A 30-year incumbent has retired suddenly from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, just months before an election he was almost guaranteed to win–and it’s not yet clear who’ll be his successor.
Over his career on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, Keith Carson has helped move the county toward sustainability, championed programs for the unhoused, and chaired a number of committees that promoted economic development. And when he began putting together the paperwork in November to run again, most people thought the supervisor, who was first elected to the board in 1992, was planning to continue that work for another term.
So it came as some surprise when he announced Friday just minutes after the filing deadline that he wouldn’t be running for re-election in 2024. Now, with no incumbent in the race, and the filing date for new candidates only days away, not everyone is happy with his timing — but Carson said he believes it’s time to move on.
“Serving you over the past 30 years has been an immense honor and privilege,” Carson wrote in a statement. “I’m excited about the future that lies ahead for Alameda County.”
In the statement, Carson noted that his decision was made after “careful consideration, prayer, and consultation” with his family. In an interview Monday afternoon, he told the Bay Area News Group that he had been struggling with the decision to step back from the board for a long time. In recent years, he has unexpectedly lost family members, friends on the board, and reckoned with COVID-19’s painful effects on the county.
His decision not to run ultimately came at the last possible moment before he had to finalize his candidacy on December 8th. It will also give potential successors–none of whom have yet surfaced–the minimum amount of time to organize a campaign to replace him.
Carson first started the process to run in the March 2024 election on Nov. 13. Incumbents on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors are rarely challenged–in next year’s election, all but one of the supervisors are running unopposed.
Such was the case with Carson’s seat, which represents North Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. Having filed paperwork as a 30-year incumbent, he faced no challengers.
“There’s a fight usually in the beginning for the seat, and then once they are incumbents, for whatever reason, no one runs against them,” said Jason Bezis, the attorney for the Alameda County Taxpayers Association, a county watchdog group.
Bezis said he found it hard to believe that the supervisor came to a decision on his candidacy just minutes after the filing deadline on Friday, and that Carson may have already handpicked a successor.
State election code extends the filing deadline by five days if an incumbent county elected official doesn’t run for re-election. That means that potential candidates will now have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to submit the required paperwork. According to Bezis, that law exists to protect against exactly these scenarios.
“In the past, the incumbent would look like they were going to run, and then no one would run against the incumbent. And then at the last minute, their chosen successor would run,” Bezis said. “With such an open field, it would have been ideal if he had made up his mind months ago.”
In an interview, however, Carson said he did not currently know who he would support, and described grappling with the decision for years. Although he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to represent his district, he also acknowledged that years of advocating for the Black and Brown communities he represents in corridors of power often occupied by White people took a toll.
“Its been a privilege to be at those tables–and its also painful to be at those tables,” Carson said. “You’re usually the lone voice. You try not to be dismissed.”
Supervisor Carson said that the decision to step aside was not made for health reasons, and that he would have been “physically ready for another term.” He said he will not be running for elected office again, nor will he pursue consulting, but that he would try to find ways to continue to make an impact.
Supervisor Lena Tam released a statement saying that Supervisor Carson will be “sorely missed.”
“During my first year in office, I served with Supervisor Carson on the Health Committee; he has significantly impacted the county’s healthcare system,” Tam wrote. “I am so grateful to be able to learn from him.”
David Haubert also said he would miss serving with Supervisor Carson and said that, given the timing, he understood it was “likely not an easy decision.”
Supervisors Elisa Marquez and Nate Miley could not be reached for comment on Monday.
In the past three years, a board that has been relatively stable for a decade has seen many new faces. Supervisors Richard Valle and Wilma Chan, who both served for 10 years, died in 2023 and 2021 respectively. Supervisor Scott Haggerty, who sat on the board for 24 years, retired in 2021.
Source: www.mercurynews.com