Tracy Jensen has served our community with distinction for decades. Tracy understands Alameda deeply, and she knows how to navigate around complex bureaucracies to get results for the people who live here.

After graduating from Alameda High, Tracy attended Cal State East Bay, and her political science studies included serving as an intern for two Bay Area Assemblymembers. Tracy learned about public policy as committee staff in the Maryland Legislature and later expanded her public policy skills expanding Medicare options for seniors in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Tracy is proud of her work to expand health care coverage and support the Affordable Care Act.

Following her service with the Office of Vice President Al Gore, Tracy returned to her childhood home with her husband David, ready to settle down and focus on local human service needs.

Back in the East Bay, in 2001, Tracy was appointed as the City of Oakland’s first ever Senior Services Administrator, a position established by senior advocates to address disparities in services and continued challenges faced by Oakland’s older residents. With the goal of supporting the independence of seniors throughout Oakland, Tracy identified service gaps and improved access to nutrition services by establishing the Alameda County Community Food Bank's first community produce distribution site at the East Oakland Senior Center. Tracy developed grant funding resources and mechanisms to distribute millions of dollars to organizations serving Oakland’s diverse senior residents, including Family Bridges, Vietnamese Community Development, and the Unity Council.  

Soon, Tracy was elected to the AUSD Board. There, Chair Jensen was instrumental in opening Ruby Bridges Elementary School, our first new school in 20 years, and she developed the first inclusive curriculum about LGBTQ+ families for K-8 students.

During her time at the Alameda Health Care District, Vice Chair Jensen was chosen by her colleagues to represent the City of Alameda on the Alameda Health Care System Board, where she was responsible for a $1.2 billion budget, expanding mental health services, establishing the acute rehabilitation program, and recentering patient care. When the operator of Alameda Hospital threatened to avoid compliance with 2020 seismic requirementsTracy intervened and worked closely with legislative leaders to ensure that the investment was made and Alameda Hospital remained open.

Councilmember Tracy Jensen with advocates celebrating advances in rent stabilization in the City of Alameda.

Elected to the City Council in 2023, Tracy has focused on increasing housing affordability and access for all of us, deploying smart tools to improve public safety, and reimagining Alameda Point as a place that will help Alameda prosper for decades to come. Tracy is proud of Alameda’s Climate Action and Resiliency Programs and she is passionate about ensuring that our community addresses climate change and sea level rise. Tracy’s work in this area is demonstrated by her appointment as Chair of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority/Stopwaste, a countywide body of elected officials.

With her leadership, Alameda has produced balanced budgets, opportunities for economic growth, a strong workforce, and a caring community.

A proud 4th generation Alamedan, Tracy attended Edison, Lincoln, and Alameda High, where she discovered her first spark of public service in high school through AUSD’s CloseUp program in Washington, DC. before earning a BA from CSU East Bay and an MPH and MBA from Emory University. 

Tracy is committed to community service and serves on the Boards of YouthAlive and Alameda Youth Basketball, and she previously served on the Boards of the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Alameda Youth Soccer.

In this time of fear and uncertainty, with the Trump Administration literally at our doorstep, Tracy is the proven steady hand we need to protect our vulnerable neighbors, hold true to Alameda values, and see us through toward a better tomorrow.