With a packed ballot of five candidates\u00a0in an open seat election,District 1 is shaping up to be Berkeley\u2019s most competitive City Council race this November.<\/p>\n
On the ballot\u00a0are Laura Babitt, an auditor and operations director;\u00a0Ross Bernet, an environmental program manager at\u00a0Microsoft;\u00a0Moni Gangopadhyay,\u00a0a consumer protection investigator;\u00a0Steve Kromer,\u00a0an energy efficiency engineer;\u00a0and Daria Wrubel, a youth therapist.<\/p>\n
Located in Northwest Berkeley, District 1 sits at the heart of many of the city\u2019s most pressing issues. It\u2019s home to the site of the former Eighth and Harrison streets encampment, as well as part of Hopkins Street, where the city plans<\/a> to add hotly contested<\/a> bike lanes. District 1 has also seen a spate of plans for new housing developments, especially near the North Berkeley BART Station<\/a> and San Pablo Avenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n The seat is currently held by Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, who is not seeking another term.Kesarwani has provoked controversy for supporting<\/a> police surveillance tools such as Flock Safety, loosening<\/a> restrictions on the Berkeley Police Department\u2019s use of K-9 units and helicopters and attempting to remove<\/a> a ban on BPD\u2019s use of tear gas.<\/p>\n Kesarwani has thrown her weight behind Bernet, who said in an interview that he\u2019s \u201cvery aligned\u201d with Kesarwani on the issues of housing, walkable neighborhoods and street infrastructure.<\/p>\n Still, Bernet was quick to clarify he\u2019s his own man.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not Rashi. We\u2019re different people,\u201d he said. He added that Kesarwani was \u201ca bit divisive at times.\u201d<\/p>\n Bernet identified the homelessness crisis as the largest issue facing District 1, saying he supports the creation of more emergency shelters and beds for the short-term as well as \u201chousing abundance\u201d in the long term. He called himself \u201cthe candidate that is strongest on housing at all income levels.\u201d<\/p>\n He also supports the Hopkins Street bike lane plans and believes the city needs to focus on paving the road there to make it safer.<\/p>\n On the issue of police surveillance, Bernet said he thinks automated license plate readers help \u201cbring justice\u201d and catch criminals, such as in helping in the arrest of a driver that injured an elderly couple from Spain in a hit-and-run Oct. 7.<\/p>\n But Bernet believes Flock has \u201cbroken a lot of trust,\u201d and that the city should search for a different vendor.<\/p>\n As for Kesarwani\u2019s unsuccessful push to reinstate tear gas use for BPD, Bernet said there needs to be \u201ca real temperature check\u201d before easing restrictions.<\/p>\n \u201cTiming with this is everything,\u201d Bernet said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of lack of trust in the federal government at the moment. And so I do not support bringing back tear gas right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The next District 1 council member will also help carry on the council\u2019s work in addressing the city\u2019s budget<\/a>\u00a0practices.<\/p>\n Babitt, an auditor and operations director who said she had to make \u201ctough financial decisions\u201d as a former Berkeley School board director, believes she is poised to tackle this challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI would not approach a structural deficit with sweeping, across-the-board cuts,\u201d Babitt said in an email. \u201cCutting essential services such as fire protection at the same rate as administrative functions may balance numbers on paper, but it does not reflect the community\u2019s priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n Babitt also cited the deficit as a reason she would not support the proposals for police deregulation that Kesarwani has championed. She questioned whether tear gas, K-9 units and helicopters would be \u201cthe best use of limited public-safety dollars\u201d given the city\u2019s budget deficit and violent crime rate.<\/p>\n Babitt has, however, cited resident safety as a concern in justifying why she supports removing the city\u2019s homeless encampments.<\/p>\n \u201c(We) cannot allow people to remain indefinitely in unsafe and unhealthy conditions,\u201d Babitt said in her campaign newsletter. \u201cWhat we are seeing on some West Berkeley streets and in our parks presents serious health and safety concerns for people experiencing homelessness, nearby residents, small businesses, and the broader community.\u201d<\/p>\n She has called for Berkeley to establish a \u201cno-camping\u201d ordinance for public spaces and to clear encampments in line with the City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson ruling.<\/p>\n Not everyone agrees with that approach \u2014 particularly Gangopadhyay and Wrubel, the race\u2019s most progressive candidates.<\/p>\n The two candidates have expressed support for the city establishing alternative housing sites where people experiencing homelessness can live in tents and vehicles with running water, trash and other services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe already have homeless in our neighborhood, so the least we can do is to take care of them,\u201d Wrubel said.<\/p>\n