Charlene Wang

Charlene Wang is a member of the Oakland City Council in California, representing District 2. She assumed office on May 20, 2025. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Wang ran in a special election to the Oakland City Council to represent District 2 in California. She won in the special general election on April 15, 2025.

Wang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Charlene Wang earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and a graduate degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Wang's career experience includes working as a policy advisor and in mental health and behavioral healthcare systems.^[1] She has been affiliated with Oakland's Family Violence Law Center and the Sierra Club.^[2]

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Oakland City Council District 2

Select round:

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Charlene Wang in round 5 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,583
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Wang received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Wang's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.

2024

General election

General election for Oakland City Council At-large

Select round:

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Rowena Brown in round 9 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 144,857
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

To view Wang's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Wang in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

Charlene Wang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wang's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Oakland was the formative city of my childhood. My grandparents’ affordable housing provided stability and community for my family. I remember taking the bus, without fear for my safety, to the youth orchestra at Laney and once-bustling Chinatown streets. Their home was also a sanctuary from family violence.

My family’s experience falling into poverty motivated my career in public service. I was appointed by the Biden Administration to launch a $4 billion economic development program reconnecting segregated communities that has brought jobs and traffic safety to Oakland. I’ve designed an award-winning rapid rehousing program to shelter homeless people faster and advised city governments to reduce expenses without sacrificing services. I am an Alameda County Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Sierra Club executive committee member, and fought trafficking as a board member of Oakland’s Family Violence Law Center.

I am running because every Oaklander deserves the safety and opportunity that Oakland gave me and my family. Oakland faces severe crises and there is no time for learning on the job. I have served in a leadership role for a multibillion dollar public initiative, bring wide-ranging policy experience, and am the only candidate who has worked in government.

3 Oakland mayors, 4 former District 2 councilmembers, and over 100 officials, groups, and community leaders endorse my campaign because they know I am the only candidate who can hit the ground running.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

We are in a budget crisis. I'll lead by example, taking a pay cut, then push for executive pay cuts and reduced overhead across departments for $10+ million savings. Removing programs that duplicate county functions, renegotiating contracts, and demanding accountability metrics are all necessary. I'd explore refinancing pension interest payments, saving millions. I'll raise revenue by attracting new businesses, staffing the City Attorney’s office which won $56+ million in settlements, selling advertising space, leasing city land for housing, and leveraging my grant experience to win resources. Limiting political interference with contracts & enforcing uncollected fees on speeding/illegal dumping help stabilize our budget.
I’ve spoken to victims of violent crimes left waiting for hours after calling 911. I'll fight for community policing where officers are accountable to the neighborhoods they serve. Today's thin-stretched police force relies on costly overtime and cannot respond to crisis calls. Less than 8% of our police live in Oakland, I'll hire officers from our communities. Independent civilian oversight, publicly accessible body camera footage, and county coordination on mental health responses are all ways to improve both safety and equity. My experience designing a second chance jobs program to reduce crime and funding services for survivors of sex trafficking along International show that I'll fight for everyone's safety.
I am running on smarter ways to address homelessness based on my award-winning experience designing rapid rehousing programs to shelter people quickly, with emergency rental assistance, repurposing of properties for shelters, mental health/addiction treatment, and jobs cleaning blight. Furthermore, I am running to build housing and bring jobs in green manufacturing, construction, and logistics that create jobs for those without college degrees. I'm endorsed by the Pro-Housing Democratic Caucus and the Alameda Building Trades because of my ambitious agenda. I've secured funds for deeply affordable housing and will fight for our share of CA Department of Housing’s trust fund resources for more.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I want to celebrate and invest in Oakland’s ethnic diversity and culture. District 2 is home to both Chinatown and Little Saigon, two historic districts that face significant crime, blight, and disinvestment. These are working class communities, desperate for better opportunities. I’ll fight to revitalize them with capital improvements & tax incentives for new businesses in arts, music, restaurant, and nightlife to replace vacant storefronts that haunt these districts. By restoring neighborhood vitality, we’ll attract visitors and raise tax revenues to help us through our budget crisis. Eventual rise in property values around cultural districts can finance community land trusts to build community resiliency and resist gentrification.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My career as a changemaker in public administration means that I understand how to effect change through bureaucracy. To effectively deliver results for Oaklanders, city council must mobilize thousands of city employees towards its goals. As a politically-appointed leader of the Department of Transportation, I gained the experience on setting direction for a department of over 58 thousand people.

More than anything, the skill that will most benefit Oakland is that I can work with people with different viewpoints than my own. I think the last couple years have seen an unfortunate coarsening of political discourse in Oakland. If we're going to address our challenges, and stop whipsawing from one extreme to another, we need to get better at listening to each other.

Finally, I pride myself on being accessible. That means open constituent office hours, community forums, and making a point to meet people who don't have time to engage politics where they are. I've shown a consistent commitment to this throughout my career. I partnered with civil rights groups to expand air filters around highways at the Department of Transportation, meeting parents when I was launching universal Pre-K in New York, and interviewing LGBTQI+ homeless youth to help programs better serve their needs. That's the same spirit of open government I'll bring to the council.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Building & Construction Trades Council of Alameda County

Firefighters Local 55
Sierra Club
Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte
Pro-Housing Democratic Caucus
Lena Tam, Alameda County Supervisor
Kevin Jenkins, Interim Oakland Mayor, Oakland City Councilmember for District 6
Janani Ramachandran, Oakland City Councilmember for District 4
Ken Houston, Oakland City Councilmember for District 7
Libby Schaaf, Former Oakland Mayor
Elihu Harris, Former Oakland Mayor
Abel Guillén, Former Oakland City Councilmember for District 2
Pat Kernighan, Former Oakland City Councilmember for District 2
John Russo, Former Oakland City Councilmember for District 2

Danny Wan, Former Oakland City Councilmember for District 2

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Oakland’s city government suffers from significant mismanagement and needs to strengthen its financial controls, evidence-based decision making capacity, and government accountability. This is incredibly important to address in light of our budget crisis. This mismanagement affects our fundamental quality of city services – everything from homelessness services to street paving to small business vitality. Furthermore, it allows for corrupt governance and decisions made by political favoritism instead of the best interest of the public. My public administration experience includes creating and tracking government personnel systems, working closely with Budget and Performance offices to set government accountability metrics, and working with the Inspector General to identify and audit wasteful spending.

I'll advocate for a citywide audit, analysis of program results, and whistleblower protections that empower people who witness misconduct to speak without fear of retaliation. Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission, which enforces government ethics and campaign finance law, is severely understaffed. I'll advocate strengthening this vital department to uproot corrupt practices.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

Charlene Wang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wang's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was appointed by the Biden-Harris administration to launch a $4 billion infrastructure program that's already bringing jobs to Oakland. I chose a career in public service because I saw my family fall through the cracks into poverty. I redesigned statewide homeless service delivery for faster shelter and supportive services in Massachusetts, got New York's universal Pre-K off the ground, and initiated the Federal Highway Administration's first program to connect people just returning from prison with road construction jobs. My wide-ranging experience improving and redesigning programs positions me to help break patterns of dysfunction and bring a fresh start to Oakland.

I'm an Alameda County Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, a former board member of Oakland's Family Violence Law Center, and a frequent community volunteer helping read to students and teach English to immigrants. I currently work at the EPA holding corporate polluters accountable. I came back to Oakland to be closer to my grandmother. I made some of my most formative childhood memories at her West Oakland home. Oakland's Youth Orchestra, bustling Chinatown streets, and artistic culture inspired me as a child.

Since returning, I've been frustrated by our out-of-control crime, rising homelessness, deteriorating city infrastructure, and the high cost of living. Oakland deserves so much better. I'm ready to put my career in public service to work for Oakland.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Public safety is my top priority. Relative to the national average, our police department is severely understaffed. This makes it harder to solve crimes and respond in a timely manner. It also forces Oakland to rely on overtime shifts where officers are more expensive and at higher risk to use disproportionate force. I'll invoke mutual aid agreements to secure law enforcement assistance from neighboring cities, then hire more officers, from Oakland, to implement a community policing strategy where officers build trust with the communities they serve. I support independent civilian internal affairs for accountability. Gun buybacks, mental health responders, and programs for people returning from prison all advance public safety.
Oakland faces a $170 million budget deficit that will force devastating service cuts and tax increases. The federal government is making historic investments in infrastructure and environmental programs but Oakland is missing out. It was my job to launch and allocate a $4 billion federal budget; I'll take Oakland from missing grant deadlines to winning new funding. I'll press departments to coordinate and reduce overhead and expand revenue opportunities like housing, faster business permitting, and film incentives. Leasing city land, using bus stops for advertisement revenue, and refinancing interest payments on city obligations will all help. I monitor programs for fraud and abuse at the EPA; I'll uproot fraud in our budget.
We need an opportunity economy that brings down the cost of living and uplifts Oakland's most vulnerable. I'll approve new housing across Oakland, clearing height restrictions, and design standards that drive up cost. I'll clear permitting requirements for housing so we can build affordable units faster, fully enforce rent laws, and make tenant legal aid more accessible. I’ll reform our broken homelessness response system as I did for the state of Massachusetts to take people off the streets and into housing quickly. I'll court renewable energy manufacturers to repurpose our vacant industrial warehouses to provide manufacturing jobs in Oakland as a pathway to the middle class for people without college degrees.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I want to celebrate and invest in what makes Oakland so special: our cultural diversity. I'm inspired by the model that we already have with Chinatown. Let's spur creation of cultural districts in West Oakland, East Oakland, Little Saigon, and Fruitvale with tax incentives for small, minority-owned businesses in the arts, music, restaurant, and nightlife sectors. In exchange for lower taxes, these businesses would be required to give back to the local community, for example, by providing free classes to youth and seniors. Reinvesting revenues from nearby property values can finance community land trusts that protect residents from displacement. In the same way New York had a Harlem Renaissance, we can have an Oakland Renaissance.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The At-Large seat represents all of Oakland, not just a single council district. That means the At-Large Councilmember has a unique opportunity to address problems that cross district boundaries. I'm committed to being an active, engaged councilmember that is present in all of our communities.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm a hard worker with a career of public service experience. I have no ax to grind, and am running a drama free campaign focused on the issues. More than anything, the skill that will most benefit Oakland is that I actively seek out people with different viewpoints than my own. Policy disagreements don't have to be personal affronts, and hearing them will help me better refine my policies to account for more perspectives. I think the last couple years have seen an unfortunate coarsening of political discourse in Oakland. If we're going to address our challenges, and stop whipsawing from one extreme to another, we need to get better at listening to each other.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to leave a legacy reforming key areas of Oakland’s city services: our policing and homelessness response systems.

Oaklanders deserve a reliable and responsive police department that upholds the rights of all people. Cities like Camden, East Palo Alto, and Boston all brought down crime building community trust in the police department. That’s what I seek to bring to Oakland: reform a police department with real issues, while providing law enforcement the resources that are needed to address what is an unacceptable wave of crime.

The other legacy I want to leave is reforming our homelessness response system so we intervene early and drastically bring down the number of people on our streets. I’ve already done this for the state of Massachusetts, fixing their statewide system to help people faster. I’ll do the same for Oakland.

The issue with our homelessness response is that we put unhoused people on a waiting list where people are more likely to get housing the longer they’ve been on the street. This leaves people languishing for years, developing mental health conditions and addictions until they need round-the-clock care, making each individual more expensive to rehabilitate and house. I want to redesign our systems, inspired by the successes in Houston, to take people off the street as quickly as possible, with housing, treatment and jobs to clean up trash, plant trees, and fill potholes. Let’s find innovative ways to repurpose our assets such as vacant office buildings and public lands into shelter and transitional housing, while coordinating with our county to provide mental health care. Cities across California are struggling with homelessness, I want to create a model that can inspire change across the nation.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Freedom by Beyonce!

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Oakland has complex, interlocking problems and limited resources. The most important skill set for the next councilmember will be a willingness to dive deep into policies and find ways to address multiple problems at once. I've spent my career doing this type of work, have woven win-win policies throughout my platform, and am ready to put this skill set to work for Oakland.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I'm proud to be endorsed by Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam, Oakland Unified Board of Education Vice President Mike Hutchinson, Oakland Unified Board of Education District 7 Director Clifford Thompson, former Oakland Council President Pat Kernighan, former Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L.K. Monroe, Oakland Firefighters Local 55, the Sierra Club, Teamsters Local 70, Operating Engineers Local 3, Planned Parenthood, East Bay YIMBY, and many more elected officials, community leaders, and organizations.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Both are paramount for public trust and effective governance. As a councilmember, I pledge to be transparent, accessible, and available to constituents throughout Oakland. That means open constituent office hours, community forums, and making a point to meet people who don't have time to engage politics where they are. I've shown a consistent commitment to this throughout my career. I partnered with civil rights groups to expand air filters around highways at the Department of Transportation, meeting parents when I was launching universal Pre-K in New York, and interviewing LGBTQI+ homeless youth to help Massachusetts services better serve their needs. That's the same spirit of open government I'll bring to the council. Beyond my personal conduct, I'll advocate for a citywide audit, better metrics to analyze program results, and whistleblower protections that empower people who witness misconduct to speak without fear of retaliation. Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission, which enforces government ethics and campaign finance law, is severely understaffed. I'll advocate strengthening this vital department to uproot corrupt practices.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Oakland City Council District 2

Officeholder

Oakland City Council District 2

Website

Personal

Facebook

Instagram

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 18, 2025

Political offices
Preceded by Nikki Fortunato Bas	Oakland City Council District 2 2025-Present	Succeeded by -

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 18, 2025

[1]

[2]

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Charlene Wang	59.4	7,008	736	Won (5)
	Kara Murray-Badal	40.6	4,782	362	5
Submit photo	Harold Lowe	0.0	0	-1,617	4
	Kanitha Matoury	0.0	0	0	3
Submit photo	Paula Thomas	0.0	0	0	2
	Kenneth Anderson	0.0	0	0	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Charlene Wang	51.0	6,272	250	Won (5)
	Kara Murray-Badal	35.9	4,420	123	5
Submit photo	Harold Lowe	13.1	1,617	152	4
	Kanitha Matoury	0.0	0	-686	3
Submit photo	Paula Thomas	0.0	0	0	2
	Kenneth Anderson	0.0	0	0	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Charlene Wang	48.3	6,022	71	Won (5)
	Kara Murray-Badal	34.5	4,297	34	5
Submit photo	Harold Lowe	11.7	1,465	50	4
	Kanitha Matoury	5.5	686	88	3
Submit photo	Paula Thomas	0.0	0	-303	2
	Kenneth Anderson	0.0	0	0	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Charlene Wang	47.5	5,951	46	Won (5)
	Kara Murray-Badal	34.0	4,263	40	5
Submit photo	Harold Lowe	11.3	1,415	34	4
	Kanitha Matoury	4.8	598	39	3
Submit photo	Paula Thomas	2.4	303	34	2
	Kenneth Anderson	0.0	0	-246	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Charlene Wang	46.9	5,905	0	Won (5)
	Kara Murray-Badal	33.6	4,223	0	5
Submit photo	Harold Lowe	11.0	1,381	0	4
	Kanitha Matoury	4.4	559	0	3
Submit photo	Paula Thomas	2.1	269	0	2
	Kenneth Anderson	2.0	246	0	1

Charlene Wang

Contents

Biography

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Oakland City Council District 2

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for Oakland City Council At-large

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

SITE NAVIGATION

	v • e State of California Sacramento (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2025 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Rowena Brown	31.8	44,884	1,066	Won (9)
Submit photo	LeRonne Armstrong	29.8	42,034	663	9
	Charlene Wang	25.1	35,444	2,256	8
	Shawn Danino	7.8	11,021	515	7
	Kanitha Matoury	5.5	7,745	622	6
Submit photo	Cristina Tostado	0.0	0	-6,396	5
	Mindy Pechenuk	0.0	0	0	4
Submit photo	Fabian Robinson	0.0	0	0	3
	Nancy Sidebotham	0.0	0	0	2
Submit photo	Selika Thomas	0.0	0	0	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Rowena Brown	30.8	43,818	777	Won (9)
Submit photo	LeRonne Armstrong	29.1	41,371	981	9
	Charlene Wang	23.3	33,188	1,577	8
	Shawn Danino	7.4	10,506	310	7
	Kanitha Matoury	5.0	7,123	600	6
Submit photo	Cristina Tostado	4.5	6,396	387	5
	Mindy Pechenuk	0.0	0	-5,524	4
Submit photo	Fabian Robinson	0.0	0	0	3
	Nancy Sidebotham	0.0	0	0	2
Submit photo	Selika Thomas	0.0	0	0	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Rowena Brown	30.0	43,041	355	Won (9)
Submit photo	LeRonne Armstrong	28.2	40,390	419	9
	Charlene Wang	22.1	31,611	450	8
	Shawn Danino	7.1	10,196	237	7
	Kanitha Matoury	4.6	6,523	337	6
Submit photo	Cristina Tostado	4.2	6,009	218	5
	Mindy Pechenuk	3.9	5,524	282	4
Submit photo	Fabian Robinson	0.0	0	-3,075	3
	Nancy Sidebotham	0.0	0	0	2
Submit photo	Selika Thomas	0.0	0	0	1

	Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
	Rowena Brown	29.6	42,686	342	Won (9)
Submit photo	LeRonne Armstrong	27.7	39,971	335	9
	Charlene Wang	21.6	31,161	297	8
	Shawn Danino	6.9	9,959	129	7
	Kanitha Matoury	4.3	6,186	253	6
Submit photo	Cristina Tostado	4.0	5,791	158	5
	Mindy Pechenuk	3.6	5,242	230	4
Submit photo	Fabian Robinson	2.1	3,075	91	3
	Nancy Sidebotham	0.0	0	-2,362	2
Submit photo	Selika Thomas	0.0	0	0	1