Early returns from the Alameda County District 5 supervisor race show Emeryville city councilmember John Bauters leading Oakland city council President Nikki Fortunato Bas in a race largely focused on public safety and housing affordability.
The winner will replace the long-serving District 5 Supervisor Keith Carson after he announced he would not run for reelection last year, and join a Board of Supervisors working to reduce crime, homelessness and government distrust.
Updated results were expected to be released later in the evening.
If elected Bas would be part of the first female majority on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors together with Lena Tam and Elisa Márquez. Bauters would become the first openly gay supervisor in Alameda County history if elected.
“There is something very unique about how women, who are sometimes mothers and certainly nurturers, how we lead in terms of caring for the community,” Bas told Bay Area News Group earlier this year.
Bauters and Bas’ competing visions for how to keep county residents safe and housed have led to distinctly different approaches for the candidates. Bas has focused on “holistic” approaches to tackle the issues of public safety and homelessness with early intervention programs. Bauters has prioritized a pragmatic form of governance grounded in progressive values, which he tied to the budget deficits faced in both the city of Oakland and Alameda County.
“In Oakland, to make their budget work, they’re taking money out of ballot measures for libraries and other things that voters were promised,” Bauters told Bay Area News Group earlier this year. “I’ve been able to help finance a lot of the things we’ve done in Emeryville by winning and securing the trust of the voters and then demonstrating fidelity to what we promised.”
Bas said she is a better advocate for government accountability because of her support for a Public Ethics Commission for the city of Oakland and increased transparency efforts of the city’s goals. She pointed to the success of a program to protect affordable housing units in Oakland by placing them in the hands of public trusts.
“We have been able to leverage $54 million, and we’ve been able to preserve over 300 units,” Bas told Bay Area News Group last month. “The most important thing about this strategy is that the average cost per unit is $200,000. And by partnering with land trusts and co-ops, there’s community ownership.”
Bas said she was feeling optimistic heading into the final stretch of the campaign when she spoke with Bay Area News Group last month where she’s prioritized a boot-on-the-ground campaign with voters. She also credited her endorsements by major labor groups with building a significant base of support.
Bauters has capitalized on a campaign funding advantage over the past month, spending more than $350,000 between Sept. 22 and Oct. 19 compared to $$224,000 by Bas, according to campaign filings.
The winner of the race will replace Supervisor Keith Carson, who has resided in the District 5 seat for the past 32 years.
