OAKLAND, California — Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee said Friday she will announce in early January whether she plans to run for mayor of Oakland as the city holds a special election following the recall of its last mayor.
Lee, who leaves Congress early next year, tweeted that she is considering running — the first official confirmation that she might vie to lead the turbulent Bay Area city following months of speculation about her intentions.
“The decision to run for mayor of Oakland, a city that I have long called home, is not one I take lightly,” Lee posted. “As my time in Congress wraps up, my current priority is navigating the crisis before us in DC,” Lee said, referring to efforts to avert a government shutdown.
Lee, a national progressive icon known for being the lone member of Congress to vote against the war in Afghanistan, would immediately be the frontrunner in the race, and her candidacy could cause other progressives to clear the field.
Lee’s candidacy could create a headache for moderate activists and donors eager to put a more centrist Democrat at the helm of City Hall — an effort to repeat the political shift underway across the Bay in San Francisco, as tech-funded groups nudge the famously liberal city closer to the center.
Voters in Oakland, a city reeling from a deep budget deficit and a gun-violence epidemic, recalled former Mayor Sheng Thao in the November election, largely over their frustrations with dysfunction inside City Hall. The recall effort was bankrolled by moderate advocacy groups and wealthy tech donors who want to move the deep-blue city in a more centrist direction.
A special election to fill the seat is scheduled for April 15 and will utilize the city’s ranked-choice voting system.
Loren Taylor, a former city councilmember and moderate Democrat, is already running and would likely be Lee’s toughest competition. Meanwhile, Marshawn Lynch, a former NFL running back, has hinted he’s also considering jumping into the race, though he hasn’t made any announcements.
Earlier this year, Lee unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate, handedly losing the primary to fellow Democrat Adam Schiff. In that contest, Lee struggled to raise the millions of dollars needed to mount a statewide campaign and struggled to appeal to voters outside her progressive base.
But those weak spots could be far less of a hurdle for Lee if she runs for mayor in Oakland, where she’s a household name and more closely aligned with voters’ liberal politics on issues like the war in Gaza and police accountability.
Lee had previously expressed interested in serving as Housing and Urban Development secretary in a Kamala Harris’ administration before the vice president lost the election.
