# What to know about Mayor Barbara Lee’s push to transform how Oakland is run > Source: > Published: 2026-06-16 11:00:16+00:00 **Getting your** [Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...OAKLAND — Turmoil has been brewing for weeks inside Oakland City Hall, where elected leaders are considering whether to place a ballot measure [strengthening the powers of the city’s mayor](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/11/oakland-strong-mayor-council-debate/) on the November election ballot. The council [voted 5-3 to advance the legislation](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/03/oakland-mayor-power-increase-election/) earlier this month, but now some members who supported Mayor Barbara Lee’s push for the measure are wavering before a second vote Tuesday that would [place the proposed reforms before voters](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/15/oakland-mayor-barbara-lee-new-tax/). Most significantly, Lee wants voters to grant the mayor’s office a veto over Oakland City Council decisions and absorb many day-to-day responsibilities of running the city. Her plan has met resistance from political advocates and government experts, in addition to council members. In an interview on Monday, Lee seemed frustrated and at times incredulous that critics have likened her proposal to a “power grab.” “It’s not about one mayor,” she said Monday. “It’s about structural change. It’s about accountability, and how services could be delivered and how financial resources could be allocated.” There are nuances to her proposed ballot measure, along with recent and decades-old history that explains how Oakland got to this point. Here’s what the public should know going into the council’s Tuesday meeting, where council members will make a final decision on whether to put the proposal before voters this fall. #### How will the mayor’s veto power work? At its core, the proposal creates what is known as a “strong-mayor” system of governance in Oakland, where the mayor lacks legislative authority and does not sit on the city council. A city administrator, hired and fired by the mayor, currently oversees daily government operations. As a strong mayor, Lee would gain the power to veto not just council decisions but also specific language within approved city policies. The eight-member council would need six votes to override her vetoes. #### How often does Lee plan to use the veto? “Very seldom, if ever,” Lee said Monday, though she also called it “a tool” that could make the process of deciding policies more efficient. Upon taking office, Lee assembled a working group of regional officials that — after deliberating in private — recommended a strong-mayor model for Oakland. The veto power, its members argued, brings the city’s stakeholders into the same room with a clear idea of who’s in charge. “When there are fiscal and administrative decisions that require a unified direction, strong-mayor systems work best,” said Nicole Neditch, a policy analyst who has previously worked for the city government and served in the working group. #### How else would Lee’s proposal strengthen the mayor — and what would it mean for the city council? She would also gain the ability to hire and fire most city department heads — a responsibility currently held by the city administrator, who serves under the mayor. But the council would find itself with new perks, such as a new ability to give direct orders to staff members. Often, council members in Oakland have complained that they are powerless to clear illegal dumping from a certain sidewalk or address a pothole when those issues are raised by residents. The measure also would allow the council to demand records or testimonies from individuals, using the “general law of the state” to find in contempt those who resist a subpoena. Lastly, the council could establish — by a future vote — an independent analyst to assess the city’s budget and all proposed policies. The analyst, in theory, could provide a kind of objective rebuttal to the mayor’s proposed spending priorities. Still, even some council members who sided with the mayor earlier this month are concerned about the implications of moving her proposal forward. “We’d be babysitters,” Councilmember Ken Houston, an apparent swing vote in Tuesday’s decision, said in a recent interview about what Lee’s proposal would entail. #### What is the alternative? Most California cities — besides San Francisco and Los Angeles — are not governed under the system that Lee is proposing. Proponents argue the strong-mayor model allows for a more urban city to be led by a singular executive, while Neditch also says such a format “attracts the best people to run for mayor.” All those other cities across the state utilize a “council-manager” model, in which the mayor sits on the council and has a single vote on the body, while the hired administrator — a professional executive — runs the city. Some steadfastly believe Oakland would be better served by a council-manager model, including Councilmember Zac Unger — who failed to secure support from his colleagues for a competing proposal. If the strong-mayor model fails, either at Tuesday’s council meeting or in the November election, then it’s possible a council-manager measure could appear on a future ballot. Lee, for her part, said she would support a council-manager model if that’s what the working group had recommended. “Whatever the voters determine would make their lives better and to hold leaders accountable,” she said. “The buck has got to stop somewhere.” #### How did Oakland get here? Oakland finds itself in this position because of another high-profile politician who thought the city needed a structural fix: Jerry Brown. Between stints as California’s governor, Brown ran for Oakland’s top office in 1998, simultaneously campaigning for voters to relieve the mayor from having to sit on the council. Whether it worked at the time is for historians to debate. In 2026, though, there is shared consensus between government experts and politicians that the existing system has not worked. “Right now, it’s helter-skelter,” Lee said. “No one’s responsible.” *Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland. Call or text him at 510-905-5495 or email him at shomik@bayareanewsgroup.com. *