diff --git a/pkg/client/leaderelection/leaderelection.go b/pkg/client/leaderelection/leaderelection.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a7c1743cd99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/client/leaderelection/leaderelection.go
@@ -0,0 +1,281 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2015 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+// Package leaderelection implements leader election of a set of endpoints.
+// It uses an annotation in the endpoints object to store the record of the
+// election state.
+//
+// This implementation does not guarantee that only one client is acting as a
+// leader (a.k.a. fencing). A client observes timestamps captured locally to
+// infer the state of the leader election. Thus the implementation is tolerant
+// to arbitrary clock skew, but is not tolerant to arbitrary clock skew rate.
+//
+// However the level of tolerance to skew rate can be configured by setting
+// RenewDeadline and LeaseDuration appropriately. The tolerance expressed as a
+// maximum tolerated ratio of time passed on the fastest node to time passed on
+// the slowest node can be approximately achieved with a configuration that sets
+// the same ratio of LeaseDuration to RenewDeadline. For example if a user wanted
+// to tolerate some nodes progressing forward in time twice as fast as other nodes,
+// the user could set LeaseDuration to 60 seconds and RenewDeadline to 30 seconds.
+//
+// While not required, some method of clock synchronization between nodes in the
+// cluster is highly recommended. It's important to keep in mind when configuring
+// this client that the tolerance to skew rate varies inversely to master
+// availability.
+//
+// Larger clusters often have a more lenient SLA for API latency. This should be
+// taken into account when configuring the client. The rate of leader transistions
+// should be monitored and RetryPeriod and LeaseDuration should be increased
+// until the rate is stable and acceptably low. It's important to keep in mind
+// when configuring this client that the tolerance to API latency varies inversely
+// to master availability.
+//
+// DISCLAIMER: this is an alpha API. This library will likely change significantly
+// or even be removed entirely in subsequent releases. Depend on this API at
+// your own risk.
+
+package leaderelection
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"reflect"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/golang/glog"
+
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/errors"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/client/record"
+	client "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/client/unversioned"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/wait"
+)
+
+const (
+	JitterFactor = 1.2
+
+	LeaderElectionRecordAnnotationKey = "control-plane.alpha.kubernetes.io/leader"
+)
+
+// NewLeadereElector creates a LeaderElector from a LeaderElecitionConfig
+func NewLeaderElector(lec LeaderElectionConfig) (*LeaderElector, error) {
+	if lec.LeaseDuration <= lec.RenewDeadline {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("leaseDuration must be greater than renewDeadline")
+	}
+	if lec.RenewDeadline <= time.Duration(JitterFactor*float64(lec.RetryPeriod)) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("renewDeadline must be greater than retryPeriod*JitterFactor")
+	}
+	if lec.Client == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Client must not be nil.")
+	}
+	if lec.EventRecorder == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("EventRecorder must not be nil.")
+	}
+	return &LeaderElector{
+		config: lec,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+type LeaderElectionConfig struct {
+	// EndpointsMeta should contain a Name and a Namespace of an
+	// Endpoints object that the LeaderElector will attempt to lead.
+	EndpointsMeta api.ObjectMeta
+	// Identity is a unique identifier of the leader elector.
+	Identity string
+
+	Client        client.Interface
+	EventRecorder record.EventRecorder
+
+	// LeaseDuration is the duration that non-leader candidates will
+	// wait to force acquire leadership. This is measured against time of
+	// last observed ack.
+	LeaseDuration time.Duration
+	// RenewDeadline is the duration that the acting master will retry
+	// refreshing leadership before giving up.
+	RenewDeadline time.Duration
+	// RetryPeriod is the duration the LeaderElector clients should wait
+	// between tries of actions.
+	RetryPeriod time.Duration
+
+	// Callbacks are callbacks that are triggered during certain lifecycle
+	// events of the LeaderElector
+	Callbacks LeaderCallbacks
+}
+
+// LeaderCallbacks are callbacks that are triggered during certain
+// lifecycle events of the LeaderElector. These are invoked asynchronously.
+//
+// possible future callbacks:
+//  * OnChallenge()
+//  * OnNewLeader()
+type LeaderCallbacks struct {
+	// OnStartedLeading is called when a LeaderElector client starts leading
+	OnStartedLeading func(stop <-chan struct{})
+	// OnStoppedLeading is called when a LeaderElector client stops leading
+	OnStoppedLeading func()
+}
+
+// LeaderElector is a leader election client.
+//
+// possible future methods:
+//  * (le *LeaderElector) IsLeader()
+//  * (le *LeaderElector) GetLeader()
+type LeaderElector struct {
+	config LeaderElectionConfig
+	// internal bookkeeping
+	observedRecord LeaderElectionRecord
+	observedTime   time.Time
+}
+
+// LeaderElectionRecord is the record that is stored in the leader election annotation.
+// This information should be used for observational purposes only and could be replaced
+// with a random string (e.g. UUID) with only slight modification of this code.
+// TODO(mikedanese): this should potentially be versioned
+type LeaderElectionRecord struct {
+	HolderIdentity       string           `json:"holderIdentity"`
+	LeaseDurationSeconds int              `json:"leaseDurationSeconds"`
+	AcquireTime          unversioned.Time `json:"acquireTime"`
+	RenewTime            unversioned.Time `json:"renewTime"`
+}
+
+// Run starts the leader election loop
+func (le *LeaderElector) Run() {
+	defer func() {
+		util.HandleCrash()
+		le.config.Callbacks.OnStoppedLeading()
+	}()
+	le.acquire()
+	stop := make(chan struct{})
+	go le.config.Callbacks.OnStartedLeading(stop)
+	le.renew()
+	close(stop)
+}
+
+// acquire loops calling tryAcquireOrRenew and returns immediately when tryAcquireOrRenew succeeds.
+func (le *LeaderElector) acquire() {
+	stop := make(chan struct{})
+	util.Until(func() {
+		succeeded := le.tryAcquireOrRenew()
+		if !succeeded {
+			glog.V(4).Infof("failed to renew lease %v/%v", le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace, le.config.EndpointsMeta.Name)
+			time.Sleep(wait.Jitter(le.config.RetryPeriod, JitterFactor))
+			return
+		}
+		le.config.EventRecorder.Eventf(&api.Endpoints{ObjectMeta: le.config.EndpointsMeta}, api.EventTypeNormal, "%v became leader", le.config.Identity)
+		glog.Infof("sucessfully acquired lease %v/%v", le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace, le.config.EndpointsMeta.Name)
+		close(stop)
+	}, 0, stop)
+}
+
+// renew loops calling tryAcquireOrRenew and returns immediately when tryAcquireOrRenew fails.
+func (le *LeaderElector) renew() {
+	stop := make(chan struct{})
+	util.Until(func() {
+		err := wait.Poll(le.config.RetryPeriod, le.config.RenewDeadline, func() (bool, error) {
+			return le.tryAcquireOrRenew(), nil
+		})
+		if err == nil {
+			glog.V(4).Infof("succesfully renewed lease %v/%v", le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace, le.config.EndpointsMeta.Name)
+			return
+		}
+		le.config.EventRecorder.Eventf(&api.Endpoints{ObjectMeta: le.config.EndpointsMeta}, api.EventTypeNormal, "%v stopped leading", le.config.Identity)
+		glog.Infof("failed to renew lease %v/%v", le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace, le.config.EndpointsMeta.Name)
+		close(stop)
+	}, 0, stop)
+}
+
+// tryAcquireOrRenew tries to acquire a leader lease if it is not already acquired,
+// else it tries to renew the lease if it has already been acquired. Returns true
+// on success else returns false.
+func (le *LeaderElector) tryAcquireOrRenew() bool {
+	now := unversioned.Now()
+	leaderElectionRecord := LeaderElectionRecord{
+		HolderIdentity:       le.config.Identity,
+		LeaseDurationSeconds: int(le.config.LeaseDuration / time.Second),
+		RenewTime:            now,
+		AcquireTime:          now,
+	}
+
+	e, err := le.config.Client.Endpoints(le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace).Get(le.config.EndpointsMeta.Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		if !errors.IsNotFound(err) {
+			return false
+		}
+
+		leaderElectionRecordBytes, err := json.Marshal(leaderElectionRecord)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false
+		}
+		_, err = le.config.Client.Endpoints(le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace).Create(&api.Endpoints{
+			ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
+				Name:      le.config.EndpointsMeta.Name,
+				Namespace: le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace,
+				Annotations: map[string]string{
+					LeaderElectionRecordAnnotationKey: string(leaderElectionRecordBytes),
+				},
+			},
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			glog.Errorf("error initially creating endpoints: %v", err)
+			return false
+		}
+		le.observedRecord = leaderElectionRecord
+		le.observedTime = time.Now()
+		return true
+	}
+
+	if e.Annotations == nil {
+		e.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+
+	if oldLeaderElectionRecordBytes, found := e.Annotations[LeaderElectionRecordAnnotationKey]; found {
+		var oldLeaderElectionRecord LeaderElectionRecord
+		if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(oldLeaderElectionRecordBytes), &oldLeaderElectionRecord); err != nil {
+			glog.Errorf("error unmarshaling leader election record: %v", err)
+			return false
+		}
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(le.observedRecord, oldLeaderElectionRecord) {
+			le.observedRecord = oldLeaderElectionRecord
+			le.observedTime = time.Now()
+		}
+		if oldLeaderElectionRecord.HolderIdentity == le.config.Identity {
+			leaderElectionRecord.AcquireTime = oldLeaderElectionRecord.AcquireTime
+		}
+		if le.observedTime.Add(le.config.LeaseDuration).After(now.Time) &&
+			oldLeaderElectionRecord.HolderIdentity != le.config.Identity {
+			glog.Infof("lock is held by %v and has not yet expired", oldLeaderElectionRecord.HolderIdentity)
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+
+	leaderElectionRecordBytes, err := json.Marshal(leaderElectionRecord)
+	if err != nil {
+		glog.Errorf("err marshaling leader election record: %v", err)
+		return false
+	}
+	e.Annotations[LeaderElectionRecordAnnotationKey] = string(leaderElectionRecordBytes)
+
+	_, err = le.config.Client.Endpoints(le.config.EndpointsMeta.Namespace).Update(e)
+	if err != nil {
+		glog.Errorf("err: %v", err)
+		return false
+	}
+	le.observedRecord = leaderElectionRecord
+	le.observedTime = time.Now()
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/pkg/client/leaderelection/leaderelection_test.go b/pkg/client/leaderelection/leaderelection_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..73f43e20082
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/client/leaderelection/leaderelection_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2015 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+// Package leaderelection implements leader election of a set of endpoints.
+// It uses an annotation in the endpoints object to store the record of the
+// election state.
+
+package leaderelection
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/errors"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/client/record"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/client/unversioned/testclient"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/runtime"
+)
+
+func TestTryAcquireOrRenew(t *testing.T) {
+	future := time.Now().Add(1000 * time.Hour)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		observedRecord LeaderElectionRecord
+		observedTime   time.Time
+		reactors       []struct {
+			verb     string
+			reaction testclient.ReactionFunc
+		}
+
+		expectSuccess bool
+		outHolder     string
+	}{
+		// acquire from no endpoints
+		{
+			reactors: []struct {
+				verb     string
+				reaction testclient.ReactionFunc
+			}{
+				{
+					verb: "get",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, nil, errors.NewNotFound(action.GetVerb(), action.(testclient.GetAction).GetName())
+					},
+				},
+				{
+					verb: "create",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, action.(testclient.CreateAction).GetObject().(*api.Endpoints), nil
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expectSuccess: true,
+			outHolder:     "baz",
+		},
+		// acquire from unled endpoints
+		{
+			reactors: []struct {
+				verb     string
+				reaction testclient.ReactionFunc
+			}{
+				{
+					verb: "get",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, &api.Endpoints{
+							ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
+								Namespace: action.GetNamespace(),
+								Name:      action.(testclient.GetAction).GetName(),
+							},
+						}, nil
+					},
+				},
+				{
+					verb: "update",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, action.(testclient.CreateAction).GetObject().(*api.Endpoints), nil
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expectSuccess: true,
+			outHolder:     "baz",
+		},
+		// acquire from led, unacked endpoints
+		{
+			reactors: []struct {
+				verb     string
+				reaction testclient.ReactionFunc
+			}{
+				{
+					verb: "get",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, &api.Endpoints{
+							ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
+								Namespace: action.GetNamespace(),
+								Name:      action.(testclient.GetAction).GetName(),
+							},
+						}, nil
+					},
+				},
+				{
+					verb: "update",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, action.(testclient.CreateAction).GetObject().(*api.Endpoints), nil
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expectSuccess: true,
+			outHolder:     "baz",
+		},
+		// don't acquire from led, acked endpoints
+		{
+			reactors: []struct {
+				verb     string
+				reaction testclient.ReactionFunc
+			}{
+				{
+					verb: "get",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, &api.Endpoints{
+							ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
+								Namespace: action.GetNamespace(),
+								Name:      action.(testclient.GetAction).GetName(),
+								Annotations: map[string]string{
+									LeaderElectionRecordAnnotationKey: `{"holderIdentity":"bing"}`,
+								},
+							},
+						}, nil
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			observedTime: future,
+
+			expectSuccess: false,
+			outHolder:     "bing",
+		},
+		// renew already acquired endpoints
+		{
+			reactors: []struct {
+				verb     string
+				reaction testclient.ReactionFunc
+			}{
+				{
+					verb: "get",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, &api.Endpoints{
+							ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
+								Namespace: action.GetNamespace(),
+								Name:      action.(testclient.GetAction).GetName(),
+								Annotations: map[string]string{
+									LeaderElectionRecordAnnotationKey: `{"holderIdentity":"baz"}`,
+								},
+							},
+						}, nil
+					},
+				},
+				{
+					verb: "update",
+					reaction: func(action testclient.Action) (handled bool, ret runtime.Object, err error) {
+						return true, action.(testclient.CreateAction).GetObject().(*api.Endpoints), nil
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			observedTime:   future,
+			observedRecord: LeaderElectionRecord{HolderIdentity: "baz"},
+
+			expectSuccess: true,
+			outHolder:     "baz",
+		},
+	}
+
+	lec := LeaderElectionConfig{
+		EndpointsMeta: api.ObjectMeta{Namespace: "foo", Name: "bar"},
+		Identity:      "baz",
+		EventRecorder: &record.FakeRecorder{},
+		LeaseDuration: 10 * time.Second,
+	}
+
+	for i, test := range tests {
+		c := &testclient.Fake{}
+		for _, reactor := range test.reactors {
+			c.AddReactor(reactor.verb, "endpoints", reactor.reaction)
+		}
+		c.AddReactor("*", "*", func(action testclient.Action) (bool, runtime.Object, error) {
+			t.Errorf("[%v] unreachable action. testclient called too many times: %+v", i, action)
+			return true, nil, fmt.Errorf("uncreachable action")
+		})
+
+		le := &LeaderElector{
+			config:         lec,
+			observedRecord: test.observedRecord,
+			observedTime:   test.observedTime,
+		}
+		le.config.Client = c
+
+		if test.expectSuccess != le.tryAcquireOrRenew() {
+			t.Errorf("[%v]unexpected result of tryAcquireOrRenew: [succeded=%v]", i, !test.expectSuccess)
+		}
+
+		le.observedRecord.AcquireTime = unversioned.Time{}
+		le.observedRecord.RenewTime = unversioned.Time{}
+		if le.observedRecord.HolderIdentity != test.outHolder {
+			t.Errorf("[%v]expected holder:\n\t%+v\ngot:\n\t%+v", i, test.outHolder, le.observedRecord.HolderIdentity)
+		}
+		if len(test.reactors) != len(c.Actions()) {
+			t.Errorf("[%v]wrong number of api interactions")
+		}
+	}
+}