Election Section

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As one who attended what Ms. O’Malley calls the Alligator Ball (Editorial, Daily Planet, Sept. 17-20), I had a wonderful time. At the Laurie Capitelli fundraiser I spoke with a number of elected officials whose record of public service I respect, many District 5 residents, and an assortment of really interesting folks representing a broad spectrum of Berkeley political opinions. It was a far more diverse group than any I’ve seen in one Berkeley room for a long time. There were even preservationists like myself who seemed to be having a nice time talking with architects, developers, and realtors. Rather than “catching fleas from lying down with dogs” as Ms. O’Malley would have it, I prefer to see Laurie Capitelli’s City Council candidacy as offering hope for reconciliation, and the opportunity to work together to achieve common goals. Oh, by the way, the food was excellent—it had a definite Italian bias. 

Robert Kehlmann 

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Editors, Daily Planet:  

Your editorial comparing a Berkeley City Council race to a children’s story was entertaining, but like most works in that literary genre, it was a piece of fiction.  

Laurie Capitelli, a candidate for the District 5 Council seat, has lived and worked in our neighborhood for more than 25 years, and has been actively involved in issues and organizations that promote the best of Berkeley. He was instrumental in founding Ecohouse—Berkeley’s model demonstration project in ecological living. He is a 15-year board member of the Berkeley Public Education Foundation, overseeing more than $8 million in funding for our schools. And he was a co-founder of the Elmwood Theater Foundation, which raised more than $400,000 to save the College Avenue landmark from a developer’s wrecking ball and restore the theater to operation after a devastating fire. 

This is hardly the resume of the developer alligator your piece of fiction suggests. In fact, the Sierra Club—not a real estate industry favorite—has endorsed Laurie Capitelli as the best choice for North Berkeley’s council representative. 

Laurie Capitelli is a consensus builder, who looks for solutions that work for the entire community, not just for developers or their proponents. That’s why he’s earned the support from every part of Berkeley, including: Mayor Tom Bates, and Councilmember Mim Hawley; local environmental leaders and Save the Bay founder Sylvia McLaughlin, and former EBMUD Director Mary Selkirk; Bicycle Coalition’s Hank Resnik and Peralta Community Garden founder Karl Linn; former Citizens Budget Review Commissioner Jay Miyazaki, and community activist boona cheema; as well as hundreds of District 5 neighbors who have put Laurie’s campaign signs in their yards. 

For the real facts, and not fiction about Laurie Capitelli’s qualifications for office, his many years of dedicated service to the community, and his broad support within District 5, please check his website and campaign literature.  

David J. Snippen and Elyce Judith 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Maybe the Planet’s editors are right, and my list of endorsers conjures visions of the Alligators’ Ball and hungry maneaters feeding at the public trough. But if you’d actually covered my fundraiser, instead of just criticized me by association based on some of the people who back me, you’d have seen me leave with the girl I came with, that long-time foe of big developers, the Sierra Club, who endorsed me last week. And you could have tripped the light fantastic with Save the Bay’s Sylvia McLaughlin and Elyce Joyce from the Urban Creeks Council too. There’s lots of dancing at a ball; you have to keep your eye open to make sure you spot who’s wearing the glass slippers. 

Laurie Capitelli ›