Oakland may not know who the mayor is for a while after the special election

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland voters are heading to the polls on April 15 to select a new mayor, after Sheng Thao was recalled in November.

And as Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins told KTVU on Tuesday, residents may not know immediately who will be leading their city.

"I imagine it's going to take the county registrar of voters 30 days to count these votes,"  he said.

And by charter, the city council has two weeks to certify those votes at the next regularly scheduled council meeting.

"So that's going to take another two weeks," he said. "Our expectation is mid-May or early June." 

Jenkins has been filling in for Thao, since she was recalled, and will be heading back to District 6 as a city councilman. 

The two frontrunners for the special election are former U.S. Rep. Barabara Lee and former City Councilman Loren Taylor. 

During his regular monthly interview with KTVU, Jenkins took full responsibility for firing many of Thao's staff members, saying it was always his intention to "clean house" before the new mayor came into office.