Oakland elects first female mayor after close race

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"Jean Quan has been elected Oakland's next mayor, becoming the city's first female mayor and the first Asian American woman to lead a major U.S. city, in what's being considered an upset win over a heavily favored opponent.

The city councilwoman received 51 percent of the vote, compared with 49 percent for former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, Alameda County elections officials said Wednesday. Quan, 61, replaces outgoing Mayor Ronald Dellums, who chose not to seek a second term.

The results followed a dayslong process of tallying votes under a new "ranked-choice" system that allowed voters to list their first, second and third-place candidates.

"We've been waiting 158 years to have a woman mayor," Quan said to cheers from supporters on the steps of City Hall. "We've been waiting over 200 years to have an Asian American woman as mayor of a major American city. And, we've been waiting about four years to get ranked-choice voting.

"This is a race people are going to be studying for a long time."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jcvmgxIQor3TGPej_JMiHA49dPuA?docId=0722869e6d904ad9be577ee1e9e6ea87

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