Features

My name is Janet Abelson. I’m the mayor of El Cerrito and I appreciate this opportunity to tell you about my background, my accomplishments on the El Cerrito City Council and my plans for the future. 

I have an MBA in Management from San Francisco State University and I worked for many years at UC Berkeley as a systems analyst.  

My husband and I have been homeowners in El Cerrito for over 30 years. Our children all attended El Cerrito public schools. The youngest now attends El Cerrito High School.  

I’ve been active in the schools and local community groups for many years. I am the long-time chair of El Cerrito’s Earthday Event. I was a member of the planning commission that developed the current general plan.  

I’ve also been active in the transportation field. I’ve served on advisory committees at BART, AC Transit, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission where I helped to formulate the successful Transportation for Livable Communities Program now known as TLC.  

I received a state transportation award known as a “Tranny” for my advocacy efforts. I currently represent West County on the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. Last year I served as chair. 

Earlier this year I was honored by the State Assembly in Sacramento when Assembly Member Loni Hancock selected me as Woman of the Year for my work in education, transportation and the environment. 

I became a council member so I could make El Cerrito a better place to live. My goal was to make El Cerrito a destination - a place where people wanted to live, work, shop, and play. 

This was not an easy task. When I joined the council, El Cerrito, along with most other cities in California, was coming out of a long period of financial stress. We have worked hard to turn things around, and we’ve accomplished a lot. 

I appreciate the cooperation of the many community members and city staff who have worked with the city council to make El Cerrito what it is today. They are contributing to its future. Our success is attributable to the strength of our team effort.  

El Cerrito is a diverse community with many needs. All are important. In fact, our city has the oldest population in the county. That’s why I supported adding paramedics to all of our fire stations, reducing response time and saving lives. 

We have a high crime rate. That’s why I voted to increase police department staffing by 23 percent over the last five years. I supported the addition of two motorcycle officers to aid in traffic enforcement and speed reduction, as well as two school resource officers for the high school. 

El Cerrito needed more recreation facilities. We now have a new swim center, a new playfield at Canyon Trail Park, and new playgrounds at Cerrito Vista, Canyon Trail, Arlington, Central, Tassajara, and Castro parks. We have new recreation programs for all ages. We even have a robust program for preschoolers, our fastest growing population. 

I’ve worked hard to protect our environment and I appreciate having the endorsement of the Sierra Club. I supported and promoted the recently completed creek restoration projects at Cerrito Creek and Baxter Creek. As mayor I asked the council to support the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to reduce global warming. I also voted in favor of using green building practices in new city buildings.  

There are major improvements in our city infrastructure. We are building a new city hall with no new taxes. Fairmount Avenue has had a major face lift. The Cerrito Theater is about to open. We also spent over five million dollars on street repaving and sidewalks. El Cerrito Plaza has been successfully rebuilt. Working together as a team, our city successfully recruited Trader Joe’s.  

Our financial house is in order. During my time on the council, we implemented new computer and financial systems and earned several awards for our financial reports. We built a very healthy reserve. 

I have worked hard within El Cerrito and at a regional level to make this happen. My experience and ability to work with others in the region has helped us be successful in obtaining grants to fund the projects we want to improve our community. 

Now it’s time to build for the future and there is more work to be done. I have the knowledge and background to move forward on critical city issues.  

I decided to run for re-election because I want to build on my experience, knowledge, and regional position to make El Cerrito an even better place to live. The learning curve is steep. I have the experience. I will continue to work to attract funding and resources to El Cerrito so we can tackle our toughest challenges—street repair and facilities maintenance. 

Some of the projects I want to see to fruition include the new city hall, a new senior center and library, and continued improvements to our parks. We are about to begin a 6.7 million dollar facelift on San Pablo Avenue, from the north end of town to the south end.  

For me, it’s all about building a better community. And that’s why I ask for your support on Nov. 7th.