The Alameda County Registrar of Voters counted more ballots Saturday. Countywide ,570,000 ballots have now been counted as of the Saturday afternoon update.

Turnout

With a record 966,088 registered voters this year in the county, turnout from ballots counted so far is 59%. In 2016, the final turnout, from the 888,708 voters who were registered for that election, was 75.4%. So we can assume that there are still a lot of votes to be counted. Biden’s popular vote margin in California will continue to rise. Biden’s margin over Trump in California is now a bit higher than his national margin over Trump in the popular vote.

So far probably about 49,000 ballots have been counted in Berkeley. In 2016, a total 65,430 votes were cast in Berkeley. There are still thousands of votes to be counted here. The electorate in Berkeley is somewhat smaller this year due to covid, since UC dorms are housing many fewer students, and there are presumably fewer students occupying apartments and a higher vacancy rate. 83,778 people were registered to vote in 2016 in Berkeley. This year, according to the latest numbers, about 79,000 ballots were issued in Berkeley. -more-

I’ve been involved in responding to both UC’s LRDP and Berkeley’s Southside Plan. I’d like to point out some contradictions in the City’s position on these plans.

On the one hand the City is involved, rightfully so, with lawsuits regarding UC overreach and its potential impact on the community. Likewise neighborhood groups have also sued the university.

On the other hand the Mayor and two councilmembers have come out in support of building Project #2, People’s Park, and are seeking involvement in a supportive housing project in the park without adequate public scrutiny of either project by Berkeley citizens. -more-

Many members of Congress claim that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needs a larger budget. But their voting record reveals that they actually mean the opposite. Since 2010 Congress has reduced the IRS budget by 22 percent. Also the IRS has lost during these years 15,000 employees. Moreover, the IRS budget cut 30 percent of its most important employees, the enforcement staff.

In addition, the number of audits except for the poor have been reduced in each of the last seven years. Currently poor taxpayers (earning less than $25,000 annually) have an audit rate that is 50 percent higher than the overall rate. Incredibly, the poor get audited more than any other group except those with income of more than $500,000.

With regard to personnel practices, minority employees have, hopefully, been treated fairly. At least until now, the federal government has been more favorable toward hiring Blacks than the private sector. Blacks in the private workforce make up 12.6 percent of the employees. African Americans working for the federal government do much better, making up 18.1 percent of federal workers. And they are more likely to hold better jobs. Many blacks employed by the federal government occupy professional and administrative positions. -more-

Using the Trump playbook, “how to be demolish constraints of a democracy,” Prime Minister Modi and his supporters aided by the ultra-right wing Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh) paramilitary party (RSS), has struck terror in the hearts of Indians yearning for a return to its secular roots. Younger Indians may not be aware of the tragic reign of Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi who manufactured a false “emergency” to neutralize her political enemies, culminating in the attack on the Golden Temple. Tens of thousands of Sikhs were killed in the aftermath of her assassination. Lord Indarjit Singh of London spoke passionately and wrote eloquently (for the BBC and Sikh Messenger) critical of Gandhi’s polices and accused the British of collusion with the Indian Government who were more anxious maintaining trade relations, than raising their voices in support of basic human rights. Repeated demands to the British government by Lord Singh to publicly acknowledge its dark role in the attack on the Golden Temple in 1984 has been ignored. President Trump, following the “British trade model” has sold $billions of US weapons to the most despotic regimes in the world (Saudi Arabia, UAE, , ) unconcerned by the appalling civilian casualties caused by massive bombing in neighboring Yemen. -more-

While America is preoccupied in desperate attempts to save its democracy, the Israeli military used the opportunity to strike terror on one of the poorest of the poor Bedouin hamlets in the Jordan Valley. Excavators escorted by military vehicles were filmed smashing tents, shacks, and animal shelters. -more-

It’s time to end the “stone age” electoral system. Ratification is likely to be difficult but perhaps our lawmakers could craft a national referendum modelled on BREXIT. -more-

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This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! -more-

The evening of November 3rd had a rocky start; it initially appeared that 2020 was to be a reprise of 2016 -- that Donald Trump would, once again, defy the odds and steal the presidency. Then the tide turned, Biden won Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. By Friday we learned that Biden had probably won Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. On Saturday, the Biden-Harris ticket prevailed. But not by the margins Dems had hoped for. -more-

Begging—and Hyperventilating—for Dollars

There's one thing I won't be missing now that the election cycle is over: the oscillating emotional rhetoric of email fund-raising pitches.

On one side of the emotional spectrum, campaign fund-raisers verged on hysteria: "We're begging!" "We're devastated!" "It's Over!" "We're Crying!" "We're Wrecked!" "We're Panicking!"

On the other side, the alerts boomed with bravado: "Trump Terrified!" "Mitch McConnell Crushed!"

And, within minutes of each other, two pitches arrived from astronaut Mark Kelly's Arizona senatorial campaign. One read: "Mark Is Surging!" The other read: "Arizona Is Slipping! Mark Kelly Is Down!"

The pitches were still coming in well into the late afternoon of Election Day. One of these—an e-pitch from Jamie Harrison, who was contesting Lindsey Graham's critical Senate seat—took a refreshing approach. The subject line read: "Humbly Asking." -more-

Thankfully, Joe Biden has finally been declared the winner of the presidential election. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be the first woman, the first Black woman, the first Indian-American woman and the first daughter of immigrants to be sworn in as vice president. -more-

When I write my columns, I hope that I am not getting excessively preachy or excessively autobiographical. However, this week I am talking about myself as the main subject. -more-

It was a relatively quiet week for Berkeley City meetings, all things considered, which means there was only one City meeting at a time. Monday was a test of endurance with one meeting after another, which pales in the challenge of the rest of the week to stay focused between toggling back and forth between election vote counts and Worldometer’s daily count of new COVID-19 new cases. The pandemic is raging and California is not escaping. Just two weeks ago the California seven-day daily average of new cases was 3300. Now that number is 4740. Johnston Medical is out of medium Moldex N95 respirator masks and Moldex has told them not to expect any more. Worldometers reported 132,540 new cases on Friday. -more-

Worth Noting:

What Did and Didn’t Happen in City Meetings November 2 – November 5, 2020

It was a quiet week for city meetings in anticipation of all of us being tethered to the elections. The draft of the Police Acquisition and Use of Controlled Equipment policy is off to the City Attorney for review. A referral to the City Manager to develop an Outdoor Dining Program is out of committee and traveling to appear on the Council agenda. Councilmember Droste’s measure for Commission Reorganization for Post-Covid-19 Budget Recovery will be taken up at the next Council Agenda Committee (November 16). The T1 Phase 2 project list is moving on to finalization. The Citizens for Cultural Civic Center spoke with Marc Steyer of Tipping Engineering to a better understanding of seismic retrofitting and generally agreed that the Seismic Performance Level that should be under discussion and review is Damage Control, an option that was not included in the 903 of Gehl documents. And, Steve Finacom will be bringing to the Landmarks Preservation Commission a landmarking application for the apartment where Kamala Harris our first woman Vice-President grew up right here in Berkeley.



What’s Ahead – Moving Back to Normal

It is a busy week ahead and if there aren’t enough Berkeley City meetings a few extras have been added.

Monday – Racism has played a big part in this election. At 10 am the Council Health Life Enrichment, Equity & Community Committee will take up Racism as a Public Health Crisis,

Tuesday – At 9 am EBMUD will be presenting the Long-Term Infrastructure Workshop. Interestingly if Oct 20 virtual tour is any example, it is easier to ask questions and participate at EMUD workshops than City meetings. Tuesday evening at 6 pm is City Council

Wednesday Veterans Day Holiday – Parks and Waterfront Commission is meeting at 7 pm on T1, The Barbara Lee film is also Wednesday evening with a 48-hour viewing available.

Thursday – The City Council Budget committee meets at 10 am, the Citizens for Cultural Civic Center meets at noon (email johncaner@gmail.com to be added to the list for zoom links) and the Homeless Commission, Housing Advisory Commission, Public Works Commission and the Zoning Adjustment Board all meet at 7 pm.



The City Council November 17 agenda is available for comment and follows the list of meetings.

-more-