Probably not more than about 35,000 votes have been counted so far in Berkeley. Countywide, turnout as measured by counted ballots is only 38.52% so far, so many more votes remain to be counted.

31,704 votes have been recorded pro and con the Berkeley’s Measure FF tax measure so far, and 31,360 votes for mayoral candidate so far; not everyone casts a vote for every office or measure, but I think generally about 90% or more vote on the local offices and measures considered most important. 65,430 ballots were cast in the 2016 presidential election in Berkeley. This year, the number of votes cast will probably be somewhat lower due to covid and the fact that there are many fewer students in UC dorms and probably more vacant apartments. 79,966 ballots were issued this year; in 2016, there were 83,778 registered voters.

I think a conservative estimate of votes remaining to be counted in Berkeley would be 25,000, though Covid’s impact on the local population makes it more difficult to estimate this year.

Will counting the remaining ballots change any outcomes?

I don’t think so. Mayor Jesse Arreguin, District 3 council member Ben Bartlett, District 5 council member Sophie Hahn and District 6 council member Susan Wengraf are all safely re-elected by large margins. Animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung spent a ton of money running for mayor but only has 23% of the vote so far to show for it. -more-

Rochelle Nason and Mary Barnsdale have been supporting Norman’s opponent for the East Bay Parks District. Both have indicated their great concern about dogs off-leash. However, dogs, while so important to me and many others, are not the only issue facing our parks. I know the work and the endless hours that have gone into all these issues as I have been deeply involved since 1970 with creating the park that exists on Berkeley’s front porch. As Mayor I led the fight to reform Berkeley’s animal policies from one of killing to one of care, worked to ensure there would be a place for off-leash dogs in our waterfront park, consistently supported off-leash advocates including getting the Park District to stop the use of harmful pesticides at Point Isabel, and I’m currently actively involved in preserving and protecting our irreplaceable natural resources along our East Bay shoreline as safe havens and places of recreation for everyone and the generations to come. To put it simply, I want my grandchildren to catch sight of a Monarch butterfly, see an osprey flying to its nest, as well as walk with their best friend along the shore. -more-

What do you see as the biggest mental health needs of individuals experiencing homelessness?

The most important, unaddressed city need is the need to educate the community, the city staff, and the police that mental illness is best addressed with patience and understanding, with housing and hot food, and will a sense of solidarity and community. The "homeless" population experiencing mental health issues is no different than any other group experiencing mental health issues. The homeless communities which organize together for their own safety are among the best at de-escalating difficult situations and resolving crisis, and should simply be supported. -more-

Throwing caution to the winds, displaying callous unconcern for fellow Americans, President Trump and the “red brigade” ignored the advice of his doctors and crisscrossed battleground states spreading the deadly Coronavirus to tens of thousands of Americans tightly packed together wearing no masks. Most Americans are hunkered down, afraid and preparing for a long dark winter. Many hospitals have reached capacity. An increasing number of top health care officials are recommending the mandatory wearing of masks to a tone-deaf administration. -more-

There usually are interesting tidbits of information that are gained by attending City of Berkeley meetings that don’t show up in the minutes. That's what An Activist’s Diary reports about, and here's what happened this week:

Item 36 on the September 15 City Council agenda was a Vote of No Confidence in the Police Chief. If you attended that evening, you would recall that Council members talked away the evening on earlier items and then abruptly ended the meeting on time with no extension on the stroke of 11 pm. It seems that some councilmembers and even the Mayor thought that running out the clock made it possible to escape taking a stand on the no confidence vote.

However on Monday Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Councilmembers Sophie Hahn and Susan Wengraf learned, as members of the City Council Policy Agenda and Rules Committee, that they do have to include items not addressed at previous council meetings. That means you will see the Vote of No Confidence in the Police Chief as the last item on November 10^th agenda. Don’t be surprised if you also see the same kind of blathering to run out the clock again. -more-

Growing up on the Left Coast, I was taught about the rise of the Third Reich, World War II, and the Holocaust tragedy. I asked myself, "If the American version of Hitler appeared in the United States, what would I do?" Now I know. -more-

If we have goals in life, things that we want for ourselves, the content of our minds should be related to what is needed to reach those goals. To do anything else and to believe it will happen turns the goals into a passing fancy or a pipedream. -more-

Gun sales are surging across the country and ammunition is sold out as fears of possible social unrest amid the pandemic. Pandemic anxiety has set in. Anxiety has turned to anger in many quarters after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said amidst a Covid-19 surge in 30 states, "We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.” Of course, those of us paying attention knew that Trump had surrendered to the virus right from the beginning. This is prompting some Americans to turn to firearms as a form of self-protection, a phenomenon not uncommon during a crisis. -more-

Signs of the Times

I came across an inspiring political yard sign a couple of days ago. Revising a comment Donald Trump repeatedly made about the Coronavirus, the message on the sign's red-white-and-blue stripes read:

And One Day

Like A Miracle

He'll Be Gone

Exploring Electoral Politics for Kids

Mr. Mopp's may be closed for the moment but it's still managing to stay engaged.

The north-facing window is stacked with a wonderful selection books devoted to the promotion of democracy. Here are just a few of the titles (stroll by Mopp's and read them all):

Dr. Suess' One Vote, Two Vote. I Vote, You Vote, Kid President, President of the Jungle, I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark, Why We March, Nevertheless, We Persisted, Lillian's Right to Vote, Sofia Valdez: Future President, and Kamala Harris's The Truths We Hold.

One book that's missing from the list is a book-for-adults that explains the mysteries of the Electoral College. In 2016 Hillary Clinton beat Trump by 3 million votes and Trump won the EC. In 2020, Joe Biden is expected to beat Trump by 7 million popular votes but could still lose in the EC. How would you explain such an unfair outcome if you were writing a book for children? Here's a possible title: The Electoral College: An Unfairy Tale. -more-

Worth Noting:

What did and didn’t happen in City meetings October 25 – October 29, 2020:

The Agenda Committee learned that items not addressed in Council meetings do have to be rescheduled within 60 days. That means the Vote of No Confidence in the Police Chief will be back on November 10^th. At the Police Review Commission, the Police Chief threatened that holding outside agencies to Berkeley restrictions in policing policies, use of controlled equipment, would mean that outside agencies would never come to the assistance of the Berkeley Police and the Police Chief opined it was not possible to supervise outside agencies as mandated by the Council in 1992. The chair of the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission insisted the meeting must end (and it did) at 9 pm with discussion cut short. Didn’t we just spend days in red flag alerts and aren’t we still in the peak of fire season? T1 Spending: Even people who are warm to the new pier and ferry for Berkeley say the plan puts it in the wrong place. We had to wait until Thursday to learn that seven (7) City employees who work in buildings with poor ventilation contracted COVID-19. The pickleball players begging for more courts are better organized than the neighbors who must live with the noise for up to 12 hours/day of balls being swatted across nets with paddles. The Community group on the Civic Center convened by John Caner (email johncaner@gmail.com to join) opposes new council chambers in the park. We need The Rights of Nature Measure. The birds are still waiting for bird safe glass. And, our Councilmembers need to take a hard look at who is appointed to Commissions representing their Districts. -more-