The complicated steps if Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is recalled

OAKLAND, Calif. - As Oakland voters head to the polls on Nov. 5, one of the biggest hot-button local issues is whether to recall Mayor Sheng Thao. 

But voters should also know that what happens if Thao is indeed recalled would be a semi-complicated, monthslong affair. 

Thao addressed that in an interview with KTVU last week, saying that removing her from office would bring a lot of "instability" to Oakland and the community. 

If voters decided to oust her from her seat, Thao would lose her job.

Normally, the city council president would then fill in as mayor.

But in this case, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is running for Alameda County Supervisor. And if Bas wins, she would obviously not be able to fill the role because she would have to vacate her seat on the council. 

Again, in a typical situation, the president pro tempore would assume the council president position. But in this case, President Pro Tempore Dan Kalb gave up his council seat when he ran, and lost, for a state senate seat.  

That means that in January, when the new council takes their seats, the members will have to vote for a council president, and that person would become the interim mayor.

A new election would have to be held within four months of the recall. 

"So that's four mayors in two years," Thao said. "I mean, talk about instability."

Thao added that any time a new mayor comes in, they bring their own executive team, who need time to learn the ropes and get established.

"That would be so much turnover," she said, "when we are already headed on the right track." 

One of the lead recall organizers was retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, who also used to be an Oakland police commissioner until Thao decided not to renew her appointment in June 2023.  Harbin-Forte is now running for city attorney, and her sister, Gail Harbin, is the new spokeswoman for the OUST campaign to recall Thao. 

The recall notice stated that Thao created a public safety crisis by "systematically dismantling the Oakland police department," delayed the police department's exit from federal oversight, and missed a deadline for a state grant to fight retail theft. 

Thao's recall troubles also began soon after she fired Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023 after an independent firm said he mishandled two Internal Affairs cases. An arbitrator cleared him of wrongdoing.  Armstrong is now running for city council. 

Since then, the FBI raided Thao's home in June for undisclosed reasons. That investigation is still pending. 

Harbin, the OUST spokeswoman, responded to the mayor's "instability" remark, according to a statement sent to KTVU on her behalf. 

"Over 40,000 Oakland voters, outraged by an unstable city created by Thao's incompetence, have placed the first recall in over a century on the ballot," Harbin's statement read. "Under Mayor Thao’s watch, crime has surged, and her incompetence has only deepened the chaos."

Not only did she fire Harbin described as a "respected police chief, but she also missed an $18 million grant to combat retail theft, and caused a situation where Gov. Gavin Newsom had to send in California Highway Patrol officers to help combat crime in the city of Oakland," the statement read. 

"Oakland’s collapse under her leadership is impossible to ignore," Harbin said in her statement.