# Mayor of Oakland Compare records and positions simply between Mindy Ruth Pechenuk, Barbara Lee, Julius Robinson, or Brenda F. Grisham for Mayor of Oakland at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person is Oakland's chief executive. They manage the city budget. They also oversee police and fire leadership. They set housing and homelessness policy. - Jurisdiction: City of Oakland - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/oakland-mayor - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: October 6, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 90 out of 100 (Very strong), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Mindy Ruth Pechenuk** — Educator/Researcher - **Barbara Lee** — Mayor, City of Oakland · Incumbent - **Julius Robinson** — Community Investment Executive - **Brenda F. Grisham** — Business Owner A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Four candidates are on the ranked-choice ballot for a full four-year term: incumbent Barbara Lee, who won the 2025 special election after a recall removed her predecessor, plus Brenda F. Grisham, Mindy Ruth Pechenuk and Julius Robinson. The Oaklandside notes the field is smaller than Oakland's recent mayoral races. The mayor is Oakland's chief executive: proposing the budget, appointing department leadership including police and fire, and setting the administration's direction on homelessness, housing and public safety. The term is four years. Lee has held the office for about a year and a half of an unexpired term, so this is the first full-term verdict on her tenure. The challengers offer three different arguments against continuing it — a public-safety organizer, a hard-line policing platform, and a candidacy with no public record to weigh. Ranked-choice voting lets you rank as many as you have views on. ## Barbara Lee The incumbent, previously a longtime East Bay member of Congress and before that a state Assembly member. Voters chose her in the 2025 special election and she is seeking a full term. Her case, per both outlets, is that her administration balanced the city budget, reduced crime, and made progress on homelessness and illegal dumping. In her Vote411 questionnaire she describes more than three decades in the Assembly, State Senate and Congress. She also describes a Mills College psychology degree, a UC Berkeley master's in social welfare, and earlier work as a social worker, mental-health center founder and small-business owner. Her three stated priorities are safer neighborhoods, affordable housing with fewer people on the streets, and economic recovery with a City Hall that delivers. On safety she names community policing, violence prevention, Ceasefire and a larger mental-health crisis response. On housing she names faster production, tenant protections and supportive services. On the economy she names small-business support, fewer permitting delays and transparent spending. For city finances she describes a multiyear budget plan, better collection of existing revenue and a broader tax base. She says Democracy Dollars would be a high priority in the next budget cycle, aiming at the 2028 launch the Public Ethics Commission has planned. **Strengths:** Decades of legislative experience and a citywide mandate from the 2025 special election, plus a stated plan to work toward the Democracy Dollars launch planned for 2028. **Trade-offs:** The claims her campaign runs on, a unified city and falling crime, are her administration's own characterizations of its record, not independent findings. **Keep in mind:** She inherited a city mid-crisis after a recall, so judge the direction of the problems she names against her year and a half in office. Her priorities and background are her own account in a questionnaire. ## Brenda F. Grisham An East Oakland business owner and longtime public-safety advocate who led the successful recall campaign against the Alameda County District Attorney. Her platform promises work with local, state and federal partners on stricter gun-control measures and investment in community violence-intervention programs (per the Oaklandside). In her Vote411 questionnaire she describes more than 13 years in community advocacy and public-safety work. She names leadership roles in the Violence Prevention Coalition, work with Ceasefire and a seat on the executive board of Family Support Advocates. She also describes owning a business and running a financial practice with more than 1,900 clients. Her three stated priorities are public safety, economic growth and housing with homelessness. On safety she names stronger policing, 911 response and violence prevention. On growth she names small-business support, faster permits and outside investment. On housing she names affordable units, shelter, rental assistance and paths out of encampments. She says every initiative would carry measurable goals and public progress reports. For city finances she describes a review of departments and contracts, collecting revenue already owed, and growth rather than higher taxes. On Democracy Dollars she says she respects the voters' decision but would first work out the program's cost and funding, then phase it in as finances stabilize. **Strengths:** Proven citywide organizing, with a recall campaign led to a win, plus 13 years of violence-prevention work and financial-management experience, by her own account. **Trade-offs:** No record in elected office; her demonstrated skill is campaigning and advocacy rather than running a city government. **Keep in mind:** A recall builds a coalition against something; whether it transfers to governing is the test November poses. Her advocacy and financial credentials are her own account in a candidate questionnaire. ## Mindy Ruth Pechenuk An educator and activist, and an adherent of the LaRouche political movement. She ran for mayor in the 2025 special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024, and is a rare registered Republican seeking office in Oakland. Her platform would abolish the police commission and the MACRO response program, hire more police, and launch a local anti-drug campaign (per the Oaklandside). In her Vote411 questionnaire she describes a half-century of work on how cities grow economically, a career as an educator, and study of the U.S. Constitution. Her three stated priorities are a rebuilt revenue base, an end to open-air drug markets, and schools. On revenue she names small business, new manufacturing, youth apprenticeships, permits issued within a month and no new taxes. On drugs she pairs enforcement with treatment-first rehabilitation and mental-health facilities. On schools she wants an "Oakland Miracle in Education" modeled on Mississippi's gains. For city finances she repeats the same plan: job growth, less crime and a lower tax burden. On Democracy Dollars she would first seek an outside financial audit, and she says Seattle's version of the program has not worked well. **Strengths:** A stated no-new-taxes platform with a one-month permit target, specific institutions she would abolish and policing investments she would make, and repeated willingness to stand for office. **Trade-offs:** Two prior campaigns for Oakland office without winning, and no record in elected or appointed city government. **Keep in mind:** Her proposals would reverse Oakland's police-accountability structure rather than adjust it. Her economic-development experience and her Mississippi comparison are her own account in a candidate questionnaire. ## Julius Robinson On the ballot as a Community Investment Executive — his official ballot designation, per the city clerk's qualified list. Beyond that the record is thin: the Oaklandside reported it could not find information about him, and the Oakland Post located only a KTVU interview during the 2024 mayoral recall, in which he said Oaklanders want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership. In his Vote411 questionnaire he describes a 45-year executive career in banking and community development. He says he oversaw community investment and a fund for small businesses, and has spent nearly 40 years in Oakland nonprofit, civic and arts roles. His three stated priorities are public safety, fiscal stability and jobs. On safety he names more police staffing, faster 911 response and violence prevention. On the budget he names a balanced budget, stronger financial controls and measurable results from each department. On jobs he names revitalized business corridors, faster permits and access to capital. For city finances he describes a fiscal and operational review and better collection of money the city is owed. He says he supports the goals of the Fair Elections Act but would delay Democracy Dollars until the city's finances have clearly improved. **Strengths:** Decades of banking and community-development leadership and a stated plan covering safety, budgets and jobs, by his own account, plus one recorded public comment on Oakland's need for cohesion. **Trade-offs:** No elected office or public record beyond his own account; his banking and development credentials have not been reported on by the press. **Keep in mind:** Both newsrooms covering the clerk's list found almost nothing on him, so his executive record rests on his own account in a candidate questionnaire. ## Financial info - **Mindy Ruth Pechenuk** — $14,498 raised (Small donors: $1,907; Individuals: $12,131) - **Barbara Lee** — $278,922 raised (Small donors: $16,784; Individuals: $223,299; PACs & committees: $24,200; Businesses & other orgs: $9,100) Julius Robinson has no campaign committee with filings on record with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission for this race. Brenda F. Grisham has no campaign committee with filings on record with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission for this race. Figures are CA Form 460 filings through 2026-06-30, per the Oakland Public Ethics Commission's e-filed transaction exports, retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Sources 1. [Oakland City Clerk — Nov 2026 Election Qualified Candidate List (final, in ballot order, with ballot designations)](https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/v/20/city-clerk/documents/elections/nov-2026-election-qualified-candidate-list.pdf) 2. [Oakland City Clerk qualified-candidate list for November 3, 2026, as published by The Oaklandside (2026-08-10)](https://oaklandside.org/2026/08/10/election-2026-oakland-candidate-list-mayor-council-school-board/) 3. [Ballotpedia — City elections in Oakland, California (2026)](https://ballotpedia.org/City_elections_in_Oakland,_California_(2026)) 4. [The Oakland Post (Post News Group) — Four candidates qualify for Oakland mayor's race (2026-08-15)](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/four-candidates-including-incumbent-barbara-lee-qualify-for-oakland-mayors-race/) 5. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Oakland Mayor' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's four questions -- top three priorities; qualifying background; steps to stabilize city finances and grow revenue; priority for Democracy Dollars. All four candidates answered all four questions. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/oakland-mayor.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote) 6. [Oakland Public Ethics Commission — e-filed campaign-finance transactions (NetFile)](https://netfile.com/public/coak/campaign) ## The rest of the ballot Mayor of Oakland is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Mayor of Oakland — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/oakland-mayor (sources last retrieved October 6, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.