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The news that Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan may be the next Mayor of Oakland has outraged Oakland Police Officers. This blogger just got a call this evening from a long time friend who's name I will not reveal and who's working "out in the field" on the streets of Oakland after the Mehserle verdict, who said "Hey. It's busy out here, people on the street, but we've got it really well contained. We're way over-prepared for this, this time."  (Which explains why he was able to take time to call this blogger.) Then his tone changed. This is someone who doesn't get that upset a lot; not this time. He said "You know me. I generally don't pay attention to politics, but whoa! This shit out here is nothing compared to what I was told. You're politically in the know, so I call on you. Is it true, we're going to have Jean Quan as our Mayor!? If that's the case, I'm outta Oakland, and I'm taking as many people as...

The unthinkable just happened. Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan outpaced Former California State Senator Don Perata 51 percent to 48 percent and unofficially won the Oakland Mayor's Race.  If the results hold, Quan becomes Oakland's first female mayor and its first Asian mayor. This news is according to the Alameda County Registrar's Office . Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, if these results hold up. The numbers are really, really close. The results, the product of the new Ranked Choice Voting system, went through 10 computerized rounds. Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Councilmember Kaplan transferred the largest number of votes, so it must be surmised that their strategy of supporting each other actually worked. If you think about it, and look at the numbers, that means three-fourths of the second choice results were for Jean Quan. That's amazing. This is really funny, in a good way. It means the system worked, even if some may n...

In a small press conference Thursday, Oakland Councilmember and City Council President Jane Brunner and Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim sat down to talk about the election and the status of Oakland Police staffing. Well, it was really all about Oakland Police staffing, and not so much about the ranked choice voting election. Oakland Mayor-Elect Don Perata (which we can say because his 11 point first vote lead coupled with the first and second choices yet to be counted puts him closest to the needed 50 percent majority), said at his election party that his first action as Mayor of Oakland will be to reinstate the 80 police officer positions eliminated to trim Oakland's huge budget deficit. Here's the video containing Perata's comments at the 4:28 mark: Don Perata's proposed action was met with some hesitation from new Oakland District 4 (Montclair - Oakland Hills) Councilmember Libby Schaaf, who said that she wasn't willing to rubber stamp Pe...

If first choice results hold under Ranked Choice Voting, and given his 11 percent lead, there's little reason to think otherwise, Don Perata will be Oakland's Mayor-Elect. Mayor-Elect Perata got 35 percent of the first choice votes; the full results will be by Friday, but his lead's large enough to pull the top Oakland politicians, from Councilmember Larry Reid to AC Transit Executive Director (and former Alameda County Supervisor) Mary King to his party at Z-Cafe on 27th and Broadway. But in apparent victory, Perata set up what will be his first political battle of his mayoral term: the reinstatement of 80 Oakland Police Officers. Laying off 80 Oakland Police Officers this year was a controversial move to cut the City of Oakland's budget, and caused a packed City Council meeting where police officers listened to a community that didn't seem to like them very much. Not so Don Perata. Asked on video to come by this video-blogger what his first move will b...

Today marks the end of a long and exciting Oakland Mayor's Race. This blogger has talked extensively on and off camera with all 10 of the candidates, created over 300 minutes of video interviews, and read a lot of information on all of them. Former State Senator Don Perata who will be the best choice for Mayor. The simple reason is, for all of the issues lobbed at him, Perata is a leader who gets things done. That written, political newcomer Joe Tuman is the second choice, followed by At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. This was tough, because for a long time, Perata's run for Mayor was a surprise in that a higher office seemed the more logical direction - like Senator. But Perata, for some years now, has expressed desire to be Mayor of Oakland, got an early start, kept his focus, and never looked away. Perata followed the advise then-Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris gave to me more than once: make sure they're always talking about you. And everyone has. Meanwhile, P...

Arnie Fields is, from this bloggers view, the unofficial Mayor of Oakland. The block of 7th Street that runs next to the BART tracks and contains the BART West Oakland Station, is marked by "Fields For Mayor" signs, all over the place. Only a billboard for "Marcie Fields For Mayor" provides a momentary break from the "Fields For Mayor" images. That, and Fields owns the popular Revolutionary Cafe that's in the middle of the block at 1612 7th Street, which also has his signs. Arnie Field may not win the race for Mayor of Oakland, but Fields is certainly a force in Oakland. Arnie Fields is an energetic, friendly, and knowledgeable Oaklander who's primary reason for running for Mayor is his anger with former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, who he describes as a "kook." This blogger reminded Fields that that "kook" was about to become Governor of California - or so it looked - and Fields said "I hope not." Arnie Field...

Peralta Community College District Board Member Marcy Hodge has labored as one of the lesser known candidates, who's activity in the Oakland Mayor's Race was punctuated by having her sister Nicole Hodge file a defamation lawsuit against The East Bay Express . In the video interview, Hodge talks about why she decided to run for Mayor and her approach. Hodge says she decided to run for mayor because she didn't think any of the candidates were talking about the issues Oaklanders were dealing with. "I didn't really feel really excited about the candidates." She's ran a campaign that features billboards and lawn signs all over Oakland.  What's interesting is as this day approached, more and more "Marcie Hodge" lawn signs have appeared around Oakland.  A signal that some Oaklanders had not decided on a candidate and were swayed toward Hodge. The East Bay Express and Hodge Robert Gammon has, for some reason, consistently and dangero...