Dem
47
GOP
53
The mayoralty of Oakland is kind of a booby prize for politicians who are past their use-by date. Jerry Brown was elected mayor of Oakland in 1999, long after he stopped being governor of California. It is kind of a step down (though, in fairness, Brown became governor of California again after his mayoral term). Ron Dellums was elected mayor of Oakland in 2007, long after he was a powerful 14-term congressman. Now Barbara Lee (78) has been elected mayor of Oakland after she ended a 27-year career in the House so she could make a pointless run for the Senate against two fundraising powerhouses.
It wasn't an easy win for Lee. She beat City Council member Loren Taylor 53% to 47%. That is a small margin for someone who is much better known than Taylor on account of her representing Oakland in Congress for almost 30 years.
The special election was called because the previous mayor, Sheng Thao, was recalled after news that she was corrupt dominated the headlines. She was formally indicted on federal bribery charges in January. The city is a mess now, and it will be up to Lee to clean it up, even though she has no executive experience at any level. Why she even wanted the job escapes us. (V)