Oakland, California municipal elections, 2014

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The city of Oakland, California, held nonpartisan elections for mayor and city council on November 4, 2014. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was August 8, 2014. In Districts 2 and 4, however, the deadline was extended to August 13, 2014, because an incumbent did not file to run.^[1] Three of the eight city council seats - Districts 2, 4 and 6 - were up for election.

In the races for mayor and District 6, incumbents Jean Quan and Desley Brooks ran for re-election. Districts 2 and 4, on the other hand, were both open seats. District 2 incumbent Patricia Kernighan decided not to seek re-election, while District 4 incumbent Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf ran for mayor. The former announced her retirement in December 2013.^[2]

A variety of different issues shaped Oakland's 2014 election cycle, ranging from public safety and police militarization to economic inequality and professional sports.

Ranked-choice voting[edit]

See also: Ranked-choice voting

The Oakland 2014 municipal elections marked the second election cycle in which the city used ranked-choice voting, or, as it is sometimes referred to, instant-runoff voting.^[3] First used in Oakland in 2010, ranked-choice voting allows voters to select up to three candidates on the ballot and to rank them from one to three. After the polls have closed, if a single candidate has received a majority (50%) of first place votes, that candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate has received a majority of first place votes, this triggers an elimination process. In the elimination process, the candidate with the fewest amount of first place votes is removed. Then, the second place votes on the ballots that ranked the eliminated candidate first are transferred to the respective candidates and calculated as first place votes. This process continues until a single candidate holds a majority.^[3][4]

For more information on ranked-choice voting in Oakland, visit the Alameda County Registrar of Voters website or the Center for Voting and Democracy's guide to instant-runoff voting.

Mayor[edit]

Candidate list[edit]

Note: The unofficial results listed next to each name are round 1 votes. The two finalists have their round 15 votes in parentheses.

• Jason "Shake" Anderson
• Peter Yuan Liu
• Patrick K. McCullough
• Bryan Parker
• Jean Quan - Incumbent Quan was first elected in 2011.
• Courtney Ruby
• Saied Karamooz
• Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf
• Nancy Sidebotham
• Dan Siegel
• Joseph Tuman
• Charles Ray Williams
• Ken Houston
• Rebecca Kaplan
• Eric Wilson

Polling[edit]

*Note: The OaklandMayor2014 poll is based on which candidate voters would pick first in a ranked-choice voting system. The poll was conducted by the research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates.

Election results[edit]

See also: Ranked-choice voting

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to select up to three candidates on the ballot and to rank them from one to three. After the polls have closed, if a single candidate has received a majority (50%) of first place votes, that candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate has received a majority of first place votes, this triggers an elimination process. In the elimination process, the candidate with the fewest amount of first place votes is removed. Then, the second place votes on the ballots that ranked the eliminated candidate first are transferred to the respective candidates and calculated as first place votes. This process continues until a single candidate holds a majority. In ranked-choice voting, transfer refers to votes being moved from a defeated candidate to the next person on a voter's preference list, while exhausted refers to votes for candidates removed from the pool because there are no candidates left on a voter's preference list to transfer them to.

This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

This is the final round of voting. To view previous rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

City council[edit]

Candidate list[edit]

District 2[edit]

Note: Incumbent Patricia Kernighan did not run for re-election.
November 4 General election candidates:

• Abel Guillen
• Dana King
• Kevin Blackburn
• Ken Maxey
• Andrew Park

Polling[edit]

*Note: The OaklandMayor2014 poll is based on which candidate voters would pick first in a ranked-choice voting system. The poll was conducted by the research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates.

District 4[edit]

Note: Incumbent Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf did not run for re-election.
November 4 General election candidates:

• Jill Broadhurst
• Anne Campbell Washington
• Paul Lim

Polling[edit]

*Note: The OaklandMayor2014 poll is based on which candidate voters would pick first in a ranked-choice voting system. The poll was conducted by the research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates.

District 6[edit]

November 4 General election candidates:

• Desley Brooks - Incumbent Brooks was first elected in 2002.
• Michael V. Johnson
• James Moore
• Sherdea F. Nosakhare

Polling[edit]

*Note: The OaklandMayor2014 poll is based on which candidate voters would pick first in a ranked-choice voting system. The poll was conducted by the research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates.

Election results[edit]

District 2[edit]

See also: Ranked-choice voting

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to select up to three candidates on the ballot and to rank them from one to three. After the polls have closed, if a single candidate has received a majority (50%) of first place votes, that candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate has received a majority of first place votes, this triggers an elimination process. In the elimination process, the candidate with the fewest amount of first place votes is removed. Then, the second place votes on the ballots that ranked the eliminated candidate first are transferred to the respective candidates and calculated as first place votes. This process continues until a single candidate holds a majority. In ranked-choice voting, transfer refers to votes being moved from a defeated candidate to the next person on a voter's preference list, while exhausted refers to votes for candidates removed from the pool because there are no candidates left on a voter's preference list to transfer them to.

This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

This is the final round of voting. To view previous rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

District 4[edit]

Oakland City Council, District 4, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Anne Campbell Washington	64.2%	11,358
Jill Broadhurst	30.1%	5,335
Paul Lim	5.7%	1,011
Total Votes		17,704
Source: Alameda County Elections - 2014 General Election Results

District 6[edit]

This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

This is the final round of voting. To view previous rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

Issues[edit]

Public safety[edit]

With one of the highest violent crime and recidivism rates in the state of California, public safety was a frequent topic of discussion in Oakland's 2014 municipal elections.^[5] Candidates tackled the city's crime problems from a variety of different perspectives, with some pushing for a larger police presence, while others focused on creating a higher-quality police force through training.^[6]

Oakland police at the Occupy Oakland protests in October 2011.

Police militarization[edit]

Closely related to the issue of public safety were questions surrounding what some called police "militarization" - in reference to the acquisition and use of military grade weaponry and armor by the Oakland police department. The issue became a point of contention in Oakland after an Oakland police officer struck an Iraq war veteran named Scott Olsen in the head with a "flexible baton round" in the Occupy Oakland protests of October 2011 (see image right). Olsen received permanent brain injuries from the incident and filed a federal suit against the city, which ended in March 2014 with a settlement that awarded $4.5 million to Olson. Twelve other Oaklanders, who sustained injuries in the same protests, received $1.17 million.^[7] The debate over militarization in Oakland continued in the wake of the riots in Ferguson, Missouri that occurred in the late summer of 2014 and after a large-scale police training exercise and equipment trade show called Urban Shield took place in the city in early September.^[8][9] Opinions on police militarization amongst Oakland's 2014 candidates varied from outright condemnation to vocal support.^[6][10]

Economic inequality[edit]

In February 2014, a study from the Brookings Institution ranked Oakland seventh in the nation in terms of the city's economic inequality. The report found that between 2007 and 2012 the average income of Oakland households in the 20th percentile averaged about $17,646 per year while households in the 95th percentile averaged about $223,965 per year.^[11] Only three years before the Brookings study was released, the U.S. Census Bureau found that approximately 27% of the city's children live in households with an income of $23,000 or less.^[12]

For many of Oakland's 2014 municipal candidates, the question of how to grapple with this issue was a focal point. Candidate arguments included creating new job opportunities in the city's port, focusing on education and supporting "Measure FF," a 2014 ballot measure that asked voters to approve or disapprove raising the city's minimum wage to $12.25 per hour.^[6]

Professional sports[edit]

The Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum as viewed from the south.

Oakland’s professional sports teams also entered the mix in 2014. In 2006, Oaklanders were faced with the possibility that the city’s professional baseball team, the A’s, could relocate to elsewhere in California. The team's interest in relocating stemmed largely from its dissatisfaction with their Oakland venue, the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, an older stadium that the A's share with the Oakland Raiders, the city’s professional football team. In 2006, the A’s initiated a plan to relocate to the city of Fresno, California under the agreement that Fresno would construct a new stadium. In 2009, however, it was announced that the deal had fallen through.^[13] Over the summer of 2014, the city of Oakland made some progress toward keeping the A’s in Oakland when the team agreed to a ten-year contract with the city. The deal dictated that the A’s would pay a $1.7 million penalty per year if they left Oakland before the contract expired. However, the deal also required the city to begin exploring the possibility of constructing of a new stadium. Negotiations between Oakland and the A’s were still ongoing at the time of the 2014 elections.^[14]

The Oakland Raiders also signaled an interest in relocating. With their contract ending in 2014, the Raiders entertained offers from other cities such as Santa Clara, California, Los Angeles, California and San Antonio, Texas. Once again, the problem revolved around dissatisfaction with the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. In September 2014, it was reported that the city had offered a deal to the Raiders involving the construction a new $1.2 billion stadium. Though projected future revenues from the complex would pay for most of the construction costs, part of the deal required Oakland to absorb $120 million in debt from renovations to the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum that were done in the 1990s.^[15] As of September 19, negotiations were still ongoing.^[16]

The possibility of the A's and/or the Raiders leaving Oakland became an important political issue in Oakland. Both teams have long histories with the city and are generally considered to be important parts of the Oakland economy. Equally important, however, was the question of how the city would pay off the $120 million debt involved in the potential deal with the Raiders.^[6][17]

Recent news[edit]

This section links to a Google news search for the term Oakland + California + election

See also[edit]

• United States municipal elections, 2014
• California elections, 2014
• Oakland, California

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

• United States Conference of Mayors - Elections in 2014
• Alameda County - Official 2014 Candidate List
• Alameda County - Official election results

Footnotes[edit]

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