Governor Jerry Brown Endorses Councilwoman Libby Schaaf in Hectic Mayoral Race

Being born and raised in Oakland, I have witnessed and experienced first-hand the problems that ail Oakland: high crime rates, poor infrastructure and schools, and a non-responsive government. That is why I made it a point of order over the summer to get involved in the Oakland Mayoral race. I had the distinct pleasure of interning for the  Libby Schaaf, who I first met Libby during a mayoral candidates' forum that my high school's debate club organized at Oakland's City Hall. With fifteen candidates vying for the position, I have to admit it was difficult making a final decision on who to support. However, given Libby's proven track record of enacting positive change in Oakland for the past thirty years. I ultimate chose to intern for her.

Despite recent polls indicating that Rebecca Kaplan, Jean Quan, and Libby Schaaf are leading the polls (in that order), it is still not clear who will emerge as the victor, especially with the weird politicking that the infamous Ranked Voter Choice system promotes. This voting system allows voters to rank up to three candidates when filling out their ballots. Although proponents of the voting system argue that it promotes positive campaigning among the candidates and saves a signification amount of money by eliminating run-off elections, opponents blame Ranked Voter Choice for the election of Mayor Jean Quan, who is not all that popular among the electorate. Here is more information on the history of Ranked Voter Choice in the East Bay.

This afternoon, however, a very familiar face will be visiting Libby Schaaf's headquarters to make a very important announcement. Former Mayor of Oakland and current California Governor Jerry Brown plans on endorsing Libby Schaaf. Despite the benefits that this provides for the Schaaf campaign, a KQED article examines whether Brown's endorsement will secure a win for Libby. In the past, Brown has endorsed Oakland candidates for mayor and city council (i.e. Don Perata and Ignacio de La Fuente, respectively) and neither won their elections. Regardless, with a significant portion of Oakland's electorate undecided on who to vote for, this election is still up in the air.

For those of you that are interested, here is a site that breaks down the race in a nutshell.