Oakland firefighter Zac Unger was holding onto a commanding lead in the City Council District 1 election on Wednesday based on preliminary results released by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
After two rounds of ranked-choice vote tallies, but with only about 10,000 votes cast, Unger was leading Len Raphael with 81.85 percent of the vote to 18.15 percent.
District 1 has 44,638 registered voters but the registrar has yet to release voter turnout numbers so it’s unclear how much the vote total could change in the coming days.
Edward Frank was eliminated in the first round with only about 9 percent of the vote.
“I am excited about serving Oakland, but of course, this is tempered with fear about the national election results,” Unger said, referring to Donald Trump’s presidential election win.
“But I truly believe that most people experience government most directly at the local level, and that we can do a lot in our own city to protect and defend the kind of people that Trump is likely to attack and neglect,” Unger said.
First: Edward Frank is a candidate for Oakland City Council District 1. (Sabine Scherer via Bay City News). Last: Len Raphael is a candidate for Oakland City Council District 1. (Betty Raphael via Bay City News)
If the results stand, Unger will take over for District 1 Councilmember Dan Kalb, who is departing after running an unsuccessful primary election campaign for a state Senate seat.
Unger is a long-time Oakland firefighter and president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 55.
