Reader Commentaries:

City Council Candidate Statements: Kriss Worthington

Diversity, creativity, and a commitment to promoting new ideas are what make Berkeley such a wonderful place to live and work. For the past ten years on the City Council I’ve been a progressive leader on a wide range of issues. I’ve had to walk a thin line between maintaining my sense of where Berkeley should be going while pragmatically getting things done in the here and now. Here are the areas I’ve focused on:



The environment

I was an environmental activist before I was elected to City Council, serving as Northern Alameda Chair and Executive Committee member of the Sierra Club, and the health of the environment remains my area of strongest activity. I’ve worked to put Berkeley back in the forefront of environmental policy by strengthening waterfront habitat protection, shepherding Zero Waste and the Precautionary Principle through the maze of City politics and bureaucracy (these groundbreaking eco-policies now serve as nationwide models for other cities), and saving and enhancing funding for parks. I’ve increased funding for transit, bicycle, and pedestrian uses, got City employees out of their cars with the Eco-Pass, and pushed to expand the program to include UC employees, BART, and Telegraph. (Please vote Yes on Measure G to reduce greenhouse gases.)

I’ve defended biodiversity by protecting native plants, breeding areas for migratory birds, and habitat for the Coopers Hawk, and strengthened waterfront habitat protection. I’m Berkeley’s representative on the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency and the Waste Management Authority, where I strategize with environmentalists on how best to channel community organizing and grassroots lobbying into winnable campaigns. I’ve worked to get Campaign Finance Reform enacted on State and local levels to dilute the impact of the huge developer contributions which have led directly to environment-threatening policies. I’ve expanded biodiesel, solar, and composting in Berkeley, and encouraged the City to work with EGRET, the group restoring native habitat in Aquatic Park.



Telegraph Avenue

My greatest commercial responsibility, besides sharing with all other Councilmembers our desire to make our downtown vibrant and successful, is to maintain the viability and appeal of Telegraph. I’ve vigorously opposed cuts to police and social workers, led a successful charge to restore police, social workers, and parking on Telegraph. I wrote a proposal to fix the permit process to get vacant storefronts filled more quickly. I’ve pushed to implement a Buy Berkeley policy for City contracts and purchases, and to unbundle large City contracts so small business receive the cash flow they need to thrive, and I’m working to get the Planning Commission to expedite the permit process for neighborhood-friendly businesses, while keeping room for public input. Thanks to my efforts the City now issues quarterly reports on job creation, unemployment, and sales tax revenue by business district, as well as tracking office and retail vacancy rates. I got previously cut police positions restored, expanded neighborhood watch networks both south of campus and on the northside, got students involved in partnerships with businesses and long-term residents. I’ve led the charge for targeted drug enforcement not only on Telegraph but on nearby streets, so that problems aren’t just pushed from one place to another. I promote Berkeley and Telegraph as tourist attractions regionally and internationally, and encourage “Only in Berkeley” as an effective promotional theme for the great products and services offered by our unique businesses.



Transportation and traffic

I got city employees out of cars with the Eco-Pass and pushed to expand program to include UC employees and BART. I got truck and van traffic reduced on residential streets, and increased funding for accessibility, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian uses. I’ve supported traffic calming to reduce speed on neighborhood streets.



Housing

Dona Spring and I (and Max Anderson, who’s not up this election) are the city’s strongest supporters of rent control (as you can easily see by checking out the donation lists of our opponents). I have worked hard to defeat the Eviction by Condo ordinance on this ballot (Please vote no on I!); my opponent waited to oppose it until it was safe three weeks ago, after the major conservative organization in Berkeley, the Berkeley Democratic Club, voted to take no position on it, and just before he came before Berkeley’s two major progressive organizations seeking their endorsement. (Which I got.) I also worked to get millions directed to the Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing on transit corridors.



Crime

I support community policing, and I initiated the expansion of Neighborhood Watch near campus and citywide.



Student issues

I’ve appointed more students to city commissions than any councilmember in Berkeley history. I fought for more student housing close to campus, and got funding to improve disabled access to student housing.



Peace and social justice

I led the Council in opposing the Bush war in Iraq (and wherever else we’re going next) and his attacks on civil liberties. I initiated and coordinate the City’s Holocaust Remembrance Day program.



Open government

I sponsored Berkeley’s Sunshine Ordinance. I support campaign finance reform and Instant Run-off Voting (IRV).



Constituent advocacy

My persistence in helping constituents cut through red tape is, legendary. I get sidewalks repaired, potholes filled, and illegal trash removed. I’ve worked fiercely on my neighborhoods’ behalf to stand up to UC and Sutter Corporation executives. In my tenure District 7 has always gotten its fair share of resources for street and sidewalk repairs, lighting, and storm drain upgrades.



Fiscal responsibility

I’m a social progressive but a fiscal conservative. No one has fought harder than I have for proper stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars.

I think I deserve my hard-won reputation as Berkeley’s hardest-working Councilmember. This election I’ve also had to become Berkeley’s hardest-fundraising Councilmember; as of September 30 my opponent has already spent $44,000 (more than I’ve ever spent on an entire campaign), a pace which will make his campaign the most intensive investment in a Council seat in Berkeley’s history. (See? I’m working at it right now!) I will continue and expand the work I’ve done over the last decade if the voters of District 7 see fit to return me to office.