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Berkeleyside recently sent all the candidates for the City Council a set of questions, partly based on the suggestions our readers provided. Candidates are running in Districts 1, 4, 7 and 8.

Of the 13 active candidates in the four districts, we received responses from six: Linda Maio in \District 1, Jim Novosel in District 4, Kriss Worthington and George Beier in District 7, and Gordon Wozniak and Jacquelyn McCormick in District 8. A seventh candidate, Merrilie Mitchell in District 1, replied to our email saying she did not like the questions. If we hear from the remaining candidates before the election, we’ll add their responses.

The East Bay Express recently ran a good summary article on all the candidates and their stances on some major issues.

These were our questions to the candidates:

1. What are your ideas for fixing “Berkeley process” to make it more efficient, genuinely more representative and less intimidating?
2. In some ways Berkeley is two towns — the flatlands and the hills. What are your ideas to better integrate our two communities?
3. While many efforts are concentrating on reviving the downtown as a desirable destination, Telegraph Avenue’s decline continues seemingly unabated. What would you recommend to get Telegraph on a positive track?
4. Are current salary and benefits for city employees sustainable? If not, what do you suggest we do about future employee contracts?
5. What do you think needs to be done to achieve Berkeley’s Climate Action Plan?
6. What is the single most important issue today in your district?

We didn’t give candidates a word count, but for those who asked, the answer was that space on the Internet isn’t limited, but readers’ attention spans are. We haven’t edited the responses in any way. We’ve listed the answers by district and, within districts, in alphabetical order. Read the candidates’ answers below the fold. … Continue reading »