Current:Home > FinanceVoters in Oakland oust Mayor Sheng Thao just 2 years into her term -Trailblazer Capital Learning
Voters in Oakland oust Mayor Sheng Thao just 2 years into her term
View
Date:2025-04-17 19:38:27
Follow AP’s coverage of the election and what happens next.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Voters in Oakland, California, have ousted Mayor Sheng Thao just two years after she narrowly won office to lead the liberal San Francisco Bay Area city.
The Associated Press called the race Monday.
“Thank you for choosing me to serve as your Mayor. As the first Hmong American woman to become the mayor of a major American City, it has been the honor of my lifetime,” she said in a statement last week.
She committed to ensuring a smooth transition.
Thao must vacate the office as soon as election results are certified Dec. 5 and the Oakland City Council declares a vacancy at its next meeting, which would be Dec. 17, Nikki Fortunato Bas, City Council president, said in a statement.
A special election for a new mayor will be held within 120 days, or roughly four months.
Until then, Bas — as president of the City Council — would serve as interim mayor unless she wins a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. As of Monday, Bas was trailing in that race.
Thao was elected mayor in November 2022 and became the first Hmong American to lead a major city. She faced criticism almost immediately after taking office for firing popular Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. Frustrated voters, including the local NAACP, blamed Thao for a long list of city woes related to public safety, homelessness and the city’s budget.
In her statement, Thao said she was proud of her administration’s accomplishments.
Thao was not the only official booted from office in Tuesday’s election. Pamela Price, district attorney for Alameda County, which includes Oakland, also was ousted by voters in a recall election. Critics of both Thao and Price disagreed with the officials’ progressive politics.
Thao went into Tuesday’s election weakened by an FBI raid in June of her home — along with properties owned by a politically influential family that controls the city’s recycling contract. Thao has maintained her innocence and authorities have not said what they are investigating.
Oakland uses a ranked choice voting system that allows voters to list multiple choices in order of preference. Thao narrowly beat Loren Taylor in 2022 despite getting fewer first-place votes than Taylor.
Oakland has about 400,000 residents and is, at times, more politically liberal than San Francisco. It is Vice President Kamala Harris’ hometown.
In recent years, Oakland has lost three professional sports franchises, including Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent state highway patrol officers, state prosecutors, and surveillance cameras to help Oakland battle crime.
veryGood! (26515)
Related
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- 2 officers wounded by gunfire at home that later erupts in flames in Philadelphia suburb
- Pod of orcas seen trapped by thick sea ice off northern Japan believed to be free
- Montana man is found guilty in Jan. 6 insurrection
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Ex-QB Art Schlichter pulled over, hands officer crack pipe while on probation, police say
- ACLU settles for $500k with a Tennessee city in fight over an anti-drag ordinance
- Your Heart Will Go On After Seeing Céline Dion Sing During Rare Public Appearance Céline Dion
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Super Bowl Sunday: The game, the parties, the teams—what's America's favorite part?
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Studies cited in case over abortion pill are retracted due to flaws and conflicts of interest
- It's no surprise there's a global measles outbreak. But the numbers are 'staggering'
- Sebastián Piñera, former president of Chile, dies in helicopter accident
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Self-proclaimed pastor accused of leading starvation cult in Kenya pleads not guilty to 191 child murders
- Despite Trump's absence in Nevada GOP primary, Haley finishes second behind none of these candidates
- Family fast track: 9-year-old girl coached by great-grandfather eyes BMX championship
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Horoscopes Today, February 7, 2024
WrestleMania 40 kickoff: Time, how to watch, what to expect at Las Vegas press conference
Prince Harry back in U.K. to be with his father following King Charles' cancer diagnosis
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Britney Spears Reveals She Forgot She Made Out With Ben Affleck
Snoop Dogg sues Walmart and Post, claiming they sabotaged cereal brands
Satellite images show scale of Chile deadly wildfires, destroyed neighborhoods