As members of the No on L campaign, we have been clear that we believe investment in our city is important, but it must be done with planning, transparency and accountability.
Laurie Capitelli
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: No on Measure L
This measure was poorly and hastily drafted and includes a loophole that would allow the $650 million to be spent on virtually any project.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: 10 reasons to support Lori Droste for the Berkeley City Council
Two former Berkeley mayors and seven current and former City Council members believe Droste is the best qualified candidate.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Celebrate $15 minimum wage for Berkeley workers
Today Berkeley ushers in a $15/hour minimum wage. How we got here is a good reminder of how we can work together on important issues instead of attacking each other on ideologies.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Look at Nancy O’Malley’s record, not the outside-funded smear campaign
Campaigning has become more about fantasy than facts. In the Alameda County District Attorney race this has reached an appalling low partly because it is fueled by outside money.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Buffy Wicks has received broad support because of her talent and values and she gets things done
If we’re going to tackle tough challenges like housing and homelessness, education and inequity, gun violence, criminal justice reform and climate change, we need Buffy Wicks.
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley values: Divisiveness isn’t one of them
During the course of a campaign it is completely fair to compare one’s record against that of one’s opponent. I take no issue with that. I am proud of my work for education, children’s health, affordable housing, fiscal prudence, public safety and housing linked to transit. But last week my opponent emailed his supporters to alert […]
Posted inHousing & Development, Opinion
Op-ed: Keeping our teachers close to home
In a housing affordability crisis such as the one settling in on the greater Bay Area, we immediately think of the very poor and the chronically homeless. And rightly so. Their needs are immediate and tangible. The City Council has recently spent countless hours trying to grapple with the crisis, culminating in the unanimous approval […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Let’s amend regulations to prohibit city employees serving on boards and commissions
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the Berkeley City Council will consider an amendment to the Municipal Code (item #29) that will prohibit city employees from being appointed to, or serving on, city boards and commissions. This proposal is brought forward by the Council Ad Hoc Committee on a More Open Government (Jesse Arreguín, Laurie Capitelli, Lori […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: How to get more affordable housing in Berkeley
One of the most contentious issues facing Berkeley is how to require developers to help provide affordable housing. We are proposing a new approach. Everyone agrees we face a critical shortage of affordable housing, but what’s the best way to increase it? Under current City law, developers of market-rate rental housing projects are required to […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: The Berkeley tax may have passed, but the campaign has not ended for Big Soda
For us in Berkeley, the historic campaign to pass Measure D (the soda tax) ended on Nov. 4, 2014, when over 76% of Berkeley overwhelmingly voted yes. Yet the campaign has not ended for Big Soda. Having spent over $2 million (almost $50 per voter!) during the campaign, Big Soda has embarked on a campaign […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Think about the importance of your signature on a petition
Berkeley’s iconic wisteria is exploding. Our young trees on Solano are budding out after their (barely) second winter. And as spring declares its arrival, so does our upcoming election season. As a result, we should all get ready to be pursued by both paid and volunteer initiative petition signature gatherers on our street corners, in […]