Janani Ramachandran declared victory Thursday in the race for the District 4 seat on the Oakland City Council.
Current District 4 councilmember and council president pro tem Sheng Thao must give up her seat because she chose to run for mayor.
Unofficial results last updated Thursday afternoon show Ramachandran with 65.3 percent of the vote, compared with 34.6 percent for her opponent Nenna Joiner, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
“I’m excited to get started,” Ramachandran said by phone Thursday.
Public safety is her top priority followed by homelessness. She wants to reduce crime rates and increase residents’ sense of safety, she said. Her four-pronged approach to public safety consists of fully staffing the Police Department’s patrol division to reduce 911 call wait times.
She wants to create initiatives to reduce organized crime, which she believes is behind the rash of catalytic converter thefts, as well as address the department’s efficiency by diverting unnecessary calls to other responders.
An example is non-violent mental health calls, which can be managed at some times of the day by the city’s Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland program.
She also wants to send resources to support other forms of violence prevention, such as job training programs and the Ceasefire program, which police are involved with.
Joiner did not respond Thursday morning to calls and an email about the race.
