Features

Berkeley City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli can rest easy. Sophie Hahn has decided not to ask for a recount. 

Backed by an impressive list of endorsements and a hefty campaign war chest, Hahn, a political newcomer, waged a tough battle against the incumbent District 5 councilmember. 

But with the last returns slowly trickling in, Capitelli retains his lead, with 4,158 votes to Hahn’s 3,757 as of 5:42 p.m. Sunday, the latest tally from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office. 

“It was really close for a while, but it’s not looking that way now” Hahn said. 

She had been thinking of a recount until later returns showed the gap widening. “I think the person who really won is the one who should be elected,” Hahn said. 

Only a 5 percent margin separated the two, a close race when one of the candidates is a well-known incumbent. 

Hahn said she’ll stay active in community affairs, “carrying forward some of the things I campaigned on.” 

She said she will continue to press for a strong city sunshine ordinance, while pushing to make government more open and accessible to the community. 

“I don’t believe the current commission structure is really accessible,” she said. 

Hahn said she would also pay close attention to the progress of plans for a new Safeway store being developed to replace the existing outlet at Shattuck Avenue and Rose Street. 

Among her concerns are the new building’s size, sustainability elements, aesthetics and amenities for the neighborhood. 

An attorney and neighborhood activist, Hahn said she believed that she attracted a larger number of committed voters than her opponent. 

While Capitelli carried the endorsements of many of his council colleagues and was listed on most of the slate mailings, Hahn said her votes came from people she had met or spoken to, as well as from word-of-mouth recommendations and study of campaign literature. 

“I think it was an extremely effective campaign, and I only regret that I didn’t win,” she said. 

The winner took Hahn’s comments in stride. “I haven’t made that analysis,” he said. “She can have that ground. All I know is that I got enough votes to win. 

“Getting back onto the council was important to me, because there are still things I want to do,” Capitelli said. “I’ll leave it at that.”