Interim mayor gets sworn in

OAKLAND

Oakland City Council District 6 member Kevin Jenkins talks about his recent selection as the interim mayor of Oakland during the inauguration ceremony held at Oakland City Hall on Monday. PHOTOS BY JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

District 1’s Zachary Unger was one of three new members sworn in to the Oakland City Council this week.

District 7’s Ken Houston also became a new member of the City Council during the ceremony when he was sworn in.

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By Shomik Mukherjee

smukherjee@bayareanewsgroup.com

OAKLAND >> Leadership at Oakland City Hall reshuffled this week as Councilmember Kevin Jenkins was sworn in as the city’s interim mayor and three new faces joined the City Council to start 2025.

Jenkins will serve three months in the role before a special election on April 15 finds a permanent replacement to serve out the term of former Mayor Sheng Thao, who left office last month following a successful recall election in November.

Jenkins will continue to serve in his existing role as the council member in District 6, which spans East Oakland neighborhoods between the Coliseum and Merritt College and across to the Eastmont Hills neighborhood. He will only vote at council meetings to break ties.

Meanwhile, three newcomers were sworn in Monday: Councilmembers Zac Unger in District 1, Ken Houston in District 7 and Rowena Brown in the at-large seat. Carroll Fife and Noel Gallo were reelected in November to the District 3 and District 5 seats, respectively.

In addition to securing a new full-time mayor, voters on April 15 also will elect a new District 2 council member to replace Nikki Fortunato Bas, who was sworn in Tuesday as an Alameda County supervisor after winning the seat after Nov. 5’s election.

Filling the District 2 seat on an interim basis is a familiar face: Rebecca Kaplan, who just retired from the at-large seat she had held since 2009.