All three Oakland Unified School District board incumbents on the ballot were trailing after Alameda County released its first ranked-choice results early Wednesday, The Oaklandside reported.
As of 2:07 a.m. Wednesday, challenger Arielle Fleisher had 53.5% against board president Jennifer Brouhard in District 2. Challenger Kathryn Camp had 53.9% over incumbent Mike Hutchinson in District 4, and challenger Alexandra Williams had 56% against board vice president Valarie Bachelor in District 6, according to The Oaklandside.
The gaps separating the leaders ranged from about 100 to 600 votes. If turnout looks like 2022, about 40% of the votes could still be uncounted, The Oaklandside said. The registrar said the next results update would come Friday, Nov. 6. It also reported 220 youth votes this year, down from 575 in 2024, the first year 16- and 17-year-olds could vote in school board races.
East Bay Insiders called it a potential shake-up, noting that Brouhard and Bachelor both have strong backing from the teachers union. It reported that Bachelor trailed Williams by just 167 votes as of late Tuesday night.The stakes are high. Over the last two years the board cut $100 million from the budget, separated from longtime superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell and hired interim superintendent Denise Saddler. The district exited state receivership in June 2025, but a recent state report found it at "high" risk of fiscal insolvency. Fleisher, Camp and Williams were backed by Empower Oakland and Oakland Parents for a Quality Education. Hutchinson also had Empower Oakland's backing.
Vote counts cited here are unofficial. Bay Area counties are still processing mail and provisional ballots, and results are not certified until later this month, so margins can change.