Michael HoustonMichael Houston

Michael Houston is unopposed for the second time, and he still completed our questionnaire and participated in the endorsement process, demonstrating his commitment to transparency and engaging with his constituents.

He is a certified internal auditor who has done government audit work since 2008 and ran Oakland's whistleblower program before winning the 2024 special election. He runs his office against stated goals and reports publicly against them, which is rarer in Oakland government than it should be.

He focused his team on critical areas such as 911 response times, and under his leadership the share of audit recommendations the administration has actually implemented is up 20 points.

This fall, his office will begin a citywide financial-management audit. Given the state of Oakland’s finances, this may be some of the most useful work anyone at City Hall does this year. We look forward to seeing him continue to be an advocate for good governance and accountability.

Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#oakland-auditor)

Yay- he is thoughtful and thorough. He is a welcome change from the last 2 auditors.