Election 2024: Who will be Berkeley’s next mayor?

Berkeley is waiting to find out who will lead the city through a time of major change in local government.

The three leading mayoral candidates — Councilmember Sophie Hahn, former Councilmember Kate Harrison and nonprofit consultant Adena Ishii — will be watching for the first batches of election results at parties with their supporters around Berkeley after the polls close Tuesday night. Two more candidates, Naomi Pete and Logan Bowie, are on the ballot but did not mount campaigns.

It might take several days or even weeks to know the winner if the race is close. And Berkeley’s ranked-choice voting system will come into play if none of the candidates is the first choice of more than half of voters.

The next mayor of Berkeley will guide a City Council that could soon be full of fresh faces: four of the eight other council seats are up for election Tuesday, two of them in races with no incumbents. Two other members have been on the council for just a few months, after winning special elections last summer prompted by the unprecedented back-to-back resignations of Harrison and Rigel Robinson, who had been part of the mayor’s race before he left office and shut down his campaign. Meanwhile, longtime City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley stepped down in July, and the council appointed one of her former deputies, Paul Buddenhagen, to fill the role.

Hahn pitched herself during the campaign as an experienced and effective veteran of city politics who would steer Berkeley through this pivotal moment. Harrison’s campaign, meanwhile, positioned her as a similarly seasoned candidate, but sought to draw support from voters who are frustrated with the city’s direction on issues such as housing and commercial development. Ishii, who has never held elected office, emphasized her work in nonpartisan organizations such as the League of Women Voters to make the case that she would “reset” city politics that critics say has turned toxic.

They are vying to replace Mayor Jesse Arreguín, who is leaving City Hall to seek a state Senate seat after two terms in the mayor’s office and eight years as a council member.

Ishii’s campaign picked up endorsements from four council members, two of whom backed her as a second choice, as well as state Sen. Nancy Skinner and Asm. Buffy Wicks. But it was Hahn who locked up most of the council’s support, as Arreguín and five other councilmembers backed her bid as a first choice. Harrison had support from several progressive advocacy groups and one current council member, Cecilia Lunaparra.

Ishii and Harrison participated in Berkeley’s public financing program, which limits individual contributions to $60 but provides a six-to-one match for donations from city residents. Hahn declined to take part in the program, meaning she could accept donations of up to $270.

As of Oct. 19, the last campaign finance deadline before Election Day, Hahn’s campaign had spent about $160,000, compared to just over $140,000 spent by both Harrison and Ishii. Hahn also held a cash advantage of about $20,000 over Harrison and Ishii heading into the final weeks of the race.