Barbara Lee Wins Oakland Mayor’s Race in Her Return Home
Barbara Lee, a progressive lawmaker known for her lone vote against military force after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, won the mayor’s race in Oakland, Calif., less than four months after she retired from a decades-long congressional career.
Oakland, a city of about 436,000 residents across the bay from San Francisco, has struggled to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns, and frustrated voters last year recalled Mayor Sheng Thao after she had served less than two years in office. Ms. Lee, 78, was seen in the city as a trusted and experienced voice who could stabilize Oakland and help guide it out of crisis.
Her rival, Loren Taylor, a former member of the City Council who ran as more of a moderate, conceded on Saturday after a dayslong vote-counting process. Mr. Taylor, 47, had gained traction with his detailed plan for improving Oakland, and appealed to voters who said they were increasingly fed up with crime and governance problems in the city.
In the latest vote tally, Mr. Taylor trailed Ms. Lee by more than 4,700 votes, a gap that is unlikely to be closed by the remaining ballots. Mr. Taylor has received 45 percent of the vote and Ms. Lee 50 percent.
After Mr. Taylor’s concession, Ms. Lee said she would address the most pressing problems in Oakland, working to unite a deeply divided city. “I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility and love,” she said in a statement.
Mr. Taylor said he hoped that Ms. Lee would fulfill her commitment to bring Oakland together by listening to those who had voted for him.
“We built a movement that resonated across Oakland, echoing the national dialogue about the waning relevance of a Democratic Party that puts old-guard politics over improving the lives of everyday people,” he said.
Ms. Lee will most likely take office in May and finish out Ms. Thao’s term through the end of 2026.
Ms. Lee secured a diverse slate of endorsements from high-profile groups and leaders, including the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, labor unions, state legislators, four former Oakland mayors and seven of the eight members of the Oakland City Council.
During the campaign, Ms. Lee emphasized that she would bring various interests together to solve Oakland’s problems. She highlighted her longtime relationships with state and federal officials, whom she could call upon to come to Oakland’s assistance.
Ms. Lee represented Oakland in Congress for more than a quarter-century and in the State Legislature before that. She gained national fame as a progressive lawmaker and said she rejected the use of force after the Sept. 11 attacks because it gave the president too much war authority.
Ms. Lee did not run last year for a 14th full term in the House because she campaigned to replace Dianne Feinstein in the Senate. She finished fourth in that race.
She joined the Oakland mayor’s race in January, after voters ousted Ms. Thao in the first recall of a big-city mayor in a decade. Ms. Thao was vulnerable not only because of the city’s woes — soaring crime rates and a yawning budget deficit, among others — but also because of an F.B.I. raid on her home last summer as part of a corruption investigation that made her political survival difficult.