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Mayoral election in Oakland, California (2018)
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 22
- Early voting: Oct. 8 - Nov. 5
- Absentee voting deadline: Postmark Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Voter ID: No
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
2020 →
← 2016
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| 2018 Oakland elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: August 10, 2018 |
| General election: November 6, 2018 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor, City council, Auditor |
| Total seats up: 5 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2018 |
Oakland also held elections for city council and auditor. Click here for more information about those races.
Incumbent Mayor Libby Schaaf won re-election against nine challengers. Schaaf became the city's first two-term incumbent since Jerry Brown, who served as mayor from 1999 to 2007.[1]
Schaaf campaigned on her work in office addressing affordable housing in the city, saying she launched the 17K/17K plan, which she said would "provide 17,000 new units of housing and protect 17,000 residents from displacement by 2024." She said her priority for the four years following the election was to "continue to build education equity," and listed raising money to send kids to college, giving parents college savings accounts, and working for free preschool as ways she has achieved this in office.[2]
Media sources identified activist Cat Brooks and civil rights attorney Pamela Price as frontrunners in the race.[3] Both framed themselves as running to the left of the mayor.[4] Brooks listed five campaign priorities: "housing and dignity for all, real solutions for public safety, improve education, build an economy that works for everyone, [and] create one, united Oakland."[5] Price said the city's biggest opportunity was developing affordable housing and "shifting the dynamics of the racial and income inequality that is destroying the fabric of our community."[6]
Elections
Candidates
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 | ||
| ✔ |  | Libby Schaaf (Nonpartisan) | 53.3 | 84,502 |
 | Cat Brooks (Nonpartisan) | 25.7 | 40,760 | |
 | Pamela Price (Nonpartisan) | 13.1 | 20,794 | |
 | Saied Karamooz (Nonpartisan) | 1.9 | 3,005 | |
 | Ken Houston (Nonpartisan) | 1.7 | 2,640 | |
| Marchon Tatmon (Nonpartisan) | 1.3 | 2,114 | ||
 | Nancy Sidebotham (Nonpartisan) | 1.1 | 1,766 | |
 | Peter Liu (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 1,166 | |
 | Cedric A. Troupe (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 1,128 | |
| Jesse A.J. Smith (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 743 | ||
| Total votes: 158,618 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
The following table details campaign finance information submitted by mayoral candidates as of October 2, 2018.[7]
| Mayoral campaign finance amounts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures |
| Libby Schaaf (i) | $458,393 | $137,069 |
| Cat Brooks | $110,324 | $74,987 |
| Ken Houston | - | - |
| Saied Karamooz | $181,407 | $3,244 |
| Peter Yuan Liu | - | - |
| Pamela Price | $72,018 | $24,124 |
| Nancy Sidebotham | - | - |
| Jesse A.J. Smith | - | - |
| Marchon Tatmon | $17,685 | $19,945 |
| Cedric A. Troupe | - | - |
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2018
Debates and forums
September 26 debate
A debate was held for the candidates running for mayor in Oakland, California, on September 26. Incumbent Libby Schaaf and candidates Pamela Price, Marchon Tatmon, and Cat Brooks were in attendance.
Schaaf campaigned by emphasizing her opposition to President Trump’s immigration policies. “I also am proud when we stood up to Donald Trump when he came for people in our community,” she said during the debate. Schaaf was referring to an instance earlier in 2018 where she warned immigrants who had entered the country without legal permission of a planned raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.[8]
Price focused on the presence of the technology industry in Oakland. “We cannot afford to have development that is not balanced, that does not leave behind and destroy the fabric of this community.”[8]
Tatman spoke about the city’s homeless population. He said the city’s high rent figures contribute to the problem. “Everything doubled in the past four years except wages,” he said.[8]
Brooks said the city was broken and that Schaaf “disrespects and disregards the voices of our most impacted Oakland community members.”[8]
Municipal partisanship
Once mayors elected in 2018 assumed office, Democrats held mayorships in 61 of the 100 largest cities in the country. Out of the twenty-five mayoral elections that were held in 2018 in the 100 largest cities, two party changes occurred. In the election in Lexington, Kentucky, Republican Linda Gorton won the seat, replacing former Democratic Mayor Jim Gray. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, Republican Bob Dyer won the seat, replacing former independent Mayor Louis Jones. Click here to learn more.
About the city
- See also: Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in California. It is the county seat of Alameda County. As of 2010, its population was 390,724.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city government of Oakland combines a council-manager system with a strong mayor system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive. The mayor, however, appoints a city manager to oversee the city's day-to-day operations and execute city policies.[9]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Oakland, California | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oakland | California | |
| Population | 390,724 | 37,253,956 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 55 | 155,857 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 35.5% | 59.7% |
| Black/African American | 23.8% | 5.8% |
| Asian | 15.5% | 14.5% |
| Native American | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 16.9% | 14% |
| Multiple | 6.9% | 4.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 27% | 39% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 82.6% | 83.3% |
| College graduation rate | 44% | 33.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $73,692 | $75,235 |
| Persons below poverty level | 16.7% | 13.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
| Oakland, California | California | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Oakland City Clerk, "View Candidates Running for Office," accessed August 22, 2018
- ↑ ABC7 Bay Area, "Schaaf Questionnaire," accessed October 31, 2018
- ↑ Mercury News, "Nine candidates are seeking to oust Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf this November. Do they have a chance?," October 19, 2018
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Oakland’s woes may not be enough to spoil Schaaf's quest for second term," October 9, 2018
- ↑ ABC7 Bay Area, "Brooks Questionnaire," accessed October 31, 2018
- ↑ ABC7 Bay Area, "Price Questionnaire," accessed October 31, 2018
- ↑ Open Disclosure Oakland, "Mayor," accessed October 2, 2018
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Fox News, "Libby Schaaf, Oakland's anti-Trump, anti-ICE mayor, facing election rivals who focus on local issues," September 26, 2018
- ↑ City of Oakland, "City Government 101," accessed August 26, 2014
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