Kevin Jenkins arrived at Oakland City Hall for a City Council meeting recently as a first-term council member still making a name for himself. He departed several hours later as the interim mayor of a city in desperate need of stable leadership.
His council colleagues voted unanimously for Jenkins after Oakland voters recalled Sheng Thao amid an FBI corruption investigation that later resulted in an indictment, followed by the departure of her interim replacement, former council President Nikki Fortunato-Bas, to become an Alameda County supervisor.
As a council member representing the heart of East Oakland, a district grappling with the city’s most daunting challenges, from homelessness to illegal dumping and crime, Jenkins, 38, said he was hesitant to leave his position even for three months. But with three new members and a temporary member on the council after the election, Jenkins was one of the most senior officials on the body. He said he felt he had to accept his colleagues’ call to lead the city…