Who will be Oakland’s new interim mayor?

Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato-Bas has been declared the winner for a vacant Alameda County Supervisor’s seat, raising questions on who will become the city’s interim leader after the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao.

As council president, Fortunato-Bas was next in line to succeed the ousted Thao as Oakland’s mayor, until a special election for the office next spring.

But Fortunato-Bas squeezed out a win in the Alameda County Supervisor’s 5th District race against former Emeryville Mayor John Bauters.

Under the city’s constitution, the next elected official in line for succession is the council’s pro-Tempore. Currently, Councilman Dan Kalb holds the title, but he did not stand for re-election, and neither did Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Once the new City Council is sworn into office in January, council members will have to elect a new president, who will serve until the special election for the mayor’s office in April. The winner of that race will serve out the remaining two years of Thao’s four-year term.

The council’s new president and Pro-tem could come from incumbents Carroll Fife and Noel Gallo, who both won re-election, or holdovers Jenani Ramachandran and Kevin Jenkins, who represent Oakland’s 4th and 6th districts, respectively. They did not face election this month.

Newcomers to the city council are At-Large winner Rowena Brown, First District victor Zac Unger, and Ken Houston, who will represent District 7.