Barbara Lee, right, was joined by retired East Bay Municipal Utility District board member Bill Patterson during her swearing in ceremony as Oakland’s 52nd mayor Tuesday, May 20, in the council chambers at City Hall. Lee, a former longtime congressmember, won a special election April 15 to complete the term of recalled mayor Sheng Thao. She offered a message of hope during her remarks, but also noted the city’s budget woes.
“As your mayor, my job is to lead our city out of a budget crisis and into a period of financial stability,” she said. “We can only do this together if we have a strong, vibrant downtown, thriving small businesses in every Oakland neighborhood that preserve the character of our great city and contribute toward our vitality, and a city that welcomes investment.”
Also on Tuesday, Charlene Wang, a lesbian, was sworn in to her District 2 council seat. Wang won the special election to finish the term of Nikki Fortunato Bas, who was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last November.
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