Polls open in historic Oakland special election, which will name city's 4th mayor since December

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- There are only four days left for Oakland voters to select their new mayor -- who will also be the city's fourth mayor since December.

The top two candidates, former Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Oakland City Council Member Loren Taylor, held "Get Out the Vote" events on this final weekend.

"This is about our future. Our young people. I'm so proud that young people made sure they could vote in Oakland," said Lee, surrounded by young campaign supporters at an event on Saturday.

Taylor canvassed East Oakland.

"I want to make sure everybody knows about this upcoming election. The stakes for Oakland couldn't be higher. Oakland is at a point of crisis. We are broken fundamentally, and we need to fix things with urgency," Taylor said.

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Polling stations are now open in Oakland ahead of Tuesday's special election. It will include electing Oakland's new mayor and its District 2 city councilmember, and will also decide the fate of Measure A, a sales tax measure.

"I think there are a lot of people in the Bay Area who would like to see Oakland get back to that level it previously had decades ago. And I imagine some of these folks vying for office are thinking they are the person to be able to do that," said Professor Nolan Higdon. He is a media and political analyst at UC Santa Cruz.

Higdon says Oakland faces many of the same issues of other major U.S cities. But it is also dealing with its own challenges. The recall of Mayor Sheng Thao and the separate FBI investigation into political corruption of her office. It also lost three major sports teams, which were a huge part of the culture and community. And difficulties funding police and fire, which accounts for two-thirds of Oakland's budget under the General Fund category.

"Whoever walks into this position as mayor has a lot to deal with. It's going to be an uphill battle, and they are going to be called upon to try and heal the community," Higdon said.

Oakland's mayor has limited governing power compared to other cities. Though that power is still pervasive, if not symbolic, says Professor Higdon. But whoever wins, the real challenge may come in having to immediately tackle Oakland's budget.

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"The mayor also creates the proposed budget every two years. And the city council works on that budget and makes adjustments. But that first budget from the mayor is absolutely key," said former Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb. He served on city council for more than a decade, including with then-Councilmember Taylor. Kalb is supporting Lee.

Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins will present his proposed budget on May 1. City council must pass a budget by June 30. But the new mayor may not be certified until May. Kalb says Jenkins will likely invite the mayor-elect to go over the budget before it's released.

"And once the new mayor is sworn in, let's say the second week of May, they will have an opportunity to make adjustments and put their stamp on whatever they want to before the city council makes the final decision by the end of June," Kalb said.

Oakland's mayoral race will be determined by ranked-choice voting. The Registrar of Voters says as of Saturday afternoon, only 15% of those registered have voted.