Michael Houston

Michael Houston

Nonpartisan

Oakland City Auditor

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor: Courtney Ruby

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Sonoma State University, 2001

Graduate

University of California, Berkeley, 2006

Personal

Birthplace

San Francisco, CA

Profession

Auditor

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Michael Houston is the Oakland City Auditor in California. He assumed office on May 3, 2023. His current term ends in 2027.

Houston ran in a special election for Oakland City Auditor in California. He won in the special general election on March 5, 2024.

Houston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Michael Houston was born in San Francisco, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from Sonoma State University in 2001 and a graduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006. His career experience includes working as an auditor.

Elections

2024

See also: City elections in Oakland, California (2024)

General election

General election for Oakland City Auditor

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Michael Houston in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Michael Houston	100	61,966	0	Won (1)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 61,966
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Houston in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Houston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Houston's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Michael C. Houston's 15-plus-year career as a government auditor has been productive, having led to findings and recommendations that, among other things, have led to optimized resource deployment, stronger safeguards to protect public resources, and cost savings for residents and taxpayers.

Currently as Oakland's Acting City Auditor, and as Oakland's Assistant City Auditor between 2021 and 2023, Michael supervised audits of homelessness services, business tax refunds, emergency medical services, paramedic services, the City's financial condition, and public campaign financing. As former City Auditor Courtney Ruby's Whistleblower Manager, Michael managed the Whistleblower Program to deter and detect fraud, waste, and abuse within the City of Oakland , and through investigations, substantiated allegations of wrongdoing that affected City resources.

Prior to joining the Oakland City Auditor's Office, Michael directed the internal audit and investigation functions at Cal State University East Bay, and worked in the San Jose City Auditor's Office, where he was an auditor for over 10 years.

Michael is a Certified Internal Auditor, and has a Master of Public Policy degree from U.C. Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Sonoma State University.

Michael lives in West Oakland's Prescott neighborhood.

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?

• When elected, Michael will continue to to advocate good government and the responsible stewardship of tax dollars through timely and rigorous performance audits and investigations into allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse.
• Michael will work to identify what Oaklanders spend on various services and operations, and what Oaklanders get from that spending. This includes identifying ways the City can utilize data-driven performance metrics for improved transparency and responsible decision-making.
• Michael will proactively engage residents, local businesses, and other stakeholders to identify the areas that matter most to them, and may warrant auditing and investigating.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Good government

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Auditors assess programs' performance and identify ways they can improve. Auditors also verify that organizations comply with laws and regulations, and confirm that information organizations present is accurate. To do this work free from interference, Oakland’s City Auditor is elected by and reports directly to Oaklanders.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

In January 1986, when I was seven years old, I witnessed the launch and explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on live television in my second grade classroom. I was young, but understood how the incident shocked and saddened our nation. Today, as an auditor, I've recognized this disaster as a case study for illustrating group-think bias, peer and political pressure, and communication failure.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

former Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, current Berkeley City Auditor Jenny Wong, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, former Berkeley City Auditor Anne-Marie Hogan, Sacramento City Auditor Jorge Oseguera, San Jose City Auditor Joe Rois, San Jose Assistant City Auditor Gitanjali Mandrekar, former Los Angeles Controller Laura Chick, Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector Henry Levy, Alameda County Assessor Phong La, and former San Jose City Auditor Sharon Erickson. Organizational endorsements: the Alameda County Democratic Party, the East Bay Young Democrats, the Latine Young Democrats of East Bay, the Metropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic Club, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21.

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.

Note: Houston submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on February 25, 2024.

Show past responsesHide past responses

February 20 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

For over 15 years, Michael has conducted and led a wide range of audits and investigations in government settings. This work has been productive, having led to findings and recommendations that, among other things, led to efficiencies, stronger safeguards to protect public resources, and cost savings for residents and tax payers. As Oakland's Assistant City Auditor between 2021 and 2023, Michael supervised audits of homelessness services, business tax refunds, emergency medical services, paramedic services, the City's financial condition, and public campaign financing. As the Oakland City Auditor's Whistleblower Program manager between 2019 and 2021, Michael led efforts to deter and detect fraud, waste, and abuse within City Hall, and through investigations, substantiated allegations of wrongdoing that affected City resources. Prior to joining the Oakland City Auditor's Office, Michael directed the internal audit and investigation functions at Cal State University East Bay, and worked in the San Jose City Auditor's Office, where he was an auditor for over 10 years. Michael is a Certified Internal Auditor, and has a Master of Public Policy degree from U.C. Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Sonoma State University. Michael lives in West Oakland’s Prescott neighborhood.

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?

• When elected, Michael will continue to promote good government and the responsible stewardship of tax dollars through timely and rigorous performance audits and investigations into allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse.
• Michael will identify and publicly report on what Oaklanders spend on various services and operations, and what Oaklanders get from that spending. This includes identifying ways the City can utilize data-driven performance metrics for improved transparency and responsible decision-making.
• Michael will proactively engage residents, local businesses, and other stakeholders to identify the areas that matter most to the them and may warrant auditing and investigating.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Good government

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My parents! Both were government employees who exposed me to the personal fulfillment possible from serving the public interest. In my opinion, city government is particularly rewarding because cities are responsible for delivering public safety services, recreation services, and other essential services that “touch” residents, businesses, and visitors on a daily basis.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Auditors assess the performance of policies and programs, and identify ways they can work better. Auditors also verify that organizations are compliant with laws and regulations, and verify that information organizations present is accurate.
To do this work free from interference, Oakland’s City Auditor is independent from the Mayor, City Council, and City Administration, and is elected by and reports directly to Oaklanders.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Individuals: former Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, current Berkeley City Auditor Jenny Wong, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, Sacramento City Auditor Jorge Oseguera, San Jose City Auditor Joe Rois, San Jose Assistant City Auditor Gitanjali Mandrekar, Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector Henry Levy, Alameda County Assessor Phong La, former Los Angeles Controller Laura Chick, former Berkeley City Auditor Anne-Marie Hogan, former San Jose City Auditor Sharon Erickson.

Organizations: the Alameda County Democratic Party, International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees (IFPTE) Local 21, East Bay Young Democrats, Latine Young Democrats - East Bay, the Metropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic Club

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.

Note: Houston submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on February 20, 2024.

External links

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Candidate

Oakland City Auditor

Website

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Courtney Ruby	Oakland City Auditor 2023-Present	Succeeded by -