Berkeley District 7 race asks Southside to choose between DSA candidate and People’s Park activist | City Government

Heading into the Nov. 3 statewide election, voters in Berkeley’s Southside will decide what kind of activist they want representing the area. 

The two candidates in the race for the student-dominated District 7, Aidan Hill and Syrak Micael, are aligned in many ways. They both point to affordability, especially around housing, as a key issue in the district; they both oppose mass surveillance and the city’s controversial Flock contract;they are both UC Berkeley alumni and self-described activists.

Micael’s ties run back to a host of community organizations and student activist groups, as well as outgoing Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra, who has endorsed him.Hill has won the support of the Peace and Freedom Partyand a number of local longtime activists.Hill’s roots in activism revolve around People’s Park. 

If either candidate hopes to get elected, they will need to energize and win over a district that comprises a supermajority of students and that’s infamous among local activists and campaigners for its apathy. 

Historically, District 7 has the lowest voter turnout rate of all City Council districts. Berkeley’s districts are evenly divided to encompass roughly 15,500 residents each,and other districts’ turnout in recent elections regularly exceeds 3,000 voters. 

In Southside, however, only 493 people voted in the 2024 election,with Lunaparra securing the election with just 291 votes.That election was a special election, but the previous one in 2022 still saw only 691 total votes cast. 

Lunaparra said she sees the District 7 council seat as necessary for prioritizing the needs of students and allowing them to have a voice in city government. 

“It’s a difficult job in the sense that the campus turns around so often, so you have to keep building and maintaining relationships year after year,” Lunaparra said. “But I also think that’s part of the beautiful thing about it.”

Lunaparra noted that District 7 is “the only district where students really get to decide who’s going to be in the seat” and that the low student turnout gives even more weight to each individual vote in the district.

Micael has actively sought to address low voter turnout in the student population. He and his campaign have canvassed outside of student residence halls with promotional materials and staffers every week.

Micael said half the battle is convincing students to “vote, period.” 

He has led Hill in endorsements, especially from student groups.But Hill said their campaign staff have been knocking on doors and ringing phones across the district. On Friday, they distributed food with the East Bay Food Not Bombs collective on Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street. 

Hill has positioned themself as the anti-establishment candidate in the race, running against the political dynasty supporting Micael. 

If elected, Micael would carry on a multi-term tradition of the District 7 seat being filled by a current or recently graduated UC Berkeley student, which began with Rigel Robinson in 2018 and has been carried on by Lunaparra since 2024. 

Lunaparra said it’s important for the District 7 seat to represent the student perspective and voice. She noted Southside changes “all the time,” so having someone on council with recent experience as a student in the area is paramount for representing students in government. 

Looking forward, Lunaparra said the issues of housing, affordability, the city’s budget and surveillance — concerns raised by both candidates in their campaigns — could all be defining issues in the upcoming term. 

District 7 sits at the forefront of the city’s historic issues with housing and rent costs, as the vast majority of residents in the student-majority district rent their homes. Lunaparra said housing legislation and tenant protections became some of the most meaningful work she did in the district and that the next council membermust continue advocating for tenants. 

Both Micael and Hill have staunchly opposed the highly controversial Flock Safety cameras and other forms of surveillance technology used or sought by police in Berkeley.

Both candidates have openly campaigned against the city’s contract with Flock Safety, and both fall into the “anti-flock bloc” highlighted by activist group Berkeley Against Mass Surveillance.Questions of police technology and powers currently split the City Council, making the upcoming elections a possible inflection point for the future of policing in Berkeley. 

Both campaigns have also stood behind increased tenant protections and affordable housing, as well as pushing to address broader basic needs concerns in the district. Micael has advocated for Alameda County’s $30 minimum wage proposal and positioned himself in support of UC Berkeley’s unions. 

Micael has also called for the revitalization of the Dwight Triangle space as a center of community in the district. 

Lunaparra took office in the aftermath of UC Berkeley’s sweep of People’s Park, which Hill sees as an example of development devastating Southside.The park and, more broadly, the district’s limited open space, have played a central role in Hill’s campaign and activism. 

One of Hill’s key platforms is cultivating public space in the dense and urban Southside.

“This is a legacy of 57 years. It means that decades of people have spent their lives here,” Hill said. “I didn’t look away or walk away or leave it because it was politically convenient. It means that at the end of the day, no matter what, I’m here to protect people.”

Hill has slammed Micael for his vote on the city’s Housing Advisory Commission to recommend that the city fund supportive housing at the park. 

Additionally, Hill said they want to see a city inventory of public spaces on Southside andimmediate repairs to Telegraph Avenue’s dilapidated streets,as well as renovation of Bowditch Street to recenter the passage around pedestrians, cyclists and greenery. 

That proposal presents an alternative to Micael and his predecessors’ longtime dream of a car-free Telegraph, which Hill does not think will work.The proposal, advanced by the city but lacking a set completion date, could see similar pedestrianization efforts on the Telegraph corridor more frequented by students.

Mia Verdin, president of Telegraph For People,a student group advocating for street safety and a car-free Telegraph, pointed out that many students have faced close encounters with vehicles on Telegraph, making their safety a key issue for District 7.

“Students deserve better than to be a victim of traffic violence, or to be the next headline saying, ‘Student injured in a collision,’” Verdin said.

Hill has raised concerns that the current proposals for Telegraph Avenue renovations could disrupt businesses and emergency services. 

In the interview, Hill objected to the idea that their campaign’s base of support lay with the district’s permanent, often older residents, including the remnants of People’s Park.

“It’s always been about everyone,” they said. 

Hill offered a simple explanation of what their campaign is about: “Standing up to the establishment.”

Micael, who has run away with the support of that establishment, said his campaign “is about developing a coalition to actually get this s— done.”