Out Councilwoman May Run for Oakland Mayor

Lesbian city councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan of Oakland established an exploratory committee for mayor Tuesday.

According to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the popular Kaplan could benefit from a new system in which Oakland voters rank their favored candidates in order of first, second, and third. The former Transit District Board member was elected to the council with 62% of the vote in 2008.

Kaplan, 39, graduated from MIT, Tufts University, and the Stanford Law School.

"If she runs and wins," the Victory Fund reports, "Oakland would become third-largest city in the U.S. to elect an openly gay or lesbian mayor, behind Houston, Texas, and Portland, Ore."