie Orenstein
ELI WOLFE
Eli Wolfe reports on City Hall for The Oaklandside. He was previously a senior reporter for San José Spotlight, where he had a beat covering Santa Clara County’s government and transportation. He also worked as an investigative reporter for the Pasadena-based newsroom FairWarning, where he covered labor, consumer protection and transportation issues. He started his journalism career as a freelancer based out of Berkeley. Eli’s stories have appeared in The Atlantic, NBCNews.com, Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere. Eli graduated from UC Santa Cruz and grew up in San Francisco.More by Eli Wolfe
DARWIN BONDGRAHAM
Before joining The Oaklandside as News Editor, Darwin BondGraham was a freelance investigative reporter covering police and prosecutorial misconduct. He has reported on gun violence for The Guardian and was a staff writer for the East Bay Express. He holds a doctorate in sociology from UC Santa Barbara and was the co-recipient of the George Polk Award for local reporting in 2017. He is also the co-author of The Riders Come Out at Night, a book examining the Oakland Police Department’s history of corruption and reform.More by Darwin BondGraham
