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Libby Schaaf

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Libby Schaaf
Image of Libby Schaaf
Prior offices
Oakland City Council District 4
Mayor of Oakland
Successor: Sheng Thao
Predecessor: Jean Quan

Education

High school

Skyline High School

Bachelor's

Rollins College

Law

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Personal
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Libby Schaaf was the Mayor of Oakland in California. She assumed office on January 5, 2015. She left office on January 2, 2023.

Schaaf (Democratic Party) ran for election for California Treasurer. She will not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2026.

Mayoral elections in Oakland are nonpartisan. Schaaf is affiliated with the Democratic Party.[1][2]

Shcaaf was previously a member of the Oakland City Council, representing District 4 from 2011 to 2014.[3]

Biography

Schaaf was born in Oakland and is a graduate of Skyline High School. She obtained a B.A. in political science from Rollins College and a J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Her professional experience includes working as an attorney, as the Chief of Staff to former Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, as an aide to former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, as the Director of Public Affairs for the Port of Oakland and as the Senior Policy Adviser for Community & Economic Development of Oakland, California.[3][4]

Elections

2026

See also: California Treasurer election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for California Treasurer

Anna Caballero, Eleni Kounalakis, and Tony Vazquez are running in the general election for California Treasurer on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Anna Caballero
Anna Caballero (D)
Image of Eleni Kounalakis
Eleni Kounalakis (D)
Image of Tony Vazquez
Tony Vazquez (D)

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Mayoral election in Oakland, California (2022)

Libby Schaaf was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2018

See also: Mayoral election in Oakland, California (2018)

General election

General election for Mayor of Oakland

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Oakland on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Libby Schaaf
Libby Schaaf (Nonpartisan)
 
53.3
 
84,502
Image of Cat Brooks
Cat Brooks (Nonpartisan)
 
25.7
 
40,760
Image of Pamela Price
Pamela Price (Nonpartisan)
 
13.1
 
20,794
Image of Saied Karamooz
Saied Karamooz (Nonpartisan)
 
1.9
 
3,005
Image of Ken Houston
Ken Houston (Nonpartisan)
 
1.7
 
2,640
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Marchon Tatmon (Nonpartisan)
 
1.3
 
2,114
Image of Nancy Sidebotham
Nancy Sidebotham (Nonpartisan)
 
1.1
 
1,766
Image of Peter Liu
Peter Liu (Nonpartisan)
 
0.7
 
1,166
Image of Cedric A. Troupe
Cedric A. Troupe (Nonpartisan)
 
0.7
 
1,128
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jesse A.J. Smith (Nonpartisan)
 
0.5
 
743

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 158,618
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2014

See also: Oakland, California municipal elections, 2014

The 2014 Oakland mayoral election took place on November 4, 2014. The filing deadline was August 8, 2014.[5] In the general election, Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf defeated incumbent Jean Quan and candidates Jason "Shake" Anderson, Ken Houston, Rebecca Kaplan, Saied Karamooz, Peter Yuan Liu, Patrick K. McCullough, Bryan Parker, Courtney Ruby, Nancy Sidebotham, Dan Siegel, Joseph Tuman, Charles Ray Williams, and Eric Wilson.[6][7]


Legend:     Eliminated in current round     Most votes     Lost






This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

Mayor of Oakland, 2014, Round 1
Candidate Vote % Votes Transfer
Charles Ray Williams 1% 1,052 1
Dan Siegel 12.9% 13,122 3
Rebecca Kaplan 14.4% 14,693 4
Jason "Shake" Anderson 1.5% 1,550 1
Courtney Ruby 3.1% 3,115 0
Eric Wilson 0.4% 393 0
Saied Karamooz 0.3% 264 1
Patrick K. McCullough 0.4% 362 1
Nancy Sidebotham 0.3% 267 0
Peter Yuan Liu 0.5% 464 1
Joseph Tuman 12% 12,251 0
Ken Houston 0.5% 518 0
Bryan Parker 7.8% 7,955 3
Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf - Most votes 29.5% 30,041 0
Jean Quan 15.5% 15,808 3
Write-in 0% 0 0
Sammuel Washington - Eliminated 0% 33 −33
Exhausted 2,946 15
Total Votes 104,834 0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

This is the final round of voting. To view previous rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

Mayor of Oakland, 2014, Final Round
Candidate Vote % Votes Transfer
Charles Ray Williams 0% 0 0
Dan Siegel 0% 0 0
Rebecca Kaplan - Eliminated 36.8% 28,421 0
Jason "Shake" Anderson 0% 0 0
Courtney Ruby 0% 0 0
Eric Wilson 0% 0 0
Saied Karamooz 0% 0 0
Patrick K. McCullough 0% 0 0
Nancy Sidebotham 0% 0 0
Peter Yuan Liu 0% 0 0
Joseph Tuman 0% 0 0
Ken Houston 0% 0 0
Bryan Parker 0% 0 0
Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf - Winner 63.2% 48,806 0
Jean Quan 0% 0 0
Write-in 0% 0 0
Sammuel Washington 0% 0 0
Exhausted 27,607 0
Total Votes 104,834 0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Libby Schaaf did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

On her campaign website, Schaaf highlighted the following issues and provided bullet points on how she would address them.[8]

Public safety

  • "Work to hire more police officers to protect every Oakland neighborhood and bring the Oakland police department up to full strength."
  • "Speed up police investigations and keep police officers out in our neighborhoods."
  • "Build an improved 911 system to speed up response times so the police come when you call."
  • "Improve neighborhood policing that reduces violence by building trust, identifying the specific needs in the neighborhood, and using data to know where to step in before crime happens."

Education

  • "Make it an Oakland priority to increase graduation rates in city high schools with successful dropout intervention and truancy prevention strategies."
  • "Work with Oakland businesses to create job-training pathways for Oakland high school graduates to help them gain practical skills."
  • "Aggressively pursue strategies to ensure ALL Oakland kids succeed in school — with special focus on correcting unacceptable disparities for underserved communities."

Government transparency

  • "Put an end to wasteful spending practices such as purchasing $1.87 million in police technology systems that were underused or never used at all."
  • "Make information more accessible, champion transparency, and engage residents in decision-making."
  • "Establish a 311 system that allows citizens to report problems like potholes and streetlight outages and hold managers accountable for fixing them."

Jobs

  • "Raise the minimum wage in Oakland to $12.25 per hour."
  • "Make "Made in Oakland" real by growing local manufacturing and providing incentives and assistance to small manufacturing enterprises that hire Oaklanders."
  • "Encourage new startups from high tech incubators and co-work spaces to mobile food vendors and pop-up stores. Help small businesses expand by cutting red tape and streamlining city regulations and permits."


Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Libby Schaaf
EndorseeElectionStageOutcome
Lateefah Simon  source  (D) U.S. House California District 12 (2024) PrimaryWon General
Barbara Lee  source  (D) U.S. Senate California (2024) PrimaryLost Primary
Kamala D. Harris  source President of the United States (2020) Withdrew in Convention
Notable ballot measure endorsements by Libby Schaaf
MeasurePositionOutcome
California Proposition 15, Tax on Commercial and Industrial Properties for Education and Local Government Funding Initiative (2020)  source SupportDefeated
California Proposition 16, Repeal Proposition 209 Affirmative Action Amendment (2020)  source SupportDefeated
California Proposition 21, Local Rent Control Initiative (2020)  source SupportDefeated
California Proposition 27, Legalize Sports Betting and Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Fund Initiative (2022)  source SupportDefeated
California Proposition 30, Tax on Income Above $2 Million for Zero-Emissions Vehicles and Wildfire Prevention Initiative (2022)  source SupportDefeated
Oakland, California, Measure S1, Police Oversight and Inspector General Charter Amendment (November 2020)  source SupportApproved

Noteworthy events

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Schaaf was mayor of Oakland during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Oakland, California, began on Thursday, May 28, 2020.[9] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

Candidate

California Treasurer
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The New York Times, "The Next Class of California Political Leaders," December 7, 2016
    2. ↑ Oakland Magazine, "In the Mayor’s Race, Will Oakland Become the Next Boston?" October 1, 2018
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Libby Schaff, "About," accessed December 2, 2014
    4. ↑ Libby for Oakland, "About," accessed December 2, 2014
    5. ↑ City of Oakland, "Municipal Election November 4, 2014," accessed March 10, 2014
    6. ↑ Alameda County, "Official 2014 Candidate List," accessed September 10, 2014
    7. ↑ Alameda County, "Unofficial election results," accessed November 5, 2014
    8. ↑ Libby for Mayor, "Issues," accessed September 19, 2014
    9. ↑ KPIX, "Peaceful Protesters Marched In Oakland Demanding Justice For George Floyd," May 28, 2020
    10. ↑ Washington Post, "The death of George Floyd: What video and other records show about his final minutes," May 30, 2020
    11. ↑ The New York Times, "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody," May 31, 2020
    12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 USA Today, "Medical examiner and family-commissioned autopsy agree: George Floyd's death was a homicide," June 1, 2020
    13. ↑ Associated Press, "Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death," April 20, 2021
    14. ↑ CNN, "Protests across America after George Floyd's death," accessed June 2, 2020
    15. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named chi1

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Jean Quan     		Mayor of Oakland
    2015-2023    		 Succeeded by
    Sheng Thao
    Preceded by
    -     		Oakland City Council District 4
    		Succeeded by
    -
    v • e
    2018 Municipal Elections
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