Mayor, City of Oakland
Source: alamedacountyca.gov
This race uses ranked-choice voting: rank the candidates in order of preference. How it works
What does this office do?
- Proposing the city budget, in many cities
- Picking who leads city departments, such as the police chief, in many cities
- Signing or vetoing council bills, in many cities
Affects: Environment and Public Health, Government Efficiency, Government Spending Reduction,
Candidates:
Barbara Lee
WonNonpartisan · Incumbent
Barbara Lee has been Oakland's mayor since 2025 and represented the East Bay in Congress for more than 25 years. Her stated priorities are crime prevention, changes to the city charter, and cleaning up illegal dumping.
Records: Government Spending Reduction 1 for
Nonpartisan
Brenda Grisham is an East Oakland business owner who founded a nonprofit for families who lost loved ones to gun violence and led the 2024 recall of the county's district attorney. She wants stricter gun laws and more money for violence prevention programs.
Records: Public Safety and Crime Control 2 for
Julius Robinson
LostNonpartisan
Julius Robinson grew up in Watts and has spent more than 40 years in banking and community investment. He lists safer neighborhoods, good jobs and help for small businesses, more housing, and a more open City Hall as priorities.
Nonpartisan
Mindy Pechenuk is an Oakland educator and activist with a music degree from Queens College who has worked on drug prevention since the 1970s. She wants more police, safer streets, and faster city permits, and wants to end the city's police commission.
Source: alamedacountyca.gov