Barbara Lee elected Oakland’s next mayor over Loren Taylor

OAKLAND — Barbara Lee, the retired congresswoman seen as a stabilizing force for a city in a crisis of leadership, has been elected Oakland’s next mayor over former Councilmember Loren Taylor, the latest results released Friday show.

Lee held a 52.6% to 47.3% over Taylor in ranked-choice results, a difference of nearly 5,000 votes, in the new returns.

And she has a little over 50% of first-place votes to Taylor’s 45% — a majority that would give her the win outright, without an instant runoff, if it held in the final election results.

Charlene Wang emerged victorious in a race for an Oakland City Council seat, leading runner-up Kara Murray-Badal 59% to 40% in ranked-choice results. Voters also approved by 65% a new sales tax intended to ease the city’s budget crisis.

Alameda County election officials said Tuesday they had counted all ballots on hand. More are expected to arrive by mail over the weekend, but county Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis said his office received only 90 new ballots on Friday.

The county also needs to cure about 300 ballots that were improperly filed before arriving to the elections office.

The number of outstanding ballots does not appear to be enough for Taylor to overcome his deficit against Lee, who will now lead a city that faced a leadership vacuum following the removal of ex-Mayor Sheng Thao last November.

Lee’s political star power made her the early favorite, but she faced a formidable challenge from Taylor, who took an early lead on election night — just as he did before losing to Thao in the 2022 election.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland. Call or text him at 510-905-5495 or email him at shomik@bayareanewsgroup.com.