East Bay races continue to tighten; Aisha Wahab declares victory in SD10
Pamala Price is nearing historic win in DA's race; Loren Taylor and Sheng Thao race for Oakland mayor appears headed to the wire
ELECTION 2022
RESULTS UPDATE
—BIG WIN IS NEAR—Pamela Price is close to clinching victory in the Alameda County District Attorney race, a historic achievement bringing the county its first Black DA, and a candidate steeped in the progressive criminal justice movement.
—Price is now exactly four points ahead of Terry Wiley, as of Thursday night, an increasingly insurmountable countywide difference of more than 14,000 votes.
OVERVIEW
—PROGRESSIVE WAVE—As we’ve in several recent elections, a wave of progressive votes is arriving late in the vote-counting process. Not only has Price seen a vast majority of support in recent updates, but other progressive-minded candidates across the county have also benefitted.
—State Senate candidate Aisha Wahab, Oakland mayoral candidate Sheng Thao, Hayward City Council candidate George Syrop, and even Rebecca Kaplan, a likely loser in the Alameda County Board of Supervisors race, have seen surges in their favor over the last few days.
10TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
—WAHAB DECLARES VICTORY—Aisha Wahab’s move from the Hayward City Council to the upper house of the state Legislature is complete. Wahab declared victory on Wednesday night in a tweet that highlighted her inspirational rise from foster care to being elected state senator for the 10th District.
—Thursday’s latest update extended Wahab’s lead over Fremont Mayor Lily Mei to nearly 12,000 votes in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties.
OAKLAND MAYOR
—THAO TRAIN ON A ROLL—We witnessed yesterday just how many moving parts may be involved in who becomes Oakland’s next mayor. At this point, Loren Taylor’s campaign is watching two fronts: Hoping they can maintain their first-place advantage and praying that progressive Allyssa Victory’s performance slows from the fourth-place slot. Victory is increasingly boosting Sheng Thao’s chances.
—On Thursday night, the race further tightened with Thao exceeding the roughly 52 percent of support needed to surpass Taylor. Taylor still leads in first-places votes, 33.81 percent to Thao’s 31.17 percent. Taylor’s lead, though, has consistently decreased over the past week.
—However, once ranked-choice tabulations are made, Taylor’s lead is now just one-half percent, 50.25 percent to 49.75 percent.
—Other issues are also hampering Taylor, including growing worry about Ignacio De La Fuente’s supporters marking his name and nobody else. Those who did rank up to five candidates, tended to give their second-places votes to Taylor.
—Treva Reid’s surprisingly poor performance at the ballot box is also a concern for Taylor. Recall that Taylor and Reid joined forces late in the campaign with hopes of increasing each other’s chances on Election Day.
—For Thao’s campaign, her recent gains appear fueled by Oakland progressives. A huge positive signal for her chances is coming from the Alameda County District Attorney race. Progressive DA candidate Pamela Price’s own comeback has generally followed the same trajectory as Thao. Each have steadily closed Election Night deficits over the past eight days.
—It’s no secret Price’s stronghold is Oakland, so there may be a strong correlation between each candidate’s recent performance. Presumably, a Price voter would also be a Thao and Victory supporter.
—Taylor may have eked out just enough of an early lead to narrowly win the mayor’s race. Just as likely, Taylor could potentially win the most first-place votes and lose the election after the ranked-choice tabulations. If so, it would be the first time this has happened since 2010, the first year Oakland used ranked-choice voting. In that election, Don Perata held a much stronger position in first-place votes, but lost to Jean Quan, along with a big hand from Rebecca Kaplan.
—TOO CLOSE TO CALL—Some Oakland insiders now believe the margin of victory for Oakland mayor could be in the hundreds. That’s way too close to call. If it happens, calls for a recount will surely follow. On Thursday, Loren Taylor’s campaign may be setting the stage for a possible recount. Noting the race “will be very close,” the campaign is urging its supporters to track whether their vote has been counted. To do so, they emailed supporters a link to the state Secretary of State’s website that allows voters to learn whether their vote has been counted yet, and if not, whether there is a problem.
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL
—ANOTHER PROGRESSIVE WIN NEAR—George Syrop, the 28-year-old progressive leader has climbed into second-place in Hayward’s at-large race for two open city council seats. Syrop overtook Daniel Goldstein after Thursday’s results update was released.
—Syrop, if the results hold, means Hayward progressives will retain a presence on the seven-member council after Aisha Wahab’s move to the State Senate. Syrop leads Goldstein by 247 votes for the second seat, or 15.72 percent to 14.81 percent.
SAN LEANDRO MAYOR
—TOO CLOSE TO CURL—Quietly San Leandro’s mayoral race is near too-close-to-call status. San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo’s lead is slowly evaporating. After ranked-choice tabulations, Azevedo’s lead over political newcomer Juan Gonzalez is now just under two points, 51-49 percent.
CITY NEWS
BERKELEY
—MORE TROUBLE FOR BPD—A push for greater reforms at the Berkeley Police Department looks destined to be one of biggest local storylines of early 2023. The selection of Berkeley’s next police chief was postponed on Tuesday after two controversies emerged in recent days.
—Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods alleged on Tuesday that Berkeley police officer are failing to Mirandize youths while their attorneys are on the phone, in addition, to rude behavior by police officers toward public defenders, KTVU reported.
—The allegations follow reports the president of the Berkeley Police Officers Association sent text messages suggesting the existence of an illegal arrest quota system for the homeless, in addition, to insensitive texts about minorities and the homeless.
OAKLAND
—TOO $HORT WAY—Oakland Councilmember Noel Gallo wants to rename a street after legendary Bay Area rapper Too $hort. Gallo brought the item to today’s Rules and Legislation Committee. Gallo wants to rename as “Too $hort Way,” a portion of Foothill Boulevard between High Street and 47th Avenue. The item is scheduled to return at the Oakland City Council on Dec. 6.
—GAME OVER—Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not intervene in the City of Oakland’s claim against the NFL and its franchises that it acted as a cartel. When the city did not comply the league’s financial demands it moved the team to Las Vegas, the claim alleged. A federal appeals court had previously rejected the city’s claim. The Oakland City Council scheduled an item on Thursday morning to direct the city attorney to “compromise and settle the cases.”
—MINIMUM WAGE BOOST—Oakland’s minimum wage will increase by $0.91 an hour, starting on Jan. 1, the city administrator’s office said. The wage increase, boosted by an increase in the regional Consumer Price Index, will be 15.91 an hour.