Election Section

Berkeley Independent Voter's Guide

Abe Cinque

Saturday October 12, 2024 - 03:36:00 PM

For years, our little city has endured the audacious arrogance of Sacramento incumbents who’ve been invisible to constituents here, while working against our interests (and working hard for the likes of PG&E and corporate developers). This election offers unusual chances to send a message: we can vote for alternatives to the arrogant, the incompetent, and the unqualified heirs-apparent crowned by big money.

Please consider these a-la-carte suggestions, mix and match, do your own research, and decide for yourself. I address mostly races that are realistically contested, and/or controversial, in our precincts. Please forward – but anywhere I say “we,” I mean I or the consensus of the Cinque family, not any publication hosting this.

Berkeley Offices

Mayor: Sophie Hahn and Kate Harrison, in either order. Don’t rank unqualified Adena Ishii.

City Council, District 5: Shoshana O'Keefe. Don’t rank unqualified Todd Andrew.

City Council, District 6: Andy Katz. Don’t rank unqualified Brent Blackaby.

City Council, District 3: Chip Moore and Ben Bartlett, in either order. Don’t rank unqualified Deborah Matthews.

School Board: Jen Corn and Laura Babitt.

Rent Board: Avery Arbaugh, Dominique Walker, Xavier Johnson, and Andy Kelley. Don’t rank Carole Marasovic.

County Offices

Supervisor, 5th District: Nikki Fortunato Bas. (Judge her commitment to affordable housing – and her opponent’s insincerity – by corporate developers’ deceptive hit pieces targeting her.)

DA Recall: Yes. (It’s time for someone who actually does the job, doesn’t purge experienced staff, doesn’t quietly hire her boyfriend into a six-figure job, and doesn’t prosecute former rivals.)

State and Higher Offices

Assembly, 14th District: Margot Smith. (Elect a distinguished local activist and affordable-housing advocate; retire one of PG&E’s favorite minions. It’s win-win.)

State Senate, 7th District: Jovanka Beckles. (Her opponent presided over the region’s only failed 2022 affordable-housing bond, and over a toxic City Council with a 55% resignation rate.)

Congress, 12th District: Jennifer Tran. (Her unqualified, yelling, but well-funded opponent has proven an embarrassment even as a part-time BART director, illegally living outside her district.)

Berkeley Measures

AA: Yes. extend existing funding.

BB: YES, protect rent control when it’s most needed. (Consensus measure assembled by the City Council.)

CC: NO, don’t weaken rent control during peak housing-affordability crisis.

DD: No, symbolic “factory-farms” silliness in a city with no farms.

EE: YES, fix all our streets and sidewalks. It’s about time.

FF: NO, fake measure to fund prestige projects without really repairing all streets or sidewalks. Sponsors wouldn’t cooperate on making EE a consensus bond. Higher vote of the two wins.

GG: No, costly virtue-signaling silliness that could shut down many businesses and nonprofits.

HH: No, more costly virtue-signaling silliness.

W: Vote your conscience. Adds two higher tiers to 2018’s homeless-services tax (Measure P), and makes the tax permanent, removing voter oversight. The City Council has so far used these funds to address homelessness, but the language allows diversion to any other purpose.

X: Yes, library funding.

Y: Yes, protect parks, and allow parks funds to help rehabilitate the waterfront.

Z: Vote your conscience. Makes regressive soda tax permanent, removing voter oversight.

Statewide Propositions

2: Yes, school and community-college facilities.

3: Yes, correct state Constitution to recognize same-sex marriage.

4: Yes, reasonable climate mitigations.

5: No, don’t reduce bond threshold to give poorly designed bond measures a pass.

6: Yes, end involuntary servitude.

32: No, questionable meddling with scheduled minimum-wage increases.

33: YES, allow rent stabilization in cities that want and need it.

34: NO, developers’ revenge initiative targeting one AIDS health-care foundation.