Early voting started Monday to determine who will be Oakland’s next mayor. Velena Jones reports.
Early voting started Monday to determine who will be Oakland's next mayor.
The process marks nearly a month before the special election to complete the term of recalled and indicted former Mayor Sheng Thao.
"The mayor's election especially is highly charged, so we could see a good turnout because of the mayor's election," said Tim Dupris with the Alameda County Registrar's Office.
Voters will also decide between six candidates looking to fill the District 2 seat vacated by Nikki Fortunato Bas, who is now a county supervisor. Voters will decide by rank-choice voting, which ranks up to five of their top choices.
Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor are leading the mayoral race.
Taylor said if elected, his top priorities are to focus on safety, clean up Oakland and provide new job opportunities for those living there.
"Oakland has failed to deliver on its promises to keep people safe, to make our city as beautiful as it could be, and to give our people a springboard so that they can realize their full potential," Taylor said. "That is what I'm running to deliver."
This is the second time Taylor is running for mayor.
As Oakland grapples with a budget crisis, both Taylor and Lee said if elected they would call for an audit to help balance the books and prioritize spending.
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Lee is focusing on public safety, affordable housing, homelessness, economic development and job creation as her top priorities.
Touting her record of securing billions of dollars of federal funds for Oakland while in Congress, Lee hopes her past success will transform into the city's future success.
"There is so much work to be done and my ability to leverage my experience, my ability to bring people together from different sectors, points of view as you can see from my campaign, is something that Oakland needs," Lee said.
Voters at the polls will also weigh in on Measure A, a half-cent sales tax increase. The last day to cast a ballot in Oakland's special election is on April 15.
