Polls are closed in Berkeley’s mayoral race, as well as four City Council races that could reshape the city’s government.

Council members Terry Taplin and Ben Bartlett are being challenged for the seats representing South and Southwest Berkeley (Zone 2 And Zone 3), the other two races are open competitions. Susan Wengraf is not running for re-election after four terms representing Zone 6. And Sophie Hahn leaves him Zone 5 She took the seat after two terms as she ran to lead the council as mayor against Kate Harrison and Adena Ishii.

Preliminary results show Bartlett is ahead to retain his seat in District 3, as is Taplin in District 2. Shoshana O’Keefe was the frontrunner in the District 5 race, while Brent Blackaby was ahead in the District 6 race.

Consisting of one member from each of the city’s eight wards and a mayor elected at large, the council is the city’s legislative body, making appointments to city boards and commissions and having ultimate hiring and firing authority over a number of city managers. the city ​​manager.

If the results are close, it may take several days or even weeks to know the winner. City Council elections are held as follows: ranked votingIf no candidate collects more than 50% of the votes in the first round, this could affect the outcome of the District 3 and District 5 races. In the early standings, both Bartlett and O’Keefe received more than 50% of the first-round vote, but Bartlett was ahead by just over 53% as of Wednesday morning.

The regularly scheduled general election contests come just months after two special elections. Aprilone of them May – brought two new faces to the council after a succession of sudden resignations Rigel Robinson And harrison In January.

District 2: Taplin looks likely to beat his opponent

First-term incumbent Terry Taplin seemed likely to be re-elected against rival Jenny GuarinoAcademic labor leader in District 2.

The Southwest Berkeley area is home to Bayer’s 46-acre campus; Aquatic, San Pablo and Strawberry Creek parks; and a wide variety of residential, commercial and industrial neighborhoods.

Taplin, a poet, transportation activist and former educational assistant, previously served on Berkeley’s transportation and civic arts committees and currently represents Berkeley on the Alameda County Transportation Commission. He chairs the Council’s Public Safety Policy and Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment and Stability subcommittees.

Guarino is a graduate student at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy specializing in affordable housing and urban policy and was named lead representative for UAW 4811, which represents academic student workers at the university. He previously worked as a paralegal and investigator.

Read more about the race on Berkeleyside.

District 3: Bartlett ahead in re-election race

Realtor Deborah Matthews and Police Accountability Board chairman John “Chip” Moore III challenge two-term incumbent Ben Bartlett Representing District 3however, Bartlett also appeared likely to retain his seat, although ranked voting could come into play if vote totals fall below 50%.

The South Berkeley area is on the cusp of large-scale redevelopment at and around the Ashby BART station. It is home to Grove Park and Tim Moellering Field and the Adeline Street commercial corridor, a major thoroughfare between Berkeley and Oakland to the south.

Attorney Bartlett previously served on Berkeley’s transportation and zero waste committees, advocating for electric vehicle infrastructure and the city’s plastic bag ban. He also served on Berkeley’s Credit Board, Planning Commission and Police Review Commission.

Matthews has previously run to represent District 3 twice, South Berkeley Now! He has been a co-founder and advocate for low- and middle-income housing through. and was on the development team for the Black Panther Housing Development project in Oakland, which provides low-income housing to formerly incarcerated people.

Moore is Bartlett’s appointee to the Planning Commission and PAB, and has chaired the Mayor’s Community Advisory Group, co-chaired the Berkeley Unified School District Compensation Task Force and chaired the Berkeley Progressive Group. He founded 4&20 Blackbirds, a marijuana distribution company, and later ran his own consultancy, and is a master’s candidate in public administration at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

Read more about the race on Berkeleyside.

District 5: O’Keefe ahead in race to replace Hahn

Berkeley High School teacher Shoshana O’Keefe took a strong early lead over Todd Andrew, president of the Solano Boulevard Business Improvement District Advisory Board, and nonprofit founder Nilang Gor. In the race to replace Hahn, who is running for mayor.

North Berkeley area, Hopkins Street corridor and several neighborhoods in the western reaches of Berkeley Hills, and is located between Albany to the west and the rest of Berkeley Hills to the east.

Andrew previously ran for the position in 2020, when Hahn won his second term, and sat on the city’s Homeless Commission. Now retired, he worked in employee benefits consulting for 15 years before working in residential real estate for more than twenty years.

Gor is a scientist and senior executive at biotechnology company Gritstone bio, founder of Cultivation Empathy for All, and a board member of the California Plant-Based Alliance. He also previously served on the Berkeley Homeless Commission and has volunteered with various organizations that provide services to Bay Area residents.

O’Keefe has been a member of the Board of Zoning Regulations for 11 years and was most recently reappointed by Hahn. He is a math and science teacher at Berkeley High School and previously worked as an immigration attorney. He is a member of the Berkeley High School Site Council and a former parent member of the Malcolm X Elementary School Site Council.

Read more about the race on Berkeleyside.

District 6: Blackaby on track to replace Wengraf

Online privacy entrepreneur Brent Blackaby has a clear lead over lawyer Andy Katz in the race Wengraf’s success In the City Council.

The Northeast Berkeley region extends north and east from UC Berkeley’s main campus through the Berkeley Hills to the city’s borders with Oakland and Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park to the east and Kensington to the north.

Blackaby co-founded Trilogy Interactive, a political and advocacy marketing agency, as well as Confidently, an online privacy operation that offers to clean up its customers’ data trails. Council member Mark Humbert appointed Blackaby to the Police Accountability Board last year.

Katz is a workers’ rights and environmental attorney who serves on the East Bay Municipal Utilities District Board of Directors and Berkeley’s labor, public health, and disaster and fire safety commissions, and previously served on the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Housing Advisory Commission.

Read more about the race on Berkeleyside.