Berkeley’s Escalating Homeless Crisis: More Spending, Less Accountability
On June 30, 2025, the Berkeley City Council voted to approve an additional $5 million
Berkeley
The End of an Era: The Berkeley Flea Market Closes After 50 Years
A Cautionary Tale of Progressive Failure For half a century, the Berkeley Flea Market stood
Berkeley Special City Council Meeting – April 22, 2025
It is 6.04. And we’re gonna get this show on the road. Are we ready?
Berkeley City Council Special Meeting December 10, 2024
Transcript Whenever you’re ready. Alright. I don’t have the agenda in front of me actually, but I’d like to call this special meeting to order. Okay. I Can you take the role, please? Yes. I will take the role. Thank you, mayor. Council member Kesarwani? Here. Kaplan? Present. Bartlett? Here. Treib? Pheasant. O’Keefe? Here. Lackey? Here. Luna Parra? Here. Humber? Present. And Mayor Ezey? Here. Okay. Miss Quorum is present. Hey. Well, welcome everyone. I’d like to welcome you to the December 10th special meeting of the Berkeley City Council and call this meeting to order. I did that, so I believe we just have 1 item on our agenda, so would someone like to move item number 1 as written? So I so move. Second. Clerk, would you like to call the roll? We could, take public comment on the consent counter at this time. Oh, I don’t have this. Here it is. Yes. I’d like to take public comment, please. Is there any public comment from attendees in the room for the 5:30 PM special meeting? Does it have to be on topic or Yes. Yes. No speakers in the room? Okay. We’ll turn to the remote attendees. We have 1, speaker who’s raised his hand, Blair Beekman. You can now unmute and provide comment. Hi. Blair Beekman. I’m a person who, works on the issues of tech accountability, the future of, open public policies and best practices with the future of our technology, surveillance and data collection. Boy, congratulations to the new mayor. Thank you that he is, it’s it’s nice to see your it’s nice to be here and to be a part of this process with the new mayor. Thank you. All candidates are always important and good. I’m really hopeful in what the new mayor can be working towards and accomplishing. I hope we can really set a course to really understand that tech accountability is a process of community participation. It’s an awesome process. It does some really amazing good things in working together as a full community effort and not just, you know, specific specialized groups. It’s a really interesting work. So good luck in the efforts, and, thanks for the meeting today. And, yeah, hello to Berkeley. I’m currently in Vietnam, by the way. I’ll be here for a few more months. Thanks for your time. Bye. Thank you. Alright. Any other There are no other, speakers, on Zoom. So we could proceed to, to a vote on the consent calendar to confirm the results of the November 5, 2024 General Municipal Election. Council member Casarwani. Yes. Taplan? Yes. Bartlett? Yes. Treggum? Aye. O’Keefe? Yes. Blackaby? Yes. Una Parra? Yes. Humbert? Yes. And Mayor Ishii? Yes. Okay. The motion carries. And that concludes the business for the 5:30, p. M. Special meeting. Mhmm. And, thank you. We will, start our regular meeting at 6 p. M. For the ceremonial swearing in of our new members. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. Thank you. Okay, Council Member Castorwani? Yes. Taplan? Yes. Bartlett? Yes. Trego? Aye. O’Keefe? Yes. Clackabee? Yes. Luna Parra? Yes. Humber? Yes. And Mayor Ihshi? Yes. Okay, we are adjourned from the 5:30 p. M. Special meeting. Thank you. Thanks everyone for waiting. Oh, that was it. Recording stopped.
Berkeley City Council Regular Meeting December 10, 2024
Transcript Hello. Hello. Good evening, everyone. I’d like to welcome you all to the December 10th meeting of the Berkeley City Council and call this meeting to order. Can we start with a roll call, please? Okay. Thank you. Council Member Kesselwani? Here. Taplan? Present. Bartlett? Here. Tregga? Present. O’Keefe? Here. Blackabee? Here. Luna Parra? Here. Humber? Present. And, Mayor Ihshi? Here. Okay, quorum is present. Thank you. So typically, we would read the land acknowledgement statement at the beginning of each monthly meeting, but since this is my first meeting, I’d like to ask that we do a land acknowledgement statement again. And, from now on we’re gonna be switching off and have different council members do the land acknowledgement and, we’re gonna start with council member Casarwani. Thank you very much, Mayor Ishii. The city of Berkeley recognizes that the community we live in was built on the territory of Huichun, the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo speaking Ohlone people, the ancestors and descendants of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to all of the Ohlone tribes and descendants of the Verona Band. As we begin our meeting tonight, we acknowledge and honor the original inhabitants of Berkeley, the documented 5000 year history of a vibrant community at the West Berkeley Shell Mound and the Ohlone people who continue to reside in the East Bay. We recognize that Berkeley’s residents have and continue to benefit from the use and occupation of this unseated stolen land since the City of Berkeley’s incorporation in 18/78. As stewards of the laws regulating the City of Berkeley, it is not only vital that we recognize the history of this land, excuse me, but also recognize that the Ohlone people are present members of Berkeley and other East Bay communities today. The City of Berkeley will continue to build relationships with the Luohan scribe and to create meaningful actions that uphold the intention of this land acknowledgement. Thank you so much, Council member. I’d like to move us on to ceremonial manner matters and I’m gonna pass it off to Mark, our City Clerk. Okay. Thank you, Mayor. So at this time, we will, administer the oath of office for, newly elected and reelected, members of the city council and mayor. Okay. So at this time, I’ll have you stand. And if you turn on your microphone and point it up, it’ll pick up some better audio. And raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, state your name, I I, Shaitanya O’Keefe. Do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California and the Constitution of the State of California. Against all enemies against all enemies, foreign and domestic, foreign and domestic, That I will bear true faith and allegiance. That I will bear true faith and allegiance. To the Constitution of the United States. To the Constitution of the United States. And the Constitution of the State of California. And the Constitution of the State of California. That I take this obligation freely. That I take this obligation freely. Without any mental reservation. Without any mental reservation. Or purpose of evasion. Or purpose of evasion. And that I will well and faithfully discharge. And that I will well and faithfully discharge. The duties upon which I’m about to enter. The duties upon which I’m about to enter. Congratulations. Thank you so much and thank you to those who are here to witness swearing in. I wanna give our new council members and, also reelected council members time to say a few words if you’d like. Council member Brokawbe. Sure, I’ll be brief and we said a little bit this Friday night, but, I just want to let everyone know here, I’m so honored to be joining this body, to be joining the city council, with this wonderful group of colleagues, who all wanna serve our community and make Berkeley even better. At a time that we’re entering some rocky waters nationally, I do believe that what we do here locally really matters because government can be a force for good, empowering us to join together as a community to solve problems that we can’t solve individually, and to extend a helping hand to friends and neighbors that need our support. The people of Berkeley deserve a world class local government that delivers top notch public safety, affordable housing, vibrant public spaces, and safe transportation for everyone that uses our streets and sidewalks. They deserve a government that is data driven, accountable, and transparent, and local leadership that stands up to defend our progressive values. And I’m looking forward to doing all that work together. In particular, I just wanna thank the voters in district 6 who placed their trust in me to be their voice on the city council. It’s an honor and a privilege that I don’t take for granted. 1 thing just to think about, the people of district 6 have had only 2 council members over the past 32 years, just 2 32 years. Susan Weingraff for the previous 16 and Betty Olds for the 16 years before that. These are 2 trail blazing, outspoken, courageous women who were passionate advocates for our district and dedicated to constituent service. They’ve set a super high bar and I will work every day to live up to their examples. So again, I’m looking forward to joining our new mayor, all of my council colleagues, our city manager, Paul Budenhagen, and our terrific city staff to tackle the challenges ahead and help Berkeley live up to its fullest potential. For everyone who lives and works here now and in the future, Thanks again for the privilege of serving. Thank you so much, council member Blackby. Would anyone else like to say a few words? Go ahead, council member Humper. I I I wanna personally say a quick but hearty congratulations to our new council members and those who’ve been reseated and to say a hearty welcome, once again, I’ve welcomed them several times, to our new council members. And I wanna thank the city clerk and the staff for all the work on this election. Berkeley really puts our staff through trials with our many measures, and that includes council making a lot of demands when it comes to crafting the ones we place on the ballot. I’m not gonna address our ballot measures, but finally I wanna say a special congratulations and welcome to Mayor Ishii. Herding council cats and other creatures isn’t always easy, but I’m excited for your leadership and really looking forward to working with you. Vlaminos. Thank you. I also would like to join my colleague in welcoming our new colleagues. It’s nice to have a full full house once again. It’s been a long time. And all of you, I’ve known you all many years, all of you. It’s really amazing to see this. It’s like, 1 family all coming home to roost. And I welcome you. I’m gonna help you and support you. I’ll be there for you, and just welcome aboard. I’m so proud of you all for doing it. And my mayor, madam mayor, wonderful work. You you are a trailblazer and so proud of the work you’ve done already and look forward to helping you succeed and help us all see together. Thank you so much. And to the voters of District 3, thanks again for your support. I’m there with you, reach out anytime. Thank you so much. Yes, Council Member O’Keefe. Just briefly, I wanna say, I’m a child of Berkeley, I was born at Ulta Bates Hospital. I’ve lived here almost my entire life and, frankly I plan to die here. This is my home. In a very serious way and I love this community and I love this city so much and I just wanna say this is the honor of a lifetime to be able to serve in this way and I wanna say thank you to the voters of District 5 and, thank you to all my colleagues for welcoming me and I’m really looking forward to to working with y’all. And I hope to do your pad, Berkeley. Thank you. Council member Taplin? Thank you. Thank you to the voters. Welcome to the members. Welcome to the new mayor, mayor Ishii. And, let’s get to work. Yeah. I also just wanna thank folks again for being here this evening and, to say that even if you didn’t vote for me, my job is to earn your trust and I look forward to being in touch with the people of Berkeley and hearing from you. I’m very much looking forward to doing this job. It’s been an absolute honor and everyone has been incredibly welcoming and supportive. I look forward to moving forward as a council together. So, thank you so much. I, Thank you. I also want to acknowledge that this is the last meeting for deputy city council managers Latanya Bellows and also Anne Cardwell, so I wanted to give, I believe council member Taplin first an opportunity to speak and to to make some comments since I’m new and didn’t get a chance to work with you much. Thank you so much and good evening everybody. On behalf of the council, Madam WC manager Bello and Madam c Madam c Madam WC manager Ian Cardwell, thank you so much for your years of service to the community, city, and people of Berkeley. We have benefited so much from your unflinching responsiveness and your executive approach to the administration. And although it is with a heavy heart that we must say goodbye for now, we are so excited for you and your, your journey in Emeryville, not too far away. So, hopefully, you won’t be gone too long and, but, but but honestly, thank you so much and, I’ve I’ve loved working with you. We’ve all loved working with you and and we wish you the best. Thank you. Thank you so much. And I’m not actually sure if Anne’s here, but I’m going to pass it over to our city manager, to say a few words as well. Thank you, Mayor Ishi. I want to say a few words about our retiring Deputy City Manager, Anne Cardwell, as well as our moving to the Emeryville City Manager, Deputy City Manager, Bello. So to both of you, my profound thanks for your hard work, for your leadership, for your compassion, for your passion, and for all of the many things that you’ve done to make Berkeley a better place for everybody who lives here. I know you’re gonna do the same in Emeryville.
Berkeley City Council Regular Meeting December 3, 2024
Transcript You are almost always right on your policies and positions, not quite a 100%, but almost. And when I’ve disagreed with you on 1 of your positions, at the same time, I’ve known that in holding that position, you have the best interest of your constituents in mind. Having said that, I always want your blessings for my items and I have a feeling even when you’re off council would probably still behoove us to make sure that our referrals have your approval. I’m so thankful for all your service and for being a friend and mentor to me as I’ve gotten the hang of being on council. At the same time, I’m glad you’ll be getting some much deserved rest and time with your family, though I know you’re gonna still be active. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if you become 1 of the folks who comes and comments on nearly every item at every meeting. I think that would help us. But you deserve to enjoy your retirement, so instead I’ll just have to ask myself, what would Susan do? From the bottom of my heart, thank you again for everything you’ve done and do and I wish you and your loved ones, your husband Mark, your grandchildren, your children, and your adorable grandchildren a happy council retirement. Thank you. That was so sweet, council member Humber. WWSD. What would Susan do? I guess, Susan and I will be, enjoying a leisurely dinner during the, council meetings. You know, we made it do some really rigorous times. We absolutely have. And so council member Windgrath, you, were like a living library of everything this council has done, all the rules, you know, the right questions to ask, and I enjoyed working with you. And despite our differences, which on on its surface appear to be many, difference in age, gender, race, geophysical positioning within the city. But but what united us through these years, these 8 years together, was the love of Berkeley, want us to work together. We came together many times, and you supported me. I supported you. We worked on Measure FF for fire. We worked on the fire plan in 2017. We worked on a myriad of issues. And every time you were there to to lend a helping hand and teach me, a plucky kid from the chief of South Berkeley, how to operate and be collaborative and initiate a vision, and we did it over and over again. And you were always steadfast, and you held your ground. And when it made sense, I was with you. And, I don’t relish the, the fact that I have to take your position now as the most senior member on the council. Very alarming possibility, eventuality. And I will say again, just, council member Wingraff, it’s been wonderful, wonderful experience. You’re you’re a lover of the arts. We share that, and I’ve learned so much from you and inspired by you and learned so much. And I’m gonna miss you, And please come around and comment on every item. Shut us down a couple of times. Okay? Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Thank you. And, councilor Mohan. Well, councilor Mahan, what can I say? So going back with 13, 14 years, I think it was, when we first, started coming together, You recruited my wife onto the the the women’s commission, and you led the charge to shut down these massage parlors and to take that group, which had been relegated to, you know, 1 of those traditional women’s auxiliary type clubs, talking about lace patterns and doing an annual event, to being proactive and producing leaders and making big change and sticking up for women. And, that was incredible. And then I saw you get involved in the downtown plan and all these large scale projects with council member Ara Gein back in the day. And through these years, you and I became so close. And, again, another genius woman here taught me so much and loved working with you through the years. And on council, we came in together on that blue green tide, and, we we brought a new a new energy, a new direction, and I can tell you, working with you and observing your your the power of your intellect is unrivaled. Powerhouse with a a brain and thought structure so massive and so complex, it takes a lot of time to express it in words. A lot of time. Oh my god. Counselor Ron. And, you know, and you’re you’re you’re you’re you are of Berkeley. You’re a yellow jacket. Cheerleader. You know, you get it. You get what Berkeley is. You get it. It’s in your fiber of your DNA. You get it. You express it. You believe in, what makes us unique, what makes us strong, what made us famous throughout the world. You embody that, and you push for that stuff. You go for it. And it’s been an honor to support you throughout these this near decade together. And, you know, I’ll I’ll say this. Yet now that you’ve, you know, amassed all of your powers and you’ve you’ve run a campaign, you’ve launched out now, you’re gonna be, free in the world with these new powers and new energies and new thoughts. You’re gonna rest for a while, but I know what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna leave you with a poem from my late father, Dale Bartlett. He would say if he were here, life is a river and must run its course, from a trickle to a stream and back to its source. We’ll see you again. Farewells are really hard for me, so I’m not gonna say farewell because I hope to continue working with you and seeking your guidance. Councilor Bahan, you when I was first elected, you really embraced me as a colleague. I cherished our walks we would go on. I loved working on a number of my items with you and having you review my items at committee and give your feedback and knowing that I can always come to you for insight. And even when, we didn’t agree, you were always willing to hear me out and and make my items better. Like you, I also grew up here in Berkeley, but I’ve never met anyone in my life who loves Berkeley as much as you do. And I’ve also never seen someone fight as hard on behalf of the city and its people in the way that you do. I’ve been so grateful and in awe of your passion, your deep knowledge of history, your championing of affordable housing, everything you’ve done for the arts community. And as someone who will be the 3rd most senior member of council, I feel so fortunate to have had these last 4 years to learn from you, and so I hope to continue doing doing so. And I hope that you can continue keeping me updated and let me know how I can support you. And, I hope to see, even more of you. And, and thank you for everything you’ve done for for all of us, for the community, for the city. Thank you for not being, afraid to challenge people and to call people out and to hold us to our better selves and and, you know, doing that for the community as well. And thank you for thinking of not just the good of the city, but also how to make sure that everyone in the city has a beautiful life, that we have beautiful spaces to share, to preserve our culture, to create culture, to work on the world that we all wanna see, and that our community deserves. And I I’m I’m deeply indebted to you for that and for having had that as a as a guiding light, especially through the pandemic and as someone who really, you know, came out of nowhere, didn’t know anything when I first got here. So thank you so much. And, Mary Windingroff, I have loved every single day of these last 4 years working with you. Like Ben was saying, you know, we represent 2 very different districts, 2 very different parts of town, but, you we were always able to mutually support 1 other and and our our constituents. And and thank you so much for your your, your commitment to West Berkeley and the waterfront and for the wealth of knowledge that you have and just being able to come to you with all kinds of questions. And and I remember 1 time, it was 1 of my first first, like, doctor referrals. It was, I think you’re, you know, you’re all gonna laugh at me here. But it was a referral to add some trash cans along from Hill Avenue and it went to, I think, agenda in the rules, perhaps, and you were like, why do we need an item for trash cans? But at the at the time, it felt like, oh, crushed. Like, oh my god. Like, my first little item. But, you know, like, but especially for for newer members of council, having someone who is willing to sort of point out when something is a little ridiculous and and naive, in a way that, you know, is is clear, but also encouraging. And it’s very important to have have those moments so that we don’t end up doing better referrals or for for individual trash cans. And and, you know, working with you and the public safety committee and getting to learn about the needs of of the Hills District with respect to, evacuation and fire safety and wildlife wildfire, mitigation, and, you know, some of the less glamorous things we have to deal with, you know, refuse issues, infrastructure. Those have been my favorite parts of of working for the city is tending to those those assets. And, and I thank you so much for being, like, my mentor and my friends, and I I I really hope that, we can continue calling on you and and Lunch. Lunch. Yeah. Lunch. Absolutely. Yeah. And don’t be surprised when, you know, if if we end up naming a couple of parks and streets and facilities and gardens and the city itself after you. I want to first echo my colleagues beautiful comments about Council Member Hahn and acting mayor Weingraaf who served on this council with such passion over the past 8 to 16 years. And while I only shared half of a year of that time with you both, I feel like I have learned so much from the both of you. There have been countless moments I’ve shared with you where I have been so appreciative of your expertise, your knowledge of history, your passions, your questions, your curiosity, and your kindness. Sophie, I want to specifically recognize some of the incredible work that you have done with maintaining affordable housing and supporting tenants. It is really incredible and I’m so excited to be able to continue to work off of it, but I know that it is because of you that I get to work off of it in the first place. I am so thankful to have had the chance to serve alongside you, and I just wanna mention how many times in the past 6 months I have smiled to myself and thought, wow, that’s a really good point. I would not have thought of that. And it has been just really really incredible to see, this to see your work and and how passionate you are about it. So thank you. Susan, your dedication and your compassion and your thoughtful leadership have made such an incredible mark on this community and I, again, feel so fortunate to have been able to work alongside you. Your attention to detail and your commitment to your constituents, all of your constituents, will be sorely missed. Although I know that your successor will will follow in the very large footsteps that you have left for him. It is so clear to me how you lead with kindness and humility and a deep commitment to the well-being of our residents and I so admire the integrity that you take, in every single decision that you make. And I think that it will inspire our city’s leaders for generations to come. I wanna thank you both for your years of service and especially for welcoming me to this council, and for the moments that we shared. I feel so lucky to have been able to serve with 2 such strong women on this council. I feel inspired. I wish you both and your incredible staff all the very best in the future, and I am glad that your families will get to spend more time with you. And I hope that you don’t hesitate to reach out and if it is okay, I also won’t. Thank you. Okay, thank you so much. Okay, we’ll go now to council members on Zoom. Ingrid? You know, I simply don’t have the words to describe, the depth of my appreciation of the community’s appreciation for both of you, Sophie and Susan, mayor Langraf, and council member Han. If I had the boards, we would be here all night. I’m not going to make you go through a long council meeting, as as your final 1. But, I did want to share a few different stories that I think capture the full depth and breadth of everything that you have brought to our community throughout, not just your Council tenure, but your lifetime. Susan, I don’t even remember the issue, but I remember that we were at loggerheads about something. This was maybe a decade ago or more, but you invited me into your office. And when we talked through it, and we had just a heart to heart conversation, I’ll never forget what you told me. Oh my gosh. I am I am sorry for whatever, in the I don’t even remember what it was, but whatever it was I was going through, and you offered to make me chicken soup. Your memory is better than mine. I am not making this up. And I’m also not making the up that after I left your office, I was like, what the hell were we arguing about anyway?
