What year was the vote to merge San Francisco and Oakland held?

I read in an Oakland history book that there was a vote to merge San Fransisco and Oakland ito one City (like New York and Brooklyn) in the early years, but it failed by only a few votes.

Where can I find newspaper articals about it?

Can you imagine what would have happened if it passed? All of the Bay Area as "San Fransisco" like New York City.

-- Kevin Stankiewicz (kevinstankiewicz@hotmail.com), March 22, 2002