SAN FRANCISCO – Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, a prominent progressive Democrat who represented East Bay in Congress for more than two decades, said Wednesday she will vote in a special election in April triggered by the recall of the city's former leader running for mayor of Oakland.
“I have never shied away from a challenge,” Lee said in a press release announcing her candidacy. “I’m always ready to fight for Oakland. Together, we can and will restore Oakland as a beacon for innovators, artists, builders and entrepreneurs, creating opportunities that serve all families and neighborhoods.”
Lee's storied Bay Area political career took an uncertain turn after Lee unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2024, finishing fourth in the March primary against fellow Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who won the November election.
Lee, 78, is running in a special election on April 15 to fill the remainder of former Mayor Sheng Thao's term, which ends in January 2027. Thao, a progressive politician elected in 2022, was recalled in November amid voters' frustration with rampant crime and homelessness and a perception that the government had lost control of the city's streets. Alameda County Dist. Atty. Pamela Price, a vocal advocate of criminal justice reform, was also recalled in November.
“(Lee) is perfect right now. She has the progressive bonafides but is also willing to compromise and pragmatic,” said Keally McBride, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco and an Oakland resident. “This is what Oakland desperately needs right now.”
Lee's dominant name recognition and her long tenure representing the East Bay make campaigning for a list of local guides who have already announced plans to run for office. Several candidates have indicated they would drop out if Lee joined the race.
“When it comes to winning respect and winning alliances across the city, it would be difficult to find a better candidate than her,” McBride said. “No one will be able to compete against them.”
Still, Loren Taylor, a former Oakland City Council member who is considered a front-runner for the post, said he is preparing to file candidate paperwork next week. Taylor, an engineer who represented East Oakland on the City Council for four years, narrowly lost to Thao in the 2022 mayoral race after receiving the most first-place votes in the city's ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to select multiple candidates in order had the preference.
“I’m a kid from this city and have benefited so much from what Oakland has to offer. I see the amazing potential of our beautiful, incredible city. But we are not aware of it,” he said this week.
Taylor, 47, is more than 30 years younger than Lee. He said he respects Lee's service in Congress, but Oakland needs a mayor with a “new perspective on leadership and government.”
“One who is informed by work on the ground, in the community and at City Hall,” Taylor said, “as opposed to someone who is focused on Republican and Democratic politics in Washington, D.C. on a national level.”
“It’s a different position that she hasn’t had before. Executive administration is very different from legislative administration,” he said.
Lee's announcement caused excitement among several local community groups, whose members urged her to enter the race. They hope Lee, known in Washington for her anti-war positions and as a civil rights advocate, can usher in an era of stability in a city grappling with multiple crises, including a gnawing budget deficit and rising crime rates.
A coalition of local business, labor and education organizations urged Lee to run in a December letter, calling for a new leader “who can restore the integrity of the mayor's office, unite us in a time of division and help us address critical issues in to address the environment, the budget, public safety, housing and inequality in our city.”
Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee eventually moved to the Bay Area and attended Mills College in Oakland as a single mother. She earned her master's degree in social work from UC Berkeley in 1975 and founded an organization that provided mental health services to East Bay residents.
She was chief of staff to the late Congressman and former Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, winning his congressional seat after he retired in 1998. Lee also served in the state legislature in the 1990s.
Despite her broad community support, as mayor, Lee would inherit a number of serious issues in Oakland that could test her legislative skills.
Violent and property crimes have increased sharply in Oakland Jump homicides During the pandemic, there were more than 100 deaths per year for several years. The city council approved in December a Editing series of services to close a $130 million budget deficit. The number of homeless people in Oakland increased by 9% between 2022 and 2024.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed a large contingent of California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland to curb a rise in crime, with a focus on curbing brazen retail and vehicle thefts. As of November, the operation resulted in nearly 1,200 arrests, the recovery of more than 2,200 stolen cars and the seizure of 124 illegal weapons, according to the CHP.
“The crime problem needs to be brought under control,” McBride said, adding that the business community is suffering from retail thefts that have become routine. “People are afraid to invest in the city and that is making the budget deficit worse.”
With emergencies mounting, many wondered whether Lee would accept the job of mayor, a post that inevitably requires difficult decisions that could threaten her status as a progressive icon.
“She doesn’t need the job for her legacy,” said Ludovic Blain, a Berkeley resident and executive director of the California Donor Table, a statewide network of donors who fund progressive candidates. “She would do it to be useful, to help and to guide.”
During an interview with KQED on Tuesday, Lee reflected on her time in Congress, saying she had been thinking about the difficult decision for weeks.
“If I decide to run,” she said, “it will be because I want to do it and because I believe I can help make life better for everyone.”