Oakland voters will choose two of the directors who run AC Transit, the East Bay bus agency, on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Five of the agency's seven board seats are on the ballot this year. In Oakland, Ward 3 pits longtime director Joel Young against product manager and Temescal activist Adriana Valencia, and Ward 4 pits one-term incumbent Sarah Syed against veteran teacher Gabriel Morales, The Oaklandside reported. For every other local contest we have covered, see our Nov. 3, 2026 election guide.
Why these seats matter now
AC Transit carries roughly 40 million bus trips a year. The agency is still working off a structural deficit of about $200 million left by the pandemic ridership collapse, and riders have dealt with frequent canceled and late trips after the "Realign" redesign of routes and schedules. The directors elected in November will either help decide how to spend money from the regional transit sales tax on the same ballot, or have to cut service if it fails. Read our explainer on the regional transit measure and on AC Transit's backup service-cut plan.
Ward 3: Joel Young vs. Adriana Valencia
After 2022 redistricting eliminated at-large seats, Ward 3 now covers North Oakland, Montclair, Piedmont, most neighborhoods around Lake Merritt, and Alameda. Joel Young, an attorney, has held an at-large seat since 2009. He chaired the 2016 campaign for the Measure C1 parcel tax renewal, which the agency says brings in about $30 million a year, and has backed zero-emission hydrogen and electric buses. This year an independent investigation found he made "unwanted physical contact" with fellow director Syed, in violation of the agency's gender-based harassment policy; four directors signed a letter supporting him, while 33 current and former East Bay officials called for his censure (our earlier story). Young declined The Oaklandside's interview request.
Adriana Valencia has worked as a product manager at companies including Airbnb and Twitter, sits on the Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District board and is a founding member of the YIMBY group East Bay for Everyone. She told The Oaklandside she has never driven and relies on transit. She wants reliability statistics and root-cause explanations for missed trips on every board agenda, and better coordination with BART during outages. She also criticized the 2024 cut to late-night Broadway service.
According to Bay Ballot, which tracks local voter guides, 10 of 11 Alameda County guides that picked in this race endorse Valencia, including the Alameda County Democratic Party, the Sierra Club and YIMBY Action. The Alameda Labor Council endorses Young.
Ward 4: Sarah Syed vs. Gabriel Morales
Sarah Syed, a transportation planner and former City of Oakland bicycle and pedestrian analyst, rides the 57 and NL lines. She voted against the final Realign plan and has pushed for better reliability data, noting that in the week ending Aug. 22 only 89.4% of scheduled trips ran against a 99.5% goal. She fought to restore night service on Broadway and supports the regional transit measure; if it fails, she says she would protect service over discretionary spending.
Gabriel Morales, a longtime East Bay teacher and former principal now at Hayward Adult School, grew up in San Leandro and Hayward. He wants faster public reliability data, closer work with the drivers' union on the operator shortage, more budget transparency, and on his campaign site pledges to restore Line 33 between Piedmont and Oakland. He supports zero-emission buses where they make fiscal sense.
Bay Ballot shows all eight guides that picked in Ward 4 endorse Syed, including the county Democratic Party and the Alameda Labor Council; none endorse Morales.