East Oakland had a disproportionately low influence due very low voter turnout, but slightly favored Lee. West Oakland/Temescal and district 4 dominated voter turnout, but favored opposing candidates.
Sadly, the public employees unions own Oakland politics. They are by far the largest contributors to political campaigns. And the so-called independent expenditure political funds provide dishonest last minute hit pieces. Statewide reform is needed to disrupt the pipeline from mandatory union dues to political action spending.
Absurd. Taylor won, as he did previously. But got *cancelled*, in order that the quagmire of corruption, corporate greed, ethnic cleansing, minimalization of law enforcement, backhanders, and the pimpimg out of Oakland to greed, construction contracts, and hideous construction projects can avoid being held in check and be held accountable.
We will NEVER be Manhattan. This entire council needs to be replaced, with the exception of possibly 2 members.
I’m sad that Barbara Lee won. I’ve tried to reach her multiple times as a congressman and she didn’t even respond to a single email or a phone call.
Solid article. Low turnout usually favors the status quo, in this case progressives won, which I'm not surprised. The SF Chronicle article that you cited (https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/oakland-voting-blocs/) describing the voting blocs was really useful adding to the already mix of interest groups, power blocs, and voting patterns, etc. seems to me that coalition building has always been challenging. But this caught my eye: "The city’s unions, building trades and most of the current council members have backed Lee, whereas Taylor has gathered support from residents who supported the recalls of Thao and former Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price." That's a very limited coalition, and Taylor didn't win on that or his messaging/platform. This seemed like a missed opportunity for Taylor to fashion an aspirational coalition during these difficult times.
The corrupt status quo wins again. There are people in Oakland who are so delusional that they foolishly believe that Ms. Lee will magically tap into a pipeline of federal funds and make all deficits disappear! The fantasy continues.
Thank you Tim for this insightful article. Many voters are uninformed and Lee had the name recognition and was backed by the Democratic Party and that is all it takes to win a vote. We need people to be more tuned into what is happening in the City and be more active participants. The Oaklandside article in which a reporter went to the Lake Merritt Farmers market to talk to residents about the upcoming election highlights this. https://oaklandside.org/2025/03/19/oakland-special-election-voters-opinions-lee-taylor/
This is a solid first pass at the election results. A deeper dive is still needed into the demographic breakdowns and precinct-level vote differences within each city council district. Age, ethnicity, education level, and gender will be critical factors in understanding the outcome.
My bet is we’ll see echoes of the November election, particularly signs of the continued fragmentation of the Obama coalition. Given Barbara Lee’s long tenure, name recognition, and prior popularity, a relatively close race like this amounts to a rebuke.
The revelations about her business dealings that surfaced during the campaign are unlikely to fade—they’ll likely persist and grow. And if her campaign manager’s gloating tone reflects Lee’s own posture, it may only serve to energize the opposition who see opportunity in the fracture of the national party. Comparisons to San Francisco’s Mayor Lurie—assuming his continued success—will be drawn at every opportunity.
"Given Barbara Lee’s long tenure, name recognition, and prior popularity, a relatively close race like this amounts to a rebuke."
This. The fact that the so-called progressives had to bring out their #1 potential candidate to barely beat Loren Taylor shows they might be in trouble. This was a special election, though; her reelection campaign will be on the regular calendar and will favor her even more.
Sadly, the public employees unions own Oakland politics. They are by far the largest contributors to political campaigns. And the so-called independent expenditure political funds provide dishonest last minute hit pieces. Statewide reform is needed to disrupt the pipeline from mandatory union dues to political action spending.
Absurd. Taylor won, as he did previously. But got *cancelled*, in order that the quagmire of corruption, corporate greed, ethnic cleansing, minimalization of law enforcement, backhanders, and the pimpimg out of Oakland to greed, construction contracts, and hideous construction projects can avoid being held in check and be held accountable.
We will NEVER be Manhattan. This entire council needs to be replaced, with the exception of possibly 2 members.
I’m sad that Barbara Lee won. I’ve tried to reach her multiple times as a congressman and she didn’t even respond to a single email or a phone call.
Solid article. Low turnout usually favors the status quo, in this case progressives won, which I'm not surprised. The SF Chronicle article that you cited (https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/oakland-voting-blocs/) describing the voting blocs was really useful adding to the already mix of interest groups, power blocs, and voting patterns, etc. seems to me that coalition building has always been challenging. But this caught my eye: "The city’s unions, building trades and most of the current council members have backed Lee, whereas Taylor has gathered support from residents who supported the recalls of Thao and former Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price." That's a very limited coalition, and Taylor didn't win on that or his messaging/platform. This seemed like a missed opportunity for Taylor to fashion an aspirational coalition during these difficult times.
I am still reeling. Oaklanders don’t seem to want change.
The corrupt status quo wins again. There are people in Oakland who are so delusional that they foolishly believe that Ms. Lee will magically tap into a pipeline of federal funds and make all deficits disappear! The fantasy continues.
Thank you Tim for this insightful article. Many voters are uninformed and Lee had the name recognition and was backed by the Democratic Party and that is all it takes to win a vote. We need people to be more tuned into what is happening in the City and be more active participants. The Oaklandside article in which a reporter went to the Lake Merritt Farmers market to talk to residents about the upcoming election highlights this. https://oaklandside.org/2025/03/19/oakland-special-election-voters-opinions-lee-taylor/
This is a solid first pass at the election results. A deeper dive is still needed into the demographic breakdowns and precinct-level vote differences within each city council district. Age, ethnicity, education level, and gender will be critical factors in understanding the outcome.
My bet is we’ll see echoes of the November election, particularly signs of the continued fragmentation of the Obama coalition. Given Barbara Lee’s long tenure, name recognition, and prior popularity, a relatively close race like this amounts to a rebuke.
The revelations about her business dealings that surfaced during the campaign are unlikely to fade—they’ll likely persist and grow. And if her campaign manager’s gloating tone reflects Lee’s own posture, it may only serve to energize the opposition who see opportunity in the fracture of the national party. Comparisons to San Francisco’s Mayor Lurie—assuming his continued success—will be drawn at every opportunity.
"Given Barbara Lee’s long tenure, name recognition, and prior popularity, a relatively close race like this amounts to a rebuke."
This. The fact that the so-called progressives had to bring out their #1 potential candidate to barely beat Loren Taylor shows they might be in trouble. This was a special election, though; her reelection campaign will be on the regular calendar and will favor her even more.