Contribute to this Blog!

Add comments or email your proposed entry. See our Appendix site for more detailed analysis.

Why recall the Mayor of Berkeley?

Mayor Tom Bates...


  • does not listen to the constituents of Berkeley

  • suppresses the concerns of citizens to satisfy developers

  • takes federal HUD Section 8 money (that should be used to help qualified tenants with rents) and slots it for developers so they can build high-density, modern apartment buildings in the heart of downtown, that will either remain empty, or be filled with students and young professionals. ( They are primarily filled w/ individuals NOT from Berkeley-- you might also want to know how units were left unfilled once people had died and the City continued to pay the developers rent on behalf of the deceased.)

  • Uses the "Green" movement as a pretext to overdevelop town, cut down trees, and transfer city, state, and federal funds to developers.

  • voted to rid Berkeley of Iceland, a landmark skating rink.

  • Does not notify the public in advance of important meetings

  • Provides no evidence for the claims he makes

  • No accommodation of those who wish to express dissent

  • Says, "Let's focus on obtaining federal/state funds now, and we'll worry about the final plans later," whether he's talking about procuring funding for the Ashby transit village or the BRT

  • On the Warm water pool--he should be supporting adaptive reuse and sustainability--the City's own letter to the BUSD stated that the building should be saved. Bates could apply for federal and State dollars to develop a preservation program vs using City GF dollars. He looks to us to carry the entire burden vs leveraging our dollars
  • another recall site is: http://berkeleyrecall.com/

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Downtown Parking and the Brower Center



Bad enough was the demolishing of the Hinks garage to make way for the huge apartment complex called Library Gardens (No gardens, just tiny apartments), but downtown and movie parking was further destroyed by the digging up of the Oxford Lot for a proposed Brower ecology center with adjacent HUD supported "affordable" housing.

Beautiful old trees were cut down on day one of this overpriced, over funded project. This is the Mayor's personal baby.

Whats wrong? No need. They are building an ecology center with no tenants signed up. They are putting an underground garage on top of Strawberry Creek. The city has had to throw all sorts of money in the pot to subsidize developers, while the city employees must take a day per month off to balance the budget. The Council has been warned by staff that there is financial trouble here to no avail. Unnecessary financial risks are being taken. I suppose that UC will end up with renting this property in another stealth grab.

Why was this done? It is the Mayor's baby. It is his personal heritage. If anyone knows another reason please post it in comments.
Posted by at
Labels: ,