Sheng Thao

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Sheng Thao

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Oakland City Council District 4

Successor: Janani Ramachandran

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Mayor of Oakland

Successor: Nikki Fortunato Bas

Predecessor: Libby Schaaf

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Sheng Thao was the Mayor of Oakland in California. She assumed office on January 2, 2023. She left office on December 17, 2024.

Thao lost her position in the recall election on November 5, 2024.

Municipal elections in Oakland are nonpartisan. Thao is a Democrat.

Biography

Thao received a bachelor's degree in legal studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Thao worked as council aide to the Oakland City Council president pro tempore from 2014 to 2015 and as chief of staff to the councilmember at-large from 2014 to 2019.

Elections

2024

See also:  Sheng Thao recall, Oakland, California (2024)

Sheng Thao recall, 2024

Sheng Thao lost the Mayor of Oakland recall election on November 5, 2024.

			Recall  Vote	%	Votes
		✖	Yes	60.6	86,535
			No	39.4	56,220
			Total Votes		142,755

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It has been certified. Source

2022

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

General election

General election for Mayor of Oakland

Select round: Round 9 Round 8 Round 7 Round 6 Round 5 Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Sheng Thao 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.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	50.3	57,206	4,116	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	49.7	56,529	6,110	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	0.0	0	-16,538	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	0.0	0	0	8
		Treva Reid	0.0	0	0	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	0.0	0	0	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	0.0	0	0	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	0.0	0	0	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	44.2	53,090	8,430	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	42.0	50,419	2,162	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	13.8	16,538	1,053	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	0.0	0	-14,149	8
		Treva Reid	0.0	0	0	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	0.0	0	0	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	0.0	0	0	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	0.0	0	0	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	36.4	44,660	2,017	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	39.4	48,257	3,612	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	12.6	15,485	970	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	11.5	14,149	1,056	8
		Treva Reid	0.0	0	-9,022	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	0.0	0	0	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	0.0	0	0	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	0.0	0	0	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	34.4	42,643	1,564	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	36.0	44,645	1,739	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	11.7	14,515	585	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	10.6	13,093	1,294	8
		Treva Reid	7.3	9,022	744	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	0.0	0	-6,886	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	0.0	0	0	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	0.0	0	0	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	32.9	41,079	443	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	34.4	42,906	936	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	11.2	13,930	671	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	9.4	11,799	325	8
		Treva Reid	6.6	8,278	304	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	5.5	6,886	760	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	0.0	0	-4,151	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	0.0	0	0	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	32.4	40,636	241	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	33.4	41,970	113	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	10.6	13,259	87	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	9.1	11,474	296	8
		Treva Reid	6.3	7,974	95	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	4.9	6,126	140	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	3.3	4,151	195	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	0.0	0	-1,391	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	32.1	40,395	268	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	33.3	41,857	80	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	10.5	13,172	80	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	8.9	11,178	63	8
		Treva Reid	6.3	7,879	57	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	4.8	5,986	53	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	3.1	3,956	100	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	1.1	1,391	69	4
		Peter Liu	0.0	0	-1,000	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	31.8	40,127	218	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	33.1	41,777	267	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	10.4	13,092	199	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	8.8	11,115	166	8
		Treva Reid	6.2	7,822	195	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	4.7	5,933	135	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	3.1	3,856	111	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	1.0	1,322	54	4
		Peter Liu	0.8	1,000	40	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.0	0	-863	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Sheng Thao	31.8	39,909	0	Won (9)
		Loren Taylor	33.1	41,510	0	9
	Submit photo	Ignacio De La Fuente	10.3	12,893	0	9
	Submit photo	Allyssa Victory Villanueva	8.7	10,949	0	8
		Treva Reid	6.1	7,627	0	7
	Submit photo	Gregory Hodge	4.6	5,798	0	6
	Submit photo	Seneca Scott	3.0	3,745	0	5
	Submit photo	John Reimann	1.0	1,268	0	4
		Peter Liu	0.8	960	0	3
		Tyron Jordan	0.7	863	0	2

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 125,522
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Oakland, California (2018)

General election

General election for Oakland City Council District 4

The following candidates ran in the general election for Oakland City Council District 4 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheng Thao (Nonpartisan)	54.1	11,736
	Submit photo	Pamela Harris (Nonpartisan)	45.9	9,960
		Matt Hummel (Nonpartisan)	0.0	0
	Submit photo	Nayeli Maxson (Nonpartisan)	0.0	0
	Submit photo	Charles Michelson (Nonpartisan)	0.0	0
	Submit photo	Joseph Simmons (Nonpartisan)	0.0	0
	Submit photo	Joseph Tanios (Nonpartisan)	0.0	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,696
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ranked-choice voting rounds

Full ranked-choice voting results may be viewed by clicking [show] at the right.

Oakland City Council District 4 General seventh round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 54.09% 11,736      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 45.91% 9,960      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 0.00% 0 Total Votes 21,696 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019 Oakland City Council District 4 General sixth round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 42.97% 10,011      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 35.59% 8,291      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 21.44% 4,994      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 0.00% 0 Total Votes 23,296 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019 Oakland City Council District 4 General fifth round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 37.57% 9,190      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 31.43% 7,688      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 18.20% 4,452      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 12.79% 3,129      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 0.00% 0 Total Votes 24,459 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019 Oakland City Council District 4 General fourth round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 36.33% 8,999      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 29.34% 7,267      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 17.34% 4,295      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 11.85% 2,934      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 5.14% 1,273      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 0.00% 0      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 0.00% 0 Total Votes 24,768 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019 Oakland City Council District 4 General third round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 35.39% 8,855      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 27.65% 6,920      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 16.78% 4,199      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 11.44% 2,862      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 4.83% 1,208      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 3.91% 979      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 0.00% 0 Total Votes 25,023 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019 Oakland City Council District 4 General second round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 34.70% 8,750      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 27.06% 6,825      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 16.20% 4,086      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 11.04% 2,783      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 4.53% 1,142      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 3.70% 934      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 2.77% 699 Total Votes 25,219 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019 The first round eliminated the write-in votes. There were no write-in votes. Oakland City Council District 4 General first round, 2018 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheng Thao 34.70% 8,750      Nonpartisan Pamela Harris 27.06% 6,825      Nonpartisan Nayeli Maxson 16.20% 4,086      Nonpartisan Charles Michelson 11.04% 2,783      Nonpartisan Matt Hummel 4.53% 1,142      Nonpartisan Joseph Simmons 3.70% 934      Nonpartisan Joseph Tanios 2.77% 699 Write-in votes 0% 0 Total Votes 25,219 Source: Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Member, City Council, Dist. 4 - Oakland (Certified Final Results)," accessed March 5, 2019

Campaign themes

2022

Sheng Thao did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Noteworthy events

FBI raid (2024)

On June 20, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Thao's home. A spokesperson for the bureau confirmed in a statement that "the FBI is conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity" near Thao's house.

In a press conference, Thao said, "I want to be crystal clear. I have done nothing wrong. I can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me."

On January 17, 2025, Thao was indicted on six charges of federal corruption, including bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

2024 Recall

On June 18, 2024, a campaign trying to remove Oakland’s mayor submitted enough signatures to place the recall on the ballot for the general election on November 5, 2024.

Thao lost her position in the recall election on November 5, 2024.

See also

2022 Elections

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Candidate

Mayor of Oakland

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Libby Schaaf	Mayor of Oakland 2023-2024	Succeeded by Nikki Fortunato Bas
Preceded by -	Oakland City Council District 4 2019-2023	Succeeded by Janani Ramachandran