For the November 6, 2018 election, the voters in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Leandro will be electing their local representatives through ranked choice voting (RCV). Here is an overview of those races.

San Francisco

District 2

In January 2018, termed out District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell was appointed to serve as interim mayor until the June 2018 mayoral election. His vacancy was filled with the appointment of San Francisco County Clerk Catherine Stefani.

There are four candidates vying for the open seat in District 2: Catherine Stefani, BART Board Representative Nick Josefowitz, Schuyler Hudak, and John Dennis.

District 4

In June 2018, Supervisor Katy Tang announced that she would not seek re-election. This will be the first RCV election without an incumbent in District 4 since 2006.

There are nine candidates vying for the open seat: Lou Ann Bassan, Jessica Ho, Daniel Kappler, Adam Kim, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Gordon Mar, Trevor McNeil, Mike Murphy, and Arthur Tom.

District 6

There are three candidates vying for the District 6 seat left open by termed out Supervisor Jane Kim: San Francisco Board of Education member Matt Haney, former SPUR executive director Christine Johnson, and YIMBY activist Sonja Trauss.

District 8

A special election was held in June 2018 to fill the vacancy left by State Senator Scott Weiner. In that election, Rafael Mandelman defeated appointed Supervisor Jeff Sheehy 61% to 39%. The regularly scheduled election for that seat will appear on the November 2018 with Rafael Mandelman facing Lawrence "Stark" Dagesse.

District 10

There are six candidates vying for the District 10 seat left open by termed out Supervisor Malia Cohen: Gloria Berry, Theo Ellington, Asale-Haquekyah Chandler, Tony Kelly, Uzuri Pease-Greene, and San Francisco Board of Education member Shamann Walton.

Berkeley

District 1

After serving the City of Berkeley for 25 years, Linda Maio is retiring from the City Council. There are four candidates vying for the open seat: Mary Behm-Steinberg, Rashi Kesarwani, Margo Schueler, and Igor Trebub.

District 4

Two candidates are challenging incumbent Kate Harrison, who was elected in 2017 during a special election to fill the remaining term of Jesse Arreguin who was elected Mayor in November 2016. Challengers include Ben Gould and Gregory Magofña.

District 7

After serving on the city council for 22 years, Kriss Worthington is retiring from elected office. This is an open seat election in a district that was created as the first majority-student district in the country through a 2012 voter passed ballot initiative. There are three candidates running for the open seat: Aidan Hill, Rigel Robinson, and Ces Rosales.

District 8

There are three candidates challenging incumbent Lori Droste. Challengers include Mary Kay, Alfred Twu, and Russ Tilleman.

Oakland

Mayor

There are nine candidates challenging the incumbent, Mayor Libby Schaaf, who was elected in 2014. Challengers include Cat Brooks, Ken Houston, Saied Karamooz, Peter Liu, Pamela Price, Nancy Sidebotham, Jesse A.J. Smith, Marchon Tatmon, and Cedric Troupe.

District 2

There are two candidates challenging incumbent Councilmember Abel Guillen, who has been in office for four years. Challengers include Nikki Bas Fortunato and Kenzie Smith

District 4

Earlier this year, Councilmember Anne Campbell-Washington announced that she would not be seeking re-election after four years on the Council. There are seven candidates in the race: Pamela Harris, Matt Hummel, Nayeli Maxson, Charlie Michelson, Joseph Simmons, Joseph Tanios, and Sheng Thao.

District 6

Four candidates are challenging incumbent Councilmember Desley Brooks who was first elected in 2002. Challengers include Natasha Middleton, Marlo Rodriguez, Loren Taylor, and Mya Whitaker.

Oakland School Board

In School Districts 2, 4, and 6, RCV will not play a significant role since these elections are two-person races. It’s expected that in each race, one candidate will be elected by a majority of the voters.

San Leandro

Mayor

There are three candidates challenging the incumbent, Mayor Pauline Cutter, who was elected in 2014. Challengers include Dan Dillman, Benny Lee, and Jeromey Shafer.

District 1

There are two candidates challenging incumbent Councilmember Deborah Cox who has been in office for four years. Challengers include Eva Arce and Kenneth Pon.

District 3 and 5

These city council races are non-RCV races because there are two candidates running in each race.