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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                November  10, 2010                                                        

1st ASIAN AMERICAN & WOMAN

MAYOR of OAKLAND

OAKLAND, CA -- Jean Quan (61), was elected the first woman Mayor of Oakland, California, a city of more than 446,000. When she takes office on January 3, 2011, Quan will be the first Asian American woman Mayor of a major U.S. city. Quan was the first Asian American woman elected to Oakland’s City Council eight years ago. Oakland is the nation’s 41^st largest city. 

Known for her hard work, encyclopedia knowledge of city policy and ability to inspire hundreds of volunteers, Quan went head-to-head against former State Senate leader Pro-Tem Don Perata and eight other candidates in the November 2 mayoral election. It was a bit of a cliffhanger -- one candidate outspent the other nine candidates 10:1, exceeding the voluntary campaign spending limits of $379,000, and election results were not immediately known until 9 days after Election Eve because the City was using a new voting procedure called Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).

RCV saved the city money by eliminating the need for a run-off election. RCV gave each voter the opportunity to choose first, second and third-choice candidates. If voters’ first choice candidates did not make it to the top, then their second choice selections would be recalculated by computer until one candidate earned 50% of the vote. This integrates the traditional primary and runoff into one election. When all the ballots were counted and the RCV algorithm was run, Quan beat front-runner Perata.

Jean Quan 50.98% (53,778)

Don Perata 49.02%. (51720)

Link to the Registrar's RCV Election Results

“David has beaten Goliath: we have shown that old-fashioned grassroots organizing and hard, honest campaigning can overcome big money, machine politics,” said Quan.

She noted that more people had voted in this election than in previous Mayoral elections, with a 27% increase according to Fair Vote's analysis of how Ranked Choice Voting worked in Oakland, because this election was held in the general November election when there is higher turnout compared to lower primary turnouts. 

Quan garnered more votes than Mayor Ron Dellums in the 2006 primary or former Mayor Jerry Brown in the 1998 primary. Quan earned 53,778 votes, Dellums 42,180 in 2006 and Brown 48,129 in 1998.