The Oakland City Council is an elected governing body representing the City of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

. Since 1998, Oakland has had a mayor-council government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. The Oakland City Council has eight council members representing seven districts in Oakland with one member elected at-large; council members serve staggered four-year terms, and are all elected using

instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the U ...

. The mayor appoints a city administrator, subject to the confirmation by the City Council, who is the chief administrative officer of the city. Other city officers include:

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...

(elected), city auditor (elected), and city clerk (appointed by city administrator). Oakland's Mayor is subject to a tenure limited to two terms. There are no term limits for the city council.

Current Council

Past Councils

2018 members

* District 1 – Dan Kalb (elected in 2012, 2016) (President Pro Tempore) * District 2 –

Nikki Fortunato Bas Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line * Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost'' * Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote ...

(elected in 2018) * District 3 – Lynette Gibson McElhaney (elected in 2012,2016) (also Council President) * District 4 – Sheng Thao (elected in 2018) * District 5 – Noel Gallo (elected in 2012, 2016) * District 6 –

Loren Taylor Loren Taylor (born July 1977) is an American politician who has served on the Oakland City Council from 2019 to 2023. A Democrat, He represents the 6th district, which includes the East Oakland neighborhoods of Maxwell Park, Millsmont, Hav ...

(elected in 2018) * District 7 – Larry Reid (elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016) (Vice Mayor) * Councilmember At Large –

Rebecca Kaplan Rebecca Dawn Kaplan (born September 17, 1970) is a Canadian-born American attorney and politician who has served as an at-large member of the Oakland City Council since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Born and raised in Ontario, ...

(elected in 2008, 2012, 2016) (City Council Chair)

2016 members

* District 1 – Dan Kalb (2012) * District 2 – Abel J. Guillen (elected 2014) * District 3 – Lynette Gibson McElhaney (2012) (also Council President) * District 4 –

Annie Campbell Washington Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer T ...

(2014) * District 5 – Noel Gallo (2012) * District 6 –

Desley Brooks Desley Brooks was a politician in Oakland, California. She served as a Councilmember on the Oakland City Council from 2002 to 2018. In January 2011, Brooks was also inaugurated as the vice mayor of Oakland, California. Early life and education ...

(2002, ...) (elected 2002, 2006,2006 Election results
/ref> 2010,2010 Election results
/ref> 2014) * District 7 – Larry Reid (also President Pro Tempore) (1997, ...) (re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016) * Councilmember At Large –

(also Vice Mayor) (2009, ...) (2008, reelected in 2012, 2016)

2012 members

* District 1 – Dan Kalb (2013) * District 2 –

Patricia Kernighan Patricia (Pat) Kernighan, a politician and a lawyer, was a District 2 city council member in Oakland, California until 2014, noted for her advocacy of instant run-off voting in city elections. Biography Kerninghan, a native of rural Eastern Washin ...

(also Council President) (2005, ...) (re-elected 2010November 2 2010 Election results
/ref>) * District 3 – Lynette Gibson McElhaney (2013) * District 4 –

Libby Schaaf Elizabeth Beckman Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician who has been Mayor of Oakland, California since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Oakland City Council. Schaaf won the November 4, ...

(2011, ...) (elected 2010) * District 5 – Noel Gallo (2013) * District 6 –

(2002, ...) (elected 2002, 2006, 2010) * District 7 – Larry Reid (also Vice Mayor) (1997, ...) (re-elected in 2004, 2008, and 2012) * Councilmember At Large –

(also President Pro Tempore) (2009, ...) (2008, reelected in 2012)

Former Councilmembers

* Frank H. Ogawa, first

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

on the City Council, served from 1966 until his death in 1994. * Henry Chang, Jr appointed to at-large seat 1994 after death of Frank Ogawa, elected in 1997. Served until 2009. *

Jean Quan Lai Jean Quan (born October 21, 1949) is an American politician that served as the 49th mayor of Oakland, California from 2011 to 2015. She previously served as City Council member for Oakland's 4th District. Upon inauguration on January 3, 201 ...

, councilmember for District 4 from 2003–2011, subsequently elected mayor, then defeated for re-election to mayor. * John A. Russo, served 1994–2000 * Danny Wan, served 2000–2005 * Moses Mayne * Wilson Riles (son of Wilson Riles, Sr.), councilmember from 1979 to 1992 * Nancy Nadel, served 1996–2012 * Ignacio De La Fuente, served 1992–2012 *

, current Oakland mayor *

, served 2002–2018 * Abel Guillen, served 2014–2018 *

, served 2014–2018

References

External links

Map
of council districts {{Oakland City Council Government of Oakland, California California city councils