Features

Berkeley City Council Candidate Statements: Disctrict 8: Jason Overman

By Jason Overman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

I’m honored that a diverse coalition of senior citizens, environmentalists, neighborhood leaders, students, tenants, and homeowners asked me to give our community a viable alternative to the out-of-step District 8 Councilmember in this election. 

As the only candidate in this race to earn the endorsement of The Democratic Party and this newspaper, The Berkeley Daily Planet, I’m grateful to have widespread support from all segments of our community, including the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council; Berkeley Citizens Action (BCA); the Berkeley Progressive Coalition; a host of local democratic clubs; Councilmembers Max Anderson, Dona Spring, and Kriss Worthington; neighborhood leaders like former Panoramic Hill Neighborhood Association President Janice Thomas; and an endless list of student leaders. 

But this campaign isn’t about me; it’s about our efforts together to defend our community’s values—values that haven’t been upheld by our Councilmember. 

 

Defending our values 

I was shocked when the incumbent was the only Councilmember who voted against a Council resolution that opposed Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ridiculous, wasteful, and blatantly anti-union Special Election. It’s no wonder the Democratic Party endorses my candidacy in this race. 

Throughout our campaign, I’ve heard so many express a clear desire for change from an incumbent so clearly out of step with the mainstream values and priorities of our community. Our campaign is about positive change and defending our values—voters will soon have the opportunity to choose between two vastly different visions for our community. 

Like many, I’ve been deeply troubled by the incumbent’s unapologetic support for the secret, backroom settlement deal with UC. This surreptitious deal completely shut city residents out of the entire process and thwarted genuine democratic government of the voters, resulting in a deal that dumped tons of traffic and pollution into our neighborhoods and increased our tax burden by over $1 million citywide. 

This deal was marked by a cloak of secrecy that I would make illegal. I’ll push to re-negotiate—but this time, in the open air where Councilmembers don’t keep the public away from the bargaining table. 

We deserve positive leadership that that invites the public into the process. But it goes much further—the incumbent’s voting record has been deeply troubling on an entire range of issues. 

 

Protecting our community 

Like many of my neighbors, I was outraged when the incumbent closed down our fire stations for 286 days out of the year and cut 19 positions from the police and fire departments. 

Cutting police and fire resources is not just irresponsible, but cause for great fear among many. After cutting this funding, the incumbent conspicuously proposed creating a “public safety commission.” But we don’t need mere studies and bureaucracy, we need dollars. 

As a Community Service Officer for the police department, I patrolled our neighborhoods and helped keep them safe. I know first-hand just how critical these decisions are.  

Public safety isn’t just some abstract public policy discussion—the police or fire department’s response time can mean the difference between life and death. That’s why my first act in office would push to restore funding he slashed. 

And since disaster preparedness is crucial, why has the incumbent just begun campaigning on this? 

At the same time he was cutting funding for vital public services, he’s made it increasingly difficult to afford living in our community. 

It’s troubling that, by increasing homeowners’ sewer fees, the incumbent voted to increase the tax burden on everyday families. I would do the opposite. 

And to add insult to injury for those not yet able to afford a home, he’s proposed seven specific ways that would increase tenants’ rents. Yet in four years on the Council, he’s refused to put a dime into the affordable housing trust fund from the city’s general fund. As an elected official, I’ve consistently supported affordable housing without allowing inappropriate development; and I’ll continue this strong record. 

I’ll continue to lead the fight against potentially devastating proposals like Measure I, which would allow 500 evictions per year just to give landlords lucrative condo conversions. I’m proud that Mayor Bates, Assemblywoman Hancock, and Councilmember Capitelli have joined us in our opposition to Measure I. Why is my opponent, the District 8 incumbent, not among them? 

In addition to unapologetically supporting the settlement deal that will dump tons of new traffic right into our neighborhoods, the incumbent has taken no steps to ease traffic congestion—simple, concrete things I’ll do as soon as I’m elected. 

For example, we should demand origin-destination studies, reclaim Ashby from Caltrans, and oppose expansion of the Caldecott Tunnel. And let’s stop the cheap talk about pushing UC and major employers to provide a free, traffic-reducing EcoPass—let’s actually do it. It’s not just a quality-of-life issue, but also an environmental one. 

 

A positive new vision 

Our campaign is about a bold vision that shares our community’s values. I’m running to provide leadership that will be stronger on all our issues, that will bring together our diverse community, that will invite everyone back in who has felt left out, and that will provide action that reflects this commitment. 

It’s shameful that in a study released last year, the incumbent had appointed zero African Americans, zero Latinos, one Asian American, and just one student out of his 35 commissioners. He was also the lone vote against supporting the statewide commission on Asian American Affairs. And in addition to neglecting, rejecting, and disrespecting students, he has ignored the concerns of seniors at Redwood Gardens who have been asking to have their bus shelter repaired for years. We deserve leadership that doesn’t just represent a small sliver of the community—because I’d never make senior citizens stand in the rain. 

The incumbent is out of step with our values—and we deserve better. Join The Democratic Party, the AFL-CIO, The Berkeley Daily Planet, and so many others in supporting new leadership that will defend the values of our community, fight for a positive vision that includes everyone, and work tirelessly to resolve the issues that affect us all. www.jasonoverman.com