Following several days of tallying votes, results have concluded that Jean Quan won with 50.98% of the votes, compared to her opponent Don Perata’s 49.02%. When inaugurated to office in January, Quan will be the first Asian American woman mayor of a major US city and the first female mayor for Oakland.
With the new ranked-choice voting system that allowed voters to list their first, second and third-place candidates, Quan won by her majority vote of second and third choice votes, which is causing controversy since her opponent Don Perata had majority first choice votes.
Quan, 61, is an Oakland native and former school board member. Her diligent work ethic was vital for her win and will be crucial during her time in office where she faces a shrinking city budget and violent crime rates.
Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-oakland-mayor,0,5226179.story
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/11/jean_quan_oakland.html
By: Cherry To
Comments are closed.