Oakland city leaders on Wednesday announced that council president Nikki Fortunato Bas will resign her seat and become interim mayor, replacing recalled Mayor Sheng Thao.
Fortunato Bas said she will assume the interim mayoral duties on Dec. 17 and remain in that capacity until Jan. 6. On that date, after new council members are sworn in, the council will choose a new president who will then become the new interim mayor until a special mayoral election is held April 15.
"We believe in this city, and we will fight for this city, so we are working to ensure our leadership is strong and that we again are singularly focused on the issues before us," Bas said in a news conference. "And those issues are making sure that we address both our current budget and our two-year budget."
However, Bas's tenure as interim mayor will be short-lived as she is the presumed winner of the Alameda County Supervisor race.
Bas will transition into that role in January if the election results hold. However, if the results are challenged, two special elections could result.
"We can't hold those elections more than 120 days from the vacancy, but we also have to give the county a certain amount of notice of what’s going to be on the ballot," said Ryan Richardson, Oakland Assistant City Attorney.
The special election ballot also will include a vote for a new District 2 council member.
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