Oakland City Council District 4 · Nov 3, 2026
Janani Ramachandran
Candidate for City Council District 4 (incumbent)
Janani Ramachandran, the incumbent, is running for Oakland City Council District 4 in the Nov 3, 2026 election, unopposed.
Vote-by-mail ballots start going out; early voting opens at the Registrar's office · Mon, Oct 5, 2026
TodayPublic interest attorney who previously served on Oakland's Public Ethics Commission.
- Occupation (from candidate statement)
- Councilmember/Attorney/Mother
- Campaign website
- jananiforoakland.com
Janani Ramachandran is the only qualified candidate for the District 4 seat. City of Oakland
Charlene Wang's campaign site lists Mayor Barbara Lee and Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Rowena Brown, Zac Unger, Janani Ramachandran, Noel Gallo and Ken Houston among her endorsers. Charlene Wang campaign site
Where Janani Ramachandran stands: positions on the record
Charter reform (Measure EE)1 sourced position
Voted no on placing the mayor's charter amendment making the mayor chief executive on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot (4-4 tie, broken by Mayor Lee, June 2026).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026
Budget3 sourced positions
Says that as Finance Committee chair she led the council's 2025-27 budget process, which closed a $265 million deficit.
Own statementJanani Ramachandran officeholder site
Voted yes, and made the motion, on the fiscal 2026-27 midcycle budget (passed 6-2, June 2026).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes, June 12, 2026 · Jun 12, 2026
Said the 2026-27 budget pays down some pension liabilities and keeps reserves, as reported by The Oaklandside.
“This is working, quite frankly, with what we have right now, which is not a lot”
Own statementThe Oaklandside · Jun 15, 2026
Police surveillance cameras3 sourced positions
Voted yes on a two-year, $2.25 million Flock Safety license-plate camera contract with data-sharing limits (passed 7-1, Dec. 2025).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes, Dec. 16, 2025 · Dec 16, 2025
Said the council would cancel the Flock contract at any sign of violations, as reported by The Oaklandside.
“If there’s the slightest indication this company is in violation, we’ll cancel the contract”
Own statementThe Oaklandside · Dec 17, 2025
Voted no on a $140,000 police contract with Cellebrite for forensic data extraction devices (passed 6-2, May 2026).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes, May 5, 2026 · May 5, 2026
Police1 sourced position
Voted yes on new labor agreements with the Oakland Police Officers' Association (passed 7-1, Sept. 2026, per draft minutes).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes (draft), Sept. 15, 2026 · Sep 15, 2026
City administrator1 sourced position
Voted no on confirming the mayor's appointment of Elizabeth Lake as interim city administrator (passed 6-2, July 2026).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes, July 7, 2026 · Jul 7, 2026
Campaign finance1 sourced position
Voted yes, and co-sponsored the change, on temporarily raising campaign contribution limits and extending limited public financing to 2026 and 2028 (passed 6-2, June 2025).
Council voteOakland City Council minutes, June 17, 2025 · Jun 17, 2025
Past candidacies1 sourced position
Ran for Oakland City Council, District 4 in 2022 (won).
Own statementAlameda County Registrar of Voters · Nov 8, 2022
What Janani Ramachandran said vs. how Janani Ramachandran voted
Budget
In their words
Said the 2026-27 budget pays down some pension liabilities and keeps reserves, as reported by The Oaklandside.
Jun 15, 2026 ·The Oaklandside · Jun 15, 2026
Says that as Finance Committee chair she led the council's 2025-27 budget process, which closed a $265 million deficit.
On the record
Voted yes, and made the motion, on the fiscal 2026-27 midcycle budget (passed 6-2, June 2026).
Jun 12, 2026 ·Oakland City Council minutes, June 12, 2026 · Jun 12, 2026
Police surveillance cameras
In their words
Said the council would cancel the Flock contract at any sign of violations, as reported by The Oaklandside.
Dec 17, 2025 ·The Oaklandside · Dec 17, 2025
On the record
Voted no on a $140,000 police contract with Cellebrite for forensic data extraction devices (passed 6-2, May 2026).
May 5, 2026 ·Oakland City Council minutes, May 5, 2026 · May 5, 2026
Also running for City Council District 4
No one else is running for this seat.
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