Page One

Willard Park area residents want a safe, quiet place to live, they told mayoral and City Council candidates at a Tuesday candidates’ night, sponsored by the Willard Neighborhood Association, that drew more than 80 people. 

The peace of the tree-lined blocks that encircle the park once known as Ho Chi Min Park is broken by a daily incursion of tens of thousands UC Berkeley students and staff on their way across town; it is also impacted by elevated property crime, and by a disproportionate number of homeless people that frequent the area, said area residents gathered in the Willard Middle School Auditorium. 

After short statements, mayoral and Districts 7 and 8 candidates put aside stump speeches and answered questions from the floor. (On Tuesday, the Daily Planet will report on the mayoral portion of the event. ) 

District 7 

With challenger George Beier’s war chest brimming with $44,000 (including $18,000 in loans), according to an Oct. 5 filing, and incumbent Kriss Worthington—who has raised less than half that amount—the District 7 race is perhaps the hardest fought of the four council races. 

Residents asked the candidates about their plans to blunt the massive traffic onslaught of university-bound traffic. 

Worthington, who doesn’t own a car, has championed bike lanes and the student bus pass that allows free rides to students who sign up for the program. The system is funded through student fees. 

“Starting in November, we’re going to be doubling the number of buses, having a rapid bus that comes every 12 minutes,” said Worthington, noting that he had worked with various agencies to get millions of dollars to fund the project. 

Worthington took the opportunity to correct an error in Tuesday’s SF Chronicle; he asserted that he does not support an AC Transit proposal to remove automobile lanes and replace them with dedicated bus lanes. “I have never in my life, ever, supported taking away lanes of traffic on Telegraph,” he stated. 

Beier also opposes dedicated bus lanes: “If the bus lane is there, people are going to take alternate streets, which we’ll have to call ‘Hillegraph,’ [a play on the street name Hillegass] when that day comes,” he said. 

Crime 

Fighting crime is a priority, Beier said. He promised to begin “cleaning up” People’s Park by creating a city-university task force. Fighting crime also means drug and alcohol treatment, said Beier, who serves on the Options for Recovery board. 

Making the park safe means increasing its use by adding amenities such as a café or museum, he said. “Let’s make (People’s Park) beautiful. We can do this with a little imagination,” he said. 

Worthington said he’s fought for increased policing and social services in the area. 

“I am the one who wrote the proposals to put more cops on Telegraph Avenue” to restore cuts made by a previous vote of the council majority, Worthington said. It took the closing of Cody’s to get the council to convince the council majority to add back the bike patrols and social service teams for Telegraph, he said. 

And there should be a person with a pager on duty 24 hours a day to respond to complaints in the Telegraph area, Worthington said: “Every shopping mall in America has this.” 

People’s Park activist Dan McMullan asked Beier why he was “demonizing” People’s Park. “Wouldn’t it be better if the university stopped telling students to stay out of the park because it’s dangerous?” he asked. 

Beier agreed, but said the area is truly dangerous: “It’s not the perception of crime, it’s the actual crime.”  

In addition to creating the task force to reduce crime, Beier touted his role in getting the university to fund a $100,000 study on what to do with the park. 

Worthington, however, scoffed. “Why are we celebrating another study?” he asked. “I am not so naïve as the other candidate to say that the fact that UC is putting $100,000 into another study will solve the problem. We have so many studies sitting on the shelves gathering dust that aren’t being implemented.” 

Housing 

Developing four-to-five story buildings of housing above retail along Telegraph could impact both crime and traffic. “UC employees could walk to work,” Beier said. “The more eyes we have on Telegraph, the more ownership we have of Telegraph, the safer it’s going to be.” 

But Willard area resident Lisa Newhall said she was concerned about increasing the area’s already dense population. “It would make it a great deal more urban than it is now,” she said. 

Beier responded, saying new housing would be limited to the first five blocks of Telegraph south of campus and include both condominiums and apartments that would attract long-term residents. 

Worthington disagreed: “Building a bunch of yuppie condos on Telegraph Avenue—one of [Beier’s] top three priorities in the short term—will devastate the businesses on Telegraph,” he said, explaining that construction will disrupt the area for five years.  

Worthington said he supports building a “reasonable” number of units with real affordability and added that he had sponsored most of the legislation for affordable housing during his council term. 

District 8  

By the time the District 8 candidates stepped onto the auditorium stage, there were just about a dozen members of the community left in the audience. Still incumbent Gordon Wozniak and challenger Jason Overman spoke and responded to questions.  

Wozniak, who has raised $34,000 in campaign funds compared to Overman’s $14,000 (with $10,000 in loans), touted his endorsements from police and firefighter unions, as well as Mayor Tom Bates and Assemblymember Loni Hancock. 

Overman pointed to his endorsement by the Alameda County Central Committee of the Democratic Party, the Alameda County Central Labor Committee AFL-CIO and Councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring and Max Anderson. 

Both candidates addressed public safety, with Wozniak pointing to his demand that police present quarterly crime statistics and to their promise to reduce property crime by 10 percent each year. 

“Now we need to give them the resources they need,” Wozniak said, adding that he’s supported increases in the public safety budget by $5 million per year. 

Overman said he would insist on ending rotating fire station closures, instituted as a budget-cutting measure, and blasted Wozniak’s suggestion to create another commission in a city which, he said, has too many commissions. 

“I don’t think the answer is creating a Public Safety Commission,” Overman said. “We don’t need more bureaucracy, we need dollars.” 

Overman further criticized as a “band-aid” Wozniak’s plan to spend public dollars for putting vehicle tracking devices on cars. “He said it’s a more efficient use of city money than having police patrol,” he said, arguing the city should put more funds into community policing. 

Wozniak countered that the cost of each new police officer at $200,000 makes his plan cost efficient.  

On housing issues, area resident Sharon Hudson asked how the neighborhood can attract more long-term residents. 

“Only 25 percent of the staff lives in Berkeley,” Wozniak answered. “We’ve got to provide workforce housing so people can live in Berkeley.” He also called for city subsidies to first-time homeowners. 

Overman, elected to the Rent Stabilization Board two years ago, agreed there should be subsidies for first-time buyers but criticized Wozniak for not opposing Measure I, which would permit conversion of up to 500 apartments to condominiums annually. 

Conversion, which would reduce the number of apartments available for rent and cause the eviction of tenants who cannot buy their units, would be “on the tenants’ backs,” Overman said.