Adena Ishii, a City Hall Outsider, Wins Berkeley Mayor's Race

Adena Ishii, a civic organizer who had never run for or held elected office, has won the tightly contested race for Berkeley mayor, narrowly ousting City Council veteran Sophie Hahn.

Ishii on Wednesday said she’s ready to get to work on an agenda that will focus on building more housing and making progress on the city’s perennial challenges with homelessness.

A nonprofit education consultant and former president of a local League of Women Voters chapter, Ishii defeated Hahn by 51% to 49%, according to nearly final returns released by Alameda County election officials late Wednesday.

Ishii said her upset victory — by just 1,039 votes in a ranked choice “instant runoff” — owed a lot to voter dissatisfaction with infighting on the City Council. The nine-member body has been the scene of loud disagreements involving the war in Gaza, the future of People’s Park and the council’s recent move to take a more aggressive stance toward large encampments of unhoused people.

“My message in this campaign was that we needed a reset at City Hall, that we had had two City Council members resign, citing that city politics had become broken and toxic,” Ishii said. “We needed someone who was going to be focused on the issues.”

Despite her lack of experience, Ishii won endorsements from several big names in local politics, including state Sen. Nancy Skinner, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and former Berkeley mayor and longtime state legislator Tom Bates.

Ishii said she plans to quickly start building her team, meet with city officials, “and really start getting to work.”

“Homelessness has been a priority throughout my entire campaign, and it will continue to be a priority for me, especially as the weather is getting cold and wet,” she added.

In an email to supporters Wednesday evening, Hahn conceded the race.

“The results of this race are clear: Adena Ishii has been chosen by the people of Berkeley to be your next mayor,” Hahn wrote. “Just a few moments ago I called to congratulate her and wish her the very best as she navigates our city through what are likely to be challenging times for our country and our community.”

Ishii’s opponents in the campaign also included former City Councilmember Kate Harrison — one of the two members who abruptly quit the council early this year. Harrison finished a distant third in the ranked choice contest.

Ishii, who will become Berkeley’s first Asian American mayor, will be sworn in next month. She succeeds Jesse Arreguín, who was just elected to the state Senate.