Four years ago, voters elected me to represent District 5 with new energy and vision, and I’ve worked hard to lift up our community, our planet, and our values. I’ve authored over eighty pieces of legislation and co-sponsored hundreds more, and addressed thousands of constituent inquiries. Two years ago, I was honored to be elected Vice Mayor by my colleagues.
My goal over decades of community service, and now on the City Council, is to make Berkeley as vibrant, visionary, and excellent as the people who live here, and to more fully realize our highest values. Because Berkeley isn’t just a place for me; it’s at the core of who I am and what I stand for.
I grew up in District 5 and my husband and I chose to raise our family here. My parents moved from Kensington when Berkeley became the first city in America to voluntarily integrate its schools; the same year that Contra Costa elected a majority of segregationists to their School Board. My father, a History professor at Cal for 50 years, and mother, a musician who has been active in civic organizations for almost 60 years, wanted to ensure my sister and I could be part of a racially just future.
I was a student in one of the first cohorts to go K-12 in Berkeley’s newly-integrated schools, and while the Free Speech, Civil Rights and Anti-War movements were in full swing, I accompanied my father to visit his conscientious-objector students who were continuing their studies behind bars. I learned early on that the work we do in Berkeley, and the example we set for others, is important. It was during these times that my values - and lifelong commitment to Berkeley - were forged.
After many years serving on the boards of the Public Library Foundation, the Bancroft Library and Magnes Collection, King Middle School PTA, and local Planned Parenthood and Sierra Club chapters, as well as chairing Berkeley’s Commission on the Status of Women and serving on the Zoning Adjustments Board, I was honored to be elected to the City Council in 2016.
My legislative work spans a wide variety of local interests, but I’ve been especially focused on five key areas: homelessness, affordable housing, climate and environment, local business, and Berkeley Basics - including fire and emergency preparedness; fiscal responsibility and good government; and parks, facilities and infrastructure.
