OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — The residents of Oakland have spoken. Out of a race of 15 candidates, it looks like the city could have a new mayor.  Our team has worked overtime to verify and update results.

ABC7 News Production Team – validating and updated election results.

Ballots are still being counted in the hotly-contested Oakland mayoral race, but one candidate is emerging as the likely winner while the incumbent is out.

Libby Schaaf, with 62.8 percent of the vote, has declared herself the winner and with that, Oakland voters have sent a message that they’re looking for change.

“We are trying to get through the counts so we can give you some more ideas of where we stand,” Alameda County Registrar Tim Dupuis said.

Schaaf took to social media to declare herself the winner over fellow candidate Rebecca Kaplan and incumbent Mayor Jean Quan.

It was a move that Dupuis called premature.

“I would always caution that it’s not official until I certify and I have 28 days to go through that certification process,” Dupuis said.

There are more than 100,000 mail-in ballots for Alameda County yet to be counted.

The registrar hopes to release the next round of numbers by 5 p.m. on Thursday.

“The fact that Mayor Quan finished third, not second and not close, really indicates where people’s hearts and minds are these days,” retired State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) said.

Perata said no amount of counting can change the fact that the “ranked choice voting,” which helped the mayor win office four years ago, did not save her this time.

He points to her controversial tenure. “Occupy Oakland was her first real test. She flunked it,” Perata said.

Many believe Quan won in part due to her liberal credentials, but her decision to stand with demonstrators in 2011 in a stance against law enforcement suggested to many that she was weak on crime.

Moves by the mayor to clear protesters camped in front of Frank Ogawa Plaza came too late.

“You can’t be a hard core leftist and run a city like Oakland. You just can’t,” Perata said.

Quan issued a statement accepting defeat and congratulating Schaaf on her victory.

Tim Dupuis, Alameda County Registrar

“I want to thank Oakland voters for passing all of our local measures, which was a powerful victory for the future of our beloved city. I also want to congratulate Councilwoman Libby Schaaf on being elected the next Mayor of Oakland. She inherits a city where crime is down, unemployment is down, city finances are strong, police reforms are near completion, and the economic renaissance is well under way. I have been proud to be Oakland’s first woman and Asian-American mayor and I thank Oaklanders for the opportunity to bring the City through these tough times.”

If Schaaf is indeed the mayor-elect, she will be the third mayor in five years in the city of Oakland.

Statement from Oakland Mayor Jean Quan:

BAY AREA ELECTION RESULTS AND VOTING GUIDE