There’s a step-by-step process to appoint a temporary leader, elect a new mayor, and keep the wheels on the government bus.

The signature gathering required to bring Thao’s recall before voters was bankrolled by a single Piedmont resident, Farallon Capital hedge-fund manager Philip Dreyfuss, who poured at least $1.9 million into the Alameda County elections this past year.

The effort to recall Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is now in the hands of voters, less than two years since she assumed office.