{"id":499805,"date":"2026-10-18T03:16:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T03:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/499805\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T03:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T03:16:28","slug":"janani-ramachandran-doesnt-have-a-challenger-in-district-4-you-can-still-review-her-city-council-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/499805\/","title":{"rendered":"Janani Ramachandran doesn’t have a challenger in District 4. You can still review her City Council record"},"content":{"rendered":"

As District 4 voters cast their ballots for their next City Council member, they have just one choice: Janani Ramachandran, who is running unopposed. From the mayoral election to city council, Oakland elections are notably quiet<\/a> this year \u2014 with school board seats being an interesting exception.<\/p>\n

Even so, the election provides a waypoint to review Ramachandran\u2019s work over the past four years representing District 4, which covers Allendale, Crestmont, Dimond, Glen Highlands, Glenview, Laurel, Lincoln Highlands, Montclair, and Redwood Heights, among other neighborhoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, we reached out twice to the councilmember seeking an interview for this story, but Ramachandran did not respond. She also didn\u2019t respond to a questionnaire<\/a> Oaklandside sent to all of the candidates, nor to one sent by Empower Oakland, an advocacy organization that has endorsed her in this election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran came into office as the youngest ever member of the city council \u2014 she is 34 now \u2014 and also the first Oakland councilmember of South Asian heritage and the first to identify as an LGBTQ woman of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran was born and raised in the East Bay and graduated from Stanford and UC Berkeley Law School. She previously worked as a public interest attorney and served as a commissioner on the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs and on Oakland\u2019s Public Ethics Commission. In 2021, Ramachandran ran<\/a> against Mia Bonta for the District 18 state assembly seat and lost. She ran for City Council the following year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the council, Ramachandran serves as chair of the Finance and Management Committee, and as a member of the Community and Economic Development Committee and the Rules and Legislation Committee. She is also the chair of the East Bay Wildfire Coalition and represents the city at the Association of Bay Area Governments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past four years, Ramachandran has taken on a watchdog role, bringing attention to fiscal and operational decisions she sees as bad for Oakland. She took a lonely stand against the decision to patch Oakland\u2019s budget with revenue from the Coliseum sale, accurately predicting that it would bring financial chaos<\/a> to the city. She also discovered and publicized Oakland\u2019s failure to process<\/a> hundreds of 911 dispatcher applications, for which she was recognized by a professional journalism organization. And Ramachandran fought for Oakland to enforce its tree protection law, demanding \u2014 and securing \u2014 a hefty fine against a couple who illegally cut down dozens of trees<\/a> in her district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At other times, Ramachandran has arguably fallen short of her own standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like her colleagues on Oakland City Council, she has failed<\/a> to abide by the California Public Records Act. She also created a potential conflict of interest by asking a city contractor to give money<\/a> to a nonprofit she created. And she coauthored legislation that dramatically increased<\/a> how much money councilmembers can raise for their committees \u2014 including one that Ramachandran used to give thousands of dollars<\/a> to a company created by her romantic partner and communications director.<\/p>\n

Outside her work in City Hall, Ramachandran has pursued a parallel career as an R&B singer, work that has informed her policy approach to culture and the arts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to taking a leadership role on the budget process, Ramachandran appears to have built a relationship with Mayor Barbara Lee. Last year, the two lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C.<\/a>, to ask for federal funds for Oakland.<\/p>\n

From 911 hiring to failed tax collection, Ramachandran has played a watchdog role<\/p>\n

\"\"Janani Ramachandran, seen speaking at a May 2025 meeting, has focused much of her effort on Oakland\u2019s finances and government efficiency. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside. <\/p>\n

As a former member of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, Ramachandran came into office promising to uphold a high standard for transparency and accountability. On her campaign website<\/a>, she describes herself as the \u201cvoice of pragmatism and ethical leadership\u201d on the City Council, adding that she has had the \u201caudacity to fight for common sense policies.\u201d Ramachandran has exercised those values from the council dais at different points over the past four years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She investigated the failure of the city\u2019s Human Resources Department to process hundreds of 911 dispatcher applications<\/a>. According to records Ramachandran obtained through a public records request, Oakland failed to act on roughly 1,000 dispatcher applications between April 2022 and April 2023. This came as a shock to city leaders, who were under pressure to improve Oakland\u2019s 911 response time to avoid losing state funding. The revelation about the applications infuriated Ramachandran, who said at a council meeting, \u201cEvery single one of us knows multiple people who have had to wait on hold when calling 911, and no one should have to wait in their moment of crisis for someone to pick up the phone.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She opposed<\/a> a budget-balancing maneuver that counted on money from the unrealized sale of the Coliseum. Ramachandran was one of three councilmembers who fought this decision while raising concerns about the sale failing and how this would affect the city\u2019s credit rating. Calling the budget process an \u201cinsult\u201d to Oakland residents, Ramachandran said at the time, \u201cWe are using the illusion of funds that haven\u2019t arrived yet to balance a budget.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has demanded that Oakland enforce<\/a> its civil laws. In an op-ed published in the East Bay Times last year, Ramachandran said she was tired of hearing people express resignation at cars running red lights, illegal parking, and the city\u2019s failure to collect money from scofflaws. \u201cOakland can\u2019t afford to be lazy in our enforcement any longer if we want to thrive as a city,\u201d Ramachandran said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And she drilled city staff over their problems with collecting millions of dollars<\/a> in business tax revenue. In a 2024 interview, Ramachandran said, \u201cThere has been a failure in leadership and decision-making.\u201d At council meetings, Ramachandran raised concerns that some staff were not being forthright with the council about the details of this particular problem.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has sparred with her colleagues over issues, such as demanding the maximum penalty for a couple who illegally cut down trees<\/a> on their property. The hillside lot is located in Ramachandran\u2019s district. In a press release, Ramachandran referred to the incident as \u201cthe most egregious tree removal violation case in the city\u2019s history\u201d and chastised colleagues who were reluctant to impose the full fine recommended by city staff.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, Ramachandran was among a minority of councilmembers who supported creating a ballot measure to strengthen<\/a> Oakland\u2019s Public Ethics Commission. The council eventually did an about-face and agreed<\/a> to place the measure on the ballot. Voters passed<\/a> the measure by 73%.<\/p>\n

That year, Ramachandran also received<\/a> the James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for her work uncovering Oakland\u2019s failure to process hundreds of applications for 911 dispatcher positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The award committee praised Ramachandran and noted that she faced retaliation from city leaders for her work. In a social media post<\/a>, she wrote, \u201cI will continue to use my voice to shed light on the ugly truths of politics, no matter the cost.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Potential conflicts of interest also appear on Ramachandran\u2019s record <\/p>\n

\"\"Councilmember Ramachandran has occasionally run into potential conflicts of interest. Credit: Brian Krans for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Last year, Ramachandran solicited money<\/a> from various organizations, including a contractor who is suing the city<\/a>, for a nonprofit she created called Tiger Arts. The money paid for a Diwali party, which was free and open to all members of the public. Ramachandran said she didn\u2019t receive any of the money personally, but ethics experts we spoke to raised concerns about how this arrangement could create potential conflicts of interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the first half of 2025, Ramachandran used her officeholder account \u2014 a political committee that\u2019s allowed to raise money and spend it on things related to a government official\u2019s work \u2014 to give nearly $18,000<\/a> to a company linked to her romantic partner and to her City Council office\u2019s communications director. Oakland law doesn\u2019t prohibit officeholders from using their accounts to pay spouses. But it does bar officials from using accounts to provide \u201csupplemental compensation\u201d for duties that would be required or expected of an employee in the normal course of their job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, Ramachandran told us that her communications director wasn\u2019t actually being paid through the account; rather, these were all \u201ccosts for the actual materials of the deliverables and technology.\u201d As examples, she said the officeholder funds paid for equipment to produce videos she makes for social media, her newsletter, an overhaul of her council website, and resource materials that were distributed across her district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran co-authored a proposal last year that increased how much money<\/a> candidates for City Council can receive from individuals and broad-based political committees. She also supported legislation that increased how much money councilmembers can raise through their officeholder committees. The ethics commission \u2014 Ramachandran\u2019s former colleagues \u2014 refused to endorse increased caps on officeholder committees, raising concerns about how these accounts can be used as slush funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, an ad promoting a new song Ramachandran created<\/a> appeared on a billboard in Oakland, according to a Reddit post. Another councilmember, Ken Houston, also promoted himself<\/a> on a billboard. Both of the ads appeared on boards owned and operated by Becker Boards. Ramachandran voted to approve several deals between Becker Boards and the city, including one over the summer that reduced what Becker Boards is obligated to pay<\/a> a group of nonprofits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year, Ramachandran\u2019s nonprofit also solicited money<\/a> from Becker Boards\u2019 lobbyist, Isaac Kos-Read, to pay for her Diwali party. Kos-Read was one of the people listed as a co-host<\/a> of Ramachandran\u2019s reelection party in May 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran correctly clocked the Coliseum debacle \u2014 and was an early Thao critic<\/p>\n

\"\"Oakland CouncilmemberJanani Ramachandran and her colleagues announcing amendments to the proposed 2025-2027 budget on June 10, 2025. Credit: Eli Wolfe\/The Oaklandside. <\/p>\n

In 2023, Ramachandran objected<\/a> to the Thao administration\u2019s plan to consolidate city departments in a bid to save money. She pointed out that the city hadn\u2019t conducted a feasibility study and lacked basic information, like how many staff positions would be affected. She was one of three councilmembers who refused to approve the budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following year, then-Mayor Thao proposed a budget that relied on tens of millions of dollars from the sale of the Coliseum complex to a private developer. Ramachandran objected to this maneuver<\/a>, calling the budget process \u201can insult to the people of Oakland\u201d and warning, \u201cWe are using the illusion of funds that haven\u2019t arrived yet to balance a budget.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her fears were borne out several months later when the sale didn\u2019t happen<\/a>, forcing city leaders to enact severe cuts<\/a> to city programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In June 2023, Ramachandran was the sole member of the council\u2019s finance committee to vote against<\/a> a $75,000 pay raise for the mayor. The timing of the raise was mandated by Oakland\u2019s City Charter, but Ramachandran had concerns<\/a> about how the city calculated the amount of money to be paid. When the item went to the full council, Ramachandran and a majority of councilmembers approved the smallest legal raise<\/a> for the mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thao appears to have considered Ramachandran a political enemy. In a recorded phone call<\/a> between Thao and a city contractor in late 2023, Thao referred to Ramachandran using a misogynistic slur and urged the contractor, California Waste Solutions\u2019 Andy Duong, not to extend any favors to Ramachandran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Thao was recalled by voters and later indicted by a federal grand jury, Ramachandran said<\/a> the news of Thao\u2019s indictment was \u201cabsolutely a blow to public trust at a time where trust is already so marginally slim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramachandran took on a leadership role in structuring the city\u2019s budgets. In 2025, she and two other councilmembers announced they had located over $8 million in the city\u2019s accounts to ensure that no fire stations would be shuttered<\/a> in the coming year. The budget the council approved<\/a> several months later slashed vacant staff positions to keep firehouses open, fund five police academies, and invest money in several key programs, including community safety ambassadors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran also helped secure the city extra revenue by co-sponsoring a deal to give an advertising company the right to construct new billboards around the city. The company, Becker Boards, also agreed to offer discounted advertising to community organizations. In an unusual move, Ramachandran and her colleagues incorporated the deal into the budget<\/a> before it had been approved by the council.<\/p>\n

In 2026, Ramachandran again helped lead the budget process. The spending plan<\/a> approved by council ended up slashing vacant positions to help pay for things like speed enforcement cameras, tree maintenance, new public restrooms, and electricians to repair street lights, among other things. It also cut money from police oversight, which led to concerns about whether Oakland was preparing itself<\/a> for the eventual end of OPD\u2019s federal court oversight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran made a point of emphasizing that the 2026 budget included some money to pay down long-term pension liabilities and also bring the city into compliance with four voter-approved tax measures. The city\u2019s repeated declarations of fiscal emergencies, which have allowed Oakland to suspend some of the requirements of special tax measures that provide millions in revenue, have rankled residents over the years and likely contributed to the failure of the parcel tax Measure E<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran\u2019s voting record <\/p>\n

\"\"Councilmember Ramachandran has authored resolutions and voted on several controversial pieces of legislation. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside. <\/p>\n

For the past three years, The Oaklandside has tracked how many votes \u2014 and which ones \u2014 councilmembers miss each year. In 2023<\/a>, Ramachandran was in the middle of the pack, having missed 31 total votes, including the approval<\/a> of an emergency ordinance to ensure tenants displaced from the Coliseum Connections complex would have access to relocation money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following year, Ramachandran had the second-worst voting record<\/a> on council, having missed 101 votes. Ramachandran told us that she missed most of these votes because she was pregnant for much of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, Ramachandran said she believed she was the first full-time elected city official who had been pregnant while serving in office, posing a unique challenge. Ramachandran wanted to attend meetings virtually from home, but the Oakland City Attorney advised her she would have to share her location with the public, pursuant to California\u2019s Brown Act. Ramachandran wasn\u2019t comfortable with this, and after some back and forth, they agreed she could join meetings virtually from her City Hall office. But this also had drawbacks. Ramachandran expressed frustration with how unprepared local governments are for accommodating pregnant elected officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2025, Ramachandran missed 28 votes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aside from her budget amendments, here are some other noteworthy laws Ramachandran authored or co-sponsored.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Ramachandran coauthored a ballot measure to provide tax breaks<\/a> to certain Oakland businesses. The council agreed to put it on the ballot, and in June voters approved it<\/a> by a wide margin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran asked for an informational report revealing Oakland\u2019s failure to process<\/a> hundreds of applications for 911 dispatcher jobs. This revelation came months after the state had repeatedly warned Oakland that it was at risk of losing funding if it didn\u2019t meet state standards for 911 response times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She solicited reports on Oakland\u2019s revenue collection process<\/a>, the city\u2019s bond issuance plan<\/a>, incentives to stimulate economic growth<\/a>, and the unauthorized use of overtime<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She worked on a tax-sharing agreement<\/a> with the owner of the Roots and Soul to help pay for facility renovations ahead of the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran made amendments<\/a> to the rules governing Oakland\u2019s public meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past four years, Ramachandran has also voted on hundreds of pieces of legislation, including awards of city contracts, ceremonial items celebrating holidays and people, and changes to Oakland\u2019s laws. Here are some of the most consequential items that Ramachandran has voted on:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes votes:<\/p>\n

No votes:<\/p>\n

An ordinance to create a ballot measure<\/a> asking voters whether they want Oakland to transform into a \u201cstrong mayor\u201d system.<\/p>\n

Betsy Lake\u2019s<\/a> appointment as the city\u2019s interim City Administrator after Jestin Johnson resigned.<\/p>\n

One big piece of legislation Ramachandran didn\u2019t vote on was the controversial new encampment abatement policy<\/a> advanced by Councilmember Ken Houston. Ramachandran was excused from that vote. In December 2024, she wasn\u2019t present for a vote to approve several budget-balancing actions<\/a> that had to happen after the city failed to receive money from the Coliseum transaction. This vote happened around the time that Ramachandran went on maternity leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past four years, Ramachandran has also joined her council colleagues in dozens of closed-session meetings where she voted to approve settlements with people and companies suing Oakland. One of the decisions she approved was to terminate a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines<\/a> for allegedly failing to provide its workers with paid sick leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Culture and music have played a big role in Ramachandran\u2019s work outside and inside City Hall<\/p>\n

\"\"Councilmember Janani Ramachandran and Osagie perform with Super Good 4 U Thing during Ramachandran\u2019s birthday party at the Golden Bull in Oakland, Calif. on Jun. 20, 2024. Credit: Amaya Edwards for The Oaklandside. <\/p>\n

For many years, Ramachandran has practiced classical Indian music and musical theater. More recently, she has ventured into R&B music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, she produced a single, \u201cThe Tequila is Done (but I Ain\u2019t),\u201d which she also released as a music video<\/a>. Ramachandran and her partner, Osagie, performed this song<\/a> as a duo at the Golden Bull bar during her birthday party in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran also created a nonprofit organization, Tiger Arts, which she has used to organize an annual Diwali festival, where residents can enjoy free food and music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2023, Ramachandran identified the city\u2019s Cultural Affairs Division as one area where she\u2019d like to see more investments<\/a>. Last year, as the city struggled with its budget, Ramachandran and a group of other councilmembers decided to cut the city\u2019s cultural affairs manager<\/a>, who is responsible for overseeing funding for the arts. Ramachandran was criticized<\/a> at a public meeting over this decision. Ramachandran and the council agreed to reinstate<\/a> the role several months later.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramachandran also helped lead an effort to allocate $750,000 from this year\u2019s budget to reinstate Oakland\u2019s Film Incentive Program<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: We corrected this story to note that Ramachandran wasn\u2019t endorsed by Empower Oakland during her first run for office in 2022 because the organization wasn\u2019t founded until the following year.<\/p>\n

“*” indicates required fields<\/p>\n

\t