In a desperate bid to keep her job, Thao argued that removing her would not only cost the cash-strapped Democratic city millions but also throw it into chaos.

As it turns out, she may be right.

The cost for a special stand-alone election, determined by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, is about $19 to $21 per voter. There are currently 253,015 registered voters in Oakland, which comes out to a little more than $5 million to hold the election.

The price tag comes as the city has been struggling with high crime rates, increased homelessness, the exodus of beloved sports teams, a sluggish postpandemic recovery, and a widening budget shortfall that is hovering around the $93 million mark.

Thao argued that keeping her at the helm would cause the least disruption. She added that a new mayor would bring in his or her own executive team and that it would take time to get into the groove of the job.

“[There] would be so much turnover when we are already headed on the right track,” she said before the election.

Voters did not agree.

“Our community has endured enough,” Tuan Ngo, founder of #AsiansUnite, said just days before the historic vote. “It’s time for decisive action and leadership that prioritizes the safety and well-being of all Oakland residents.”

Oakland resident Seneca Scott told the Washington Examiner that small businesses have been among the hardest hit.

“The lifeblood of our city is leaking out with no tourniquet,” he said.

Thao will continue to serve as mayor until the Oakland City Council declares the official election results, which are expected on Dec. 5. The city council’s resolution declaring the election results is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Current council president Nikki Fortunato Bas would have become the interim mayor, but she won the election to become an Alameda County supervisor.  That means Dan Kalb, the council president pro tempore, becomes council president until Jan. 6, 2025, when new council members will be sworn in. A special election for mayor must be held within 120 days. Thao, a first-term mayor recalled after only two years on the job, could throw her name back into the ring for mayor in the special election though she has not indicated she will do so.

Thao was elected mayor in November 2022 and became the first Hmong American to lead a major city.

She faced criticism almost immediately after taking office for firing popular Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. Adding to her woes was an FBI raid on her home this past summer. The FBI also conducted raids on three properties associated with the politically influential Duong family, who run a curbside recycling center in Oakland through their company, California Waste Solutions.

The Duong family is close with Thao and has donated to her campaign when she was a commissioner and when she ran for mayor. California Waste Solutions has lucrative contracts with the city.

Thao has not been charged with a crime and has insisted she is not the target of the FBI investigation.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that a federal grand jury is scheduled to hear testimony from witnesses in the federal corruption investigation next month, though it was not clear whether other witnesses had already testified.

Grand juries decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring charges against a person. The proceedings are held behind closed doors. Depending on the outcome, the grand jury will decide whether to hand down an indictment.

One month after the June raids, the FBI issued federal grand jury subpoenas requesting documents related to Thao, boyfriend Andre Jones, the Duongs, the Oakland Army Base, and Evolutionary Homes, a company that sells container homes to local governments as homes for homeless people.

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The subpoenas also sought documents related to Mario Juarez, a former city council candidate whom law enforcement officials accused of breaking the law while trying to help Thao win the election.

Calls to Thao for comment were not returned.