City of Berkeley

Measure JJ Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE JJ 

Measure JJ would promote diverse representation of our community on the City Council and help remove money from politics.  

Berkeley’s new public financing of elections makes it possible for candidates with important perspectives to run but the very low compensation makes it impossible for many to serve. Single parents, young people without generational wealth, people of color and working-class residents are hindered by the compensation, which was set over 20 years ago and has not kept pace with area cost-of-living.  

Measure JJ creates a formula tying the Mayor’s compensation to that of a low-income household ($107,300) and Councilmembers to a very low-income household ($67,599). Using a formula avoids political influence in setting compensation. The total cost would be about $277,000 annually. 

Councilmembers presently receive $38,695/year and the Mayor $61,304, which places them at the extremely low-income and low-income level in Alameda County. Meanwhile, the average rent in the city has risen to $3,183 per month. Councilmembers without wealth have to rely on a secondary source of income — a second job, a partner’s income or accumulated assets — to be able to live in the districts they represent.  

The Mayor and Council oversee a $450 million budget, develop policy with colleagues through policy committees, represent the community at regular and special City Council meetings and serve constituents. The current structure assumes that the Mayor and Councilmembers are compensated only for attending regular Council meetings, vastly understating the time spent in other critical duties.  

Berkeley is a world-renowned leader in many things, including bold legislation. Our residents expect their legislators to approach this job with their whole energy and mind. Reasonable compensation that allows leaders from diverse backgrounds to answer the call to service is a key to equitable, accessible and effective government.  

Please join us in voting YES on Measure JJ. 

s/Gordon Wozniak former Councilmember, District 8 

s/Daniel G. Newman Author of Berkeley’s public campaign finance system and the book “Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy” 

s/Khin Chin President, SEIU 1021 Community Services Chapter & Part Time Recreation Leaders Association 

s/Ellen G. Widess Former Chief of Division of Occupational Safety & Health, CA Labor Agency 

s/Mansour Id-Deen President - Berkeley NAACP 

ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE JJ 

How many of you have had your salary and benefits nearly doubled recently? 

By voting yes on Measure JJ, you would be giving the Mayor and each Councilmember a 75% raise amid a great budget crisis. 

In a recent City survey 47% of Berkeley voters like you reported that you’ve been seriously hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

You’re losing livelihoods and businesses, homes and careers – something that a 75% raise for elected officials will do nothing to help. 

Now is not the time for a 75% raise. 

Raises should reflect performance. 

• Are your streets better paved, cleaner and safer?
• Are your parks, marina and waterfront more vibrant?
• Are local businesses thriving?

No, they are not. 

Now is not the time for a 75% raise.  

Please vote NO on Measure JJ. 

s/Jessica Behrman 44-year Berkeley resident and worker.

s/Kenneth Berland 13-year Berkeley resident, attorney, engineering manager.

s/Charles Clarke 6-year Berkeley resident

s/Theodore Edlin Former Chair Housing Advisory Commission / Member Fire Commission Now Disaster & Fire Safety Commission 

s/Eric Friedman Twenty Year Berkeley Resident 

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE JJ 

A recent Community Survey found 44% of Berkeley’s voters reported decreased household income during the pandemic. Now is not the time for the 75% raise that Measure JJ would grant Berkeley’s politicians.  

Proponents say Berkeley’s legislators would “approach this job with their whole energy and mind” in exchange for a 75% raise. But Measure JJ fails to write this “full time” job description into the City Charter. 

Proponents say leaders like the Mayor and Councilmembers would “answer the call to service” for 75% more money, which makes us wonder what they’re doing now. 

For example, for the past 7 years the Council has overseen a General Fund that each year has provided repairs to only 1 of Berkeley’s 216 crumbling street-miles, even in good times. Their performance does not merit a 75% raise now. 

Since 1998 the Charter has required that Council compensation be “adjusted upward by the increase in the cost of living for the San Francisco Bay Area.” But proponents claim that Council compensation “has not kept pace with area cost-of-living.” Have proponents checked the Charter? 

The compensation formula that proponents say “avoids political influence” is just a roundabout way to raise Council salaries 75%. Measure JJ would allegedly “help remove money from politics” by removing more of your money for Council’s benefit. 

The path forward is for the Mayor and Councilmembers to really take care of the City’s business, and come back when Berkeley is not hurting so badly. 

Please vote NO on Measure JJ. 

s/Jessica Behrman 44-year Berkeley resident and worker

s/Kenneth Berland 13-year Berkeley resident, attorney, engineering manager

s/Charles Clarke Current market-rate tenant and former barista in Berkeley 

s/Ted Edlin Former Chair Housing Advisory Commission / Member Fire Commission 

s/Eric Friedman Twenty-year Berkeley resident 

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE JJ 

We all know there is never a good time to ask your boss (in this case, you, the voters) for a raise, particularly given the tough economic times caused by COVID-19. But it is especially during this time of uncertainty and inequality that Berkeley needs broad and proactive representation. 

Measure JJ promotes good government by making it possible for Berkeley residents, regardless of their wealth, to serve their community as elected officials. 

Twenty years have passed without meaningfully adjusting the Mayor and Council salaries. Housing costs have skyrocketed in the Bay Area. Councilmembers’ current compensation would qualify them for food stamps and subsidized housing. At the same time, the work of Councilmembers and the Mayor is much more complex and involved than when compensation was last set in 1998, making it difficult for them to work at other jobs. The total cost of $280,000 per year is only 0.06% of the city’s total $450 million budget – a small price to pay for elected oversight and governance. 

Measure JJ would compensate councilmembers at a modest 60% of the median household income in Alameda County. The measure also gives the Personnel Board the authority to reduce Council and Mayor compensation if city employees take pay cuts in a downturn. Current city law does not allow this. 

Measure JJ ensures that people with varied experiences, perspectives, and income levels can serve. Amidst a national conversation around racial justice, diversity of backgrounds in our leadership has never been more important. 

Please join your neighbors in voting “yes” on Measure JJ. 

s/Gordon Wozniak former Councilmember, District 8  

s/Jack Kurzweil Administrative Coordinator, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club 

s/Julia Cato Chair BTU Steering Committee 

s/Mansour Id-Deen President – Berkeley NAACP 

s/Elizabeth Grubb President of Cal Berkeley Democrats