Working together we can make Berkeley a better place: A City that functions for all its residents; that is green; that has safe, pleasant and livable neighborhoods; that has a strong revenue base; that has an equal partnership with the University; and that offers an array of quality services.
A City that functions better for all its residents.
- Be an accessible Mayor: Providing 24/7 phone, e-mail and internet access; Holding non-appointment office hours; and holding regular meetings in neighborhoods.
- Create an atmosphere at Council Meetings that welcomes the public and encourages civil discourse
- Enact a Sunshine Ordinance that guarantees open government.
- Restructure the budget to a Services Based Budget with Performance Outcomes so that everyone knows how the money is spent and the public can more effectively participate in decision making. Set budget priorities ensuring that basic core services, such as public safety, street repair, libraries, senior services are adequately funded.
A City that is Green.
- Require solar or solar hot water on major new construction.
- Install solar on City facilities.
- Assist homeowners with costs of energy saving improvements and solar installations.
- Develop water conservation plans using greywater and rain collection systems.
- Develop a plan for public transit that serves the whole city using small buses and taxi/buses to connect to larger lines.
- Prohibit plastic bags.
- Save the watershed and woodlands of Strawberry Canyon from proposed massive developments.
- Stop dumping polluted storm water into Aquatic Park Lagoon.
- Seek regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from diesel trucks going to and from large construction sites, including the UC Berkeley campus and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
- Improve our recycling programs and expand food waste recycling by City distribution of biosacks and providing price incentives that encourage recycling.
- Promote voluntary pesticide free backyard environments, providing opportunity for environmental issues education programs for young people.
- Join the Slow Food Movement to support everyday green life-style changes.
A City with safe, pleasant and livable neighborhoods
- Require new development to meet eco-standards ensuring that the livability of adjacent buildings is not destroyed and that the new construction respects the light, air and space of its surroundings. Develop a solar light ordinance.
- Retain the City's current Landmarks Preservation Ordinance by voting No on Measure LL on the November ballot. Measure LL says it will preserve older structures, but it actually makes it easier to demolish them. Studies show that re-using older structures is better for the environment, provides affordable housing and brings more economic benefits to the community.
- Actively work with citizen groups to reduce our increasing crime problems by implementing true Community Involved Policing and strengthening police resources, not just move the police from area to area. Ensure availabillity of accurate and timely information for beat officers and community members.
- Strengthen disaster preparedness in every part of Berkeley.
- Ensure that planning processes, like the Ashby BART plan, are undertaken from the beginning with the neighborhoods.
- Develop flood prevention plans based on methods used in cities like Portland, Oregon.
- Clean up problem liquor stores.
- Build decent, affordable live-work housing forBerkeley's artists with a combination of City funding and sweat equity.
- Fix the permit center ensuring less delay and hassle for homeowners.
A City with a strong revenue base
- Revitalize our Downtown by building on the success of the Arts and Theater District by establishing a permanent vibrant and colorful Arts and Crafts Street Market.
- Aggressively seek retail to get those empty storefronts filled.
- Improve parking in the Downtown for merchants but also relieve congestion by running a free shuttle connecting Downtown with neighborhood commercial areas, 3 BART Stations and the UC campus.
- Support the Downtown hotel/convention center called for in the City's Master Plan, the Center Street pedestrian plaza between Shattuck and Oxford - possibly even with a restored creek, if feasible - and the location of the University Art Museum and Magnes Museum into the Downtown.
- Restore the West Berkeley Artisan District that I started in 2002.
- Establish a signature annual citywide Art and Food Festival.
- Establish an on-going Small Business Council.
A City in an equal partnership with the University
- Re-negotiate the flawed agreement with the University signed by the current Mayor in which the City receives only $1.7 million/yr for City provided services to the campus that cost $14 million/yr.
- Establish a City/University "Buy Local" campaign. Of every $1.00 spent locally, $.60 comes back to Berkeley.
- Work for a City/University "good neighbor" accord between students and neighbors for a better quality of life around the campus.
- Work with other UC and California State University host cities to seek compliance with local land use laws when building outside of campus boundaries.
- Reach out to campus officials on a regular basis in order to repair poor relationships.
A City that offers an array of quality services for its residents
- Provide a warm water therapy pool with no gap between closing old and opening new pool.
- Work to restore Iceland as a center offering unique and healthy recreation for people of all ages and bringing significant economic benefits to the City as a whole.
- Expand summer jobs for youth.
- Partner with other communities in providing green job training in existing programs.
- Support high school community college linked academic/vocational education academies. Link vocational education to existing business to give young people true real world work experience.
- Ensure that residents of limited equity cooperatives receiving City funding are protected by City eviction laws.
- Support school-based health clinics.
- Ensure that every resident knows about and is enrolled in existing health programs, and work for passage of universal health care with our representatives at the state and federal levels.
- Restore my Pre-Natal to Pre-School Program to stop the achievement gap before it begins. Funds spent on prevention are far more cost effective than those spent after problems have occurred.
- Hire the homeless to work in the community.
- Ensure that the new Animal Shelter is built to support the policies for a no-kill facility.
|
