Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas is narrowly ahead in the race for the District 5 seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, according to the latest results released by the county.
Bas was behind Emeryville City Councilmember John Bauters in the initial results released on Election Night last week, but crept ahead by a mere 106 votes as of Friday among the more than 137,000 votes counted so far. Bas has 68,736 of them, or 50.04%, compared to 68,630 or 49.96% for Bauters.
The two got the most votes in a field of nine candidates in the March primary election but neither got above 50%, prompting a runoff election Nov. 5.
Bas, appointed as president of the Oakland City Council by her fellow councilmembers, had support from several union groups, such as Service Employees International Union Local 1021, as well as elected leaders like Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and state Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Bauters also had support. From unions like International Association of Firefighters Local 55 and elected officials that included Keith Carson, the supervisor whose retirement left open the District 5 seat this year.
The district includes Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, North Oakland and parts of West Oakland and the Oakland hills. The results are still unofficial and whoever wins will be the district’s first new supervisor in 32 years.
If Bas wins, that further complicates the Oakland mayoral seat because Thao was recalled in the Nov. 5 ballot and the president of the City Council becomes mayor until a special election is held, likely in April.
