Kevin Jenkins selected to serve as next interim mayor of Oakland; third mayor in 3 months

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland is getting another change of leadership. On Monday, the city council voted to elect Kevin Jenkins as the new president, who will then take over as mayor until a special election in April.

It has been a complicated few months with three mayors in three months.

Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled by voters in November.

Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas became interim mayor last month.

But she stepped down Monday to take her new post as Alameda County Supervisor. So the council voted to make Councilmember Kevin Jenkins the new president, which means he automatically becomes the new interim mayor.

Then former city councilmember Rebecca Kaplan was tapped to fill the District 2 vacancy created by Bas' departure. Many said it's complicated and unprecedented.

"What Oaklanders and Bay Area residents can expect over the coming months is we're going to have a special election that will be held on April 15 to elect a new mayor as well as to fill the District 2 vacancy," said Oakland City Attorney Ryan Richardson.

New interim Mayor Jenkins immediately walked into his new office and said, "I think the first thing is meeting with staff and working with the city administrator on the budget. That is first. We have to get back to basics as a city."

Nominations for mayor and district 2 are being accepted now until Jan 17 in the lead up to the April 15 special election.

Jenkins said he will not run for Oakland mayor. "I will not be the next mayor of Oakland," he said.

Jenkins would serve only until a newly-elected mayor is sworn in in early May.

"I do support councilmember Jenkins as our council president and by default our interim mayor. I believe he will do a fantastic job," said outgoing city council president Nikki Fortunato Bas.

Former U.S. representative Barbara Lee filed paperwork with the city of Oakland on Monday in a sign that she plans a potential run for the mayor's office.

Lee filed the "Statement of Organization: Recipient Committee" form 410 with the city's election department under the name "Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor 2025" and named herself as treasurer.

It's one of the first steps candidates are required to take before starting to raise money for their campaigns. Lee also filed a candidate intention statement.

Representatives for Lee weren't immediately available for comment.

So far, in addition to Lee, 13 people have filed papers signaling a potential run for Oakland mayor, according to a list posted on the city's website last Friday. The nomination period closes on Jan. 17.

The new mayor will be selected in the special April 15 election to replace ousted mayor Sheng Thao, who lost a recall election in November.

Oakland is getting another change of leadership. The changes in Oakland's leadership come as city faces a budget crisis with major cuts on the line, including to emergency services.

This is all happening only hours after the city closed two fire stations.

Monday morning, crews were seen leaving fire station 25 minutes after they took down the American flag out front.

Station 25, along with station 28 closed at 8 a.m. on Monday.

The Oakland Fire Chief says this is a brown-out process that will keep the stations closed at least 6 months and save the city $5 million dollars, only a small portion of the $129 million dollar budget deficit.

In response, the firefighters' union held a press conference at 10 a.m. on the steps of Oakland City Hall.

They're calling on city leaders to reopen the stations and stop a proposal to close four more stations next month.

"Cuts in emergency services don't mean these calls will go away, it means we will have to travel farther away to reach those in need," Chris Robinson, an Oakland Firefighter said. "Increasing response times also means that dispatchers will have to prioritize calls which could further impact our response times. These cuts are a tragedy waiting to happen."

In response to the brown-outs, Oakland firefighters launched what's called the Fire Safe Oakland website and campaign.

The city says the closures are meant to keep Oakland afloat until long-delayed money from the sale of the coliseum.

Bay City News contributed to this report