Tag Archives: Berkeley ballot measures
Have a say in how the city’s district lines are drawn
Electoral districts, either within a city, a county, or a state, are drawn to best represent the people and communities within them. That is, unless you live in Berkeley.
In 1986, Berkeley adopted districts for its City Council. Yet rather than permit districts that represent our communities as they grow and change, as is done everywhere else in the country, Berkeley has made the 1986 lines permanent, allowing for only minor deviations for population adjustment.
Big deal, you might say. … Continue reading »
Measure S is a step backwards for Berkeley
When I told my five-year-old that it could soon be illegal to sit on a sidewalk in Berkeley, he said, “But we sit on the sidewalk!” I saw him imagining the police arresting him and his two-year-old sister and reassured him.
“They’ll probably mostly give tickets to homeless people,” I said.
“Why will they give tickets to only some people?” he asked. He paused. “And, if homeless people don’t have houses, where can they sit down?”
This November, voters in … Continue reading »
