Rebecca Kaplan changes course, enters Oakland mayoral race

Oakland Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan is joining the long list of challengers vying to oust Mayor Jean Quan in the fall. Oakland Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan is joining the long list of challengers vying to oust Mayor Jean Quan in the fall. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Rebecca Kaplan changes course, enters Oakland mayoral race 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Oakland Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, the third-place finisher in the 2010 mayoral race who said she would not challenge Mayor Jean Quan this fall, has changed course and will run for mayor.

Kaplan, 43, told The Chronicle that she had grown frustrated with the inaction and turmoil during Quan's time as mayor.

"I've concluded that Oakland isn't ungovernable, it is ungoverned," said Kaplan, who plans to formally announce her candidacy Thursday. "All of the top goals the city is trying to accomplish are right now being hampered by the lack of effective leadership."

Kaplan's decision dramatically changes the dynamics of the race in which no candidate has been able to rise above Quan in polls or attract overwhelming enthusiasm from a large number of voters five months before the election.

Poll numbers

A November poll by the city's Jobs and Housing Coalition found that Kaplan would collect 26 percent of first-place votes and 24 percent of second-place votes. Quan had 20 percent of first-place votes and 12 percent of second-place votes.

Joe Tuman, a political science professor, had 17 percent of first-place votes and 19 percent of second place votes. Councilwoman Libby Schaaf had 15 percent of first-place votes and 12 percent of second-place votes. Sixteen percent of voters were undecided and the margin of error was 4.4 percent.

"Her entry actually throws a bit of wrench in the race because of being a relatively well-known candidate," said David McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University who studies politics in Oakland. "She doesn't have some of the also-ran baggage the other candidates do."

Kaplan, who lives in the Longfellow area in North Oakland with her fiancee, Pamela Rosin, is serving her second term as the city's at-large member. She becomes the 16th person to challenge Quan in November.

In a statement, Quan said she was unfazed by Kaplan's candidacy.

"I'm eager to run on my record against anyone," the mayor said. "Oakland is moving forward in every category that matters to our citizens."

Quan cited the city's "robust" economy, declining crime and growing police force.

Kaplan said she is disappointed by the number of police officers patrolling the city's streets and the sense among residents that the city is overwhelmed by blight issues like graffiti and illegal dumping.

About 650 officers patrol the streets. Kaplan said the city should have closer to 800.

"There should be less trash on the streets, people should not be put on hold when they call 911," she said.

Barry Donelan, head of the Oakland Police Officers Association, said Kaplan has been a "stalwart supporter on trying to fix the ongoing problems with our radios and more recently dealing with our challenges with mandatory overtime."

Hiring more police officers is a priority, Kaplan said. When asked how she would pay for more officers, Kaplan said she could wring more money out of the current budget and rely on new revenue from the city's real estate boom.

Kaplan promised to create 30,000 jobs in Oakland if she were elected. Most jobs, she said, would come from real estate construction or city services, such as filling potholes.

Likability challenge

But Kaplan will face challenges. She has served on the City Council since 2008, a time when voters have become increasingly frustrated with city government, and she is well behind the other major candidates, who began fundraising last year.

"I suppose she will run on her record and the record of the City Council over the last six years," said Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney who also is running for mayor. "I am curious to see what it is. It doesn't seem like the council has provided much leadership on the issues people in Oakland care about."

Many in City Hall also say Kaplan is so focused on being well liked that she avoids sensitive political issues and struggles to say no.

When asked to identify times where she took a controversial stance on an issue, Kaplan pointed to her decision to vote against police layoffs in 2010 and, more recently, her opposition to the city's proposed garbage contract, which will raise rates for residents by as much as 50 percent.

Kaplan didn't dispute that she likes to be liked.

"It is so funny that people would think that being nice to people is a weakness," Kaplan said. "Being nice to people is what makes job-generating projects for the people of Oakland happen. ... If part of how I get to that win is by being nice to people, I don't think anyone in Oakland will have any problem with that being the strategy that's gets us to success."