Jovanka Beckles is a movement organizer, a former two-term Richmond City Councilmember, a longtime leader in the Richmond Progressive Alliance, a children’s mental health professional, a former candidate for California’s 15th State Assembly district, and a democratic socialist in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr. She is running for AC Transit Board to fight for the labor rights of transit workers and the green, fare-free, universally accessible transit system that the East Bay’s working people deserve.

Born in Panama City, Panama, Jovanka came to the United States with her parents in 1972. Her love of basketball and sportsmanship won her a full scholarship to Florida A&M University, and her dedication to people in need inspired her to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and pursue a career in mental health and social work. She later pursued a Master of Business Administration.

As a health professional in Richmond, Jovanka quickly realized that she could not sit by while her vibrant, working-class community suffered public service cuts, crime, and pollution from the local Chevron refinery. So she started to organize. When small businesses on San Pablo Avenue decided to take power into their own hands and fight a crisis of violence, she helped to form a merchants’ association. In 2010, she joined forces with the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) and was elected to the Richmond City Council on a platform of corporate-free politics, labor rights, and environmental justice. In 2014, despite the three million dollars spent by Chevron to elect her opponents, Jovanka won a second term.

Chevron opposed Jovanka because she led on environmental issues. She co-sponsored the Climate Emergency Declaration, opposed the transportation of coal into Richmond, and voted against Chevron’s plan to produce dirtier crude oil. Backed by a grassroots movement of working people, Jovanka helped pass a suite of progressive reforms that transformed Richmond — including $100 million in new taxes on Chevron, a $15 minimum wage, the first California rent control in thirty years, and “ban the box” legislation allowing formerly incarcerated people to seek work with dignity. 

In 2018, Jovanka ran a people-powered, corporate-free campaign for State Assembly. Her campaign was funded by small donors and ordinary people. She was narrowly defeated by an establishment Democrat backed by millions of dollars from billionaires, Republican donors, and corporate PACs.

Jovanka decided to run for AC Transit Board at the urging of the AC Transit workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 192. Jovanka has spent the last decade fighting for the East Bay’s working families and standing up to corporate interests, animated by the belief that only an organized movement of the working class can win us the world we deserve. She will bring this same dedication to the fight for a transit system that works for everyone — riders and transit workers alike.

AC Transit is a vital public good for the East Bay’s working class. In the 1950s, the working people of the East Bay fought to create the AC Transit system, taking our bus system out of the hands of a private, for-profit corporation. AC Transit’s riders skew lower-income than those who take other forms of public transit, and 75% are People of Color. Bus service is essential to connecting its diverse riders to jobs, schools, healthcare, and grocery stores — while taking cars off the streets and keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. 

Now, amid a pandemic and economic depression, our public bus system is in grave danger. Service cuts, layoffs, and a return to rising fares would be devastating to those who depend on the bus service. AC Transit is a necessity for the most vulnerable members of the working class — including students, the elderly, and the disabled. That makes public transit a social justice issue. That’s why Jovanka is fighting to defend and expand public transit, to ensure it as a right for all. We must fight for expanded, fare-free service and a rapid transition to a zero-emission fleet, funded by taxes on corporations and the super-rich, to put our transit system at the center of a green economic recovery.

Our campaign will fight for safe working conditions for transit workers; will fight to protect Black lives, starting with our workers and riders; will bring the East Bay together to keep AC Transit fare-free and to stop the dangerous cuts being proposed to our bus service; and will demand that the super-rich and corporations pay their fair share in taxes, to save public transportation from austerity and privatization and to fund a Green New Deal for public transportation in the East Bay.

Ben has built communities as an American diplomat, and Berkeley Planning Commissioner, and community leader.

Ben served as a Berkeley Planning Commissioner from 2016-2019 and is the founder of “A Fork in the Road,” a community initiative supporting small and minority-owned businesses during the Covid crisis. After completing his Master in Public Affairs from Princeton’s School of Policy and International Affairs, Ben was inspired to serve his country. Ben was commissioned as a Foreign Service Officer by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

As an official in the Obama Administration, Ben represented the United States as a person of color where he promoted American democracy, diversity, and human rights. Ben worked on immigration and trade issues on the U.S.-Mexico border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in Mumbai, India, and in Washington DC. Ben was a member of the 2014 Ebola Taskforce and a U.S. Delegate to APEC where he helped reduce barriers to renewable energy technology and supplies across 20+ countries. Ben will bring his long experience reducing CO2 emissions as an Environmental Officer at the U.S. Dept. of State to AC Transit. Ben will also bring his experience combating the Ebola crisis to make AC Transit buses safe during the Covid pandemic.

Today, Ben Fong is a transportation expert with years of experience partnering with cities to provide bikeshare and sustainable last-mile transportation options across the US.  

Ben graduated with a B.A. from Stanford University in Political Science, a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a MBA from UC Berkeley. Ben speaks Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin and English. More info at www.benfortransit.com.

In the early 1900s when my great-grandparents lived in Oakland Chinatown, the road was shared by pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, and automobiles. They couldn’t buy a house due to racial discrimination, but they were able to get where they needed to go.

In the decades since, highways have divided people along racial and socioeconomic lines. AC Transit’s proposed 30% cuts to our bus service are taking us backwards.

That’s why I’m running to stop cuts and reinvest in AC Transit. I want to see the East Bay connected, not divided. I want roads that are safely shared by buses, cars, bikes, and pedestrians. We need to save the 72, build the BRT on San Pablo, and connect people to job opportunities. We must fight inequality, counter global warming, and help working families through measures such as transportation demand management, transit-oriented development, and investing in public transit infrastructure on highly trafficked routes. As a Berkeley and Stanford-educated policy professional who has helped dozens of cities implement sustainable transportation options, I will ensure our buses are on-time, clean, and affordable. Learn more at www.benfortransit.com.

Today, I ask for your vote.

Endorsements

Berkeley Democratic Club

Contra Costa Young Democrats

East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club

Albany Democratic Club

Victory Fund

Equality California

Bay Area Reporter

APA Dem Caucus of Alameda County

Rebecca Saltzman, BART Board Director

Phong La, Alameda County Assessor

Scott Wiener, California State Senator

Evan Low, California Assemblymember

Rob Bonta, California Assemblymember

Rigel Robinson, Berkeley City Councilmember

Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Councilmember

Rashi Kesarwani, Berkeley City Councilmember

Lori Droste, Berkeley City Councilmember

Nick Pilch, Albany Mayor

Peggy McQuaid, Albany Vice Mayor

Pete Maass, Albany City Councilmember

Rochelle Nason, Albany City Councilmember

Gabe Quinto, El Cerrito City Councilmember

Jim Oddie, Alameda City Councilmember

Fred Sahakian, President of the Alameda County Management Employees Association

Shane Krpata, Berkeley Planning Commissioner

Jeff Vincent, Berkeley Planning Commissioner

Tom Panas, West Contra Costa Unified School Board Member

Jane Natoli, Mayor Breed's Appointee to the SF MTA Board of Directors

James Chang, Berkeley Rent Board Commissioner

Matt Luedke, Richmond District Democratic Club Treasurer

Ben Gould, City of Berkeley Community Advisory Commission Chair

Diego Aguilar-Canabal, Berkeley Neighbors for Housing and Climate Action Co-Founder

Nima Rahimi, California Democratic Elected Delegate

Amy Smolens, Albany Strollers & Rollers Member, Albany Inside Out Co-Founder

Preston Jordan, Albany Transportation Commissioner, former Alameda CTC BPAC member