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OAKLAND -- Jean Quan was leading David Stein by nearly nine percentage points tonight in the bitter race for Oakland's District Four City Council seat, with nearly half of the vote counted. Updated Nov. 6, 1:45 am
With 95% of the city’s precincts reporting, Quan attracted 7,570 votes, or 54.5 percent, to Stein’s 6,300 or 45.4 percent. The two candidates had traded harsh charges in the closing days of the campaign. But tonight at their election headquarters both expressed relief that the race was finally coming to a close.
Quan, 51, has served 12 years on the Oakland Unified School Board. She is also the vice chair of the expanded Chabot Space and Science Center, an 86,000-square foot learning center which opened in August 2000. Stein, 45, is a longtime real estate attorney who has worked extensively with Parks and Recreation and the city budget advisory committee. While both candidates are Democrats, Quan claims to be the more progressive of the two.
The candidates spent the day walking precincts, handing out mailers and talking to voters. To the bitter end, they have remained fiercely critical in their attacks against one another.
Stein slammed Quan’s record as a school board member in the last two days before the election. His campaign issued a flier resembling a report card citing a 19.7 percent student dropout rate and Quan’s involvement in the Oakland Unified School District’s Ebonics "fiasco." The flier concluded, "We should flunk Jean Quan, not promote her!"
"David is just making excuses," said Quan. "He is hitting me on the schools because people have told him he has to make up points in the race. This doesn’t help the city, the kids, or the schools."
Stein’s mailer came in response to a shot from Quan last week accusing Stein of "grabbing gobs of money" from local developers to finance his campaign—implying that her opponent cares more about development interests than the voters in Oakland.
Current councilmember Dick Spees, who is retiring from the contested seat after 24 years of service, appeared at Stein’s election party. "I would like to see Stein win," Spees said, although he insisted that he is not officially endorsing either candidate.
Spees said he is in favor of Stein’s stance on boosting business in Oakland. Spees said while he believes education is important, the council "doesn’t have a lot to do with schools."
"David is just making excuses," said Quan. "He is hitting me on the schools because people have told him he has to make up points in the race. This doesn’t help the city, the kids, or the schools."
Stein’s mailer came in response to a shot from Quan last week that accused Stein of "grabbing gobs of money" from local developers to finance his campaign—implying that her opponent cares more about development interests than the voters in Oakland.
"I’ve been trying to keep the campaign on the issues," said Stein. "My focus is on budget issues and on services in the areas."
Stein’s camp has used his background as a business owner to promote him as a watchdog of the city budget.
For both camps, the race has been a grueling, 14-month test of endurance. For Quan, just getting voters out to the polls was important to the campaign. In the last minutes before the polls closed, Quan’s bankers were calling people at their homes, urging them to cast their picks.
"We contacted about 13,000 people," Quan said.
Quan said she visited homes in each neighborhood of her district where she hosted coffee gatherings, health fairs and clean-up projects. Stein met people personally at the polls. Both candidates touted Montclair-Laurel-Dimond district as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse in Oakland.