Tag Archives: Mayor Tom Bates
Berkeley’s Mayor lays groundwork for reelection bid
Mayor Tom Bates this week filed the necessary campaign finance forms that would enable him to run for reelection this November.
“I had to file the report, but I’m not officially running for reelection,” Bates told Berkeleyside. “I will make an announcement in the next couple of weeks.”
Bates, who is 73, has been mayor for ten years, serving one two-year term, followed by two four-year terms.
According to Acting City Clerk Mark Numainville, there is an important distinction between required campaign finance forms and the paperwork necessary to become a qualified candidate. The form Bates filed allows him to raise or spend money, but nothing else.
“It doesn’t commit you to run and it doesn’t qualify you as a candidate,” Numainville said.
Bates’ wife, State Senator Loni Hancock, preceded him in the Berkeley mayor’s office where she served for two terms. No other names have yet emerged as candidates for mayor. … Continue reading »
Iglehart brings start-up, education experience to city hall
Judith Iglehart, Mayor Tom Bates’ new chief of staff, should have had by now a solid 10 days to be comfortable in her new post. But she had jury duty starting her second day, so has only had a few days in city hall. That doesn’t seem to have slowed down a buoyant Iglehart.
“This is a very exciting place to be,” she said. “We have a great team and working together they can bring me up to speed.”
“A lot of the issues are the same over the years,” Iglehart said. “A lot of the responsibilities of local government are generic to local government. But Berkeley is a unique city in terms of giving voice to everyone that needs to have a voice.”
Iglehart said she has known Bates for more than 40 years, and has lived most of her life in the East Bay. She currently lives in Oakland’s Jack London Square.
Iglehart has extensive experience in start-up culture, having spent the last eight years working with Keiretsu Forum, a global network of angel investors. But she doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as just an economic development maven. … Continue reading »
Bates: City needs another grocery store, not pharmacy
City officials are lobbying the owners of the soon-to-be-vacated Andronico’s on Telegraph to rent the building to another grocery chain rather than a pharmacy.
Mayor Tom Bates sent a letter on Dec. 1 to the Conference Claimants Endowment Board, the fund that owns the property at 2655 Telegraph, urging its administrator to find a tenant that will “serve the Berkeley community.”
The endowment board had been ready to sign a lease with CVS pharmacy, but agreed to consider an offer from a grocery chain, said Bates.
“I indicated to them it would be wonderful to have a grocery store there,” said Bates. “They indicated to me they had concerns about the viability of a grocery store in that location because of the competition from Berkeley Bowl and Whole Foods. They … told me they would consider it.” … Continue reading »
Council to consider zoning change for “auto row” dealers
In the 1980s, Berkeley instituted zoning changes to prohibit new car sales and other auto-oriented uses in the South Shattuck corridor. The thinking was that industry trends would push dealerships to bigger sites near the I-80 freeway, and that prime property near the downtown could find other uses.
That’s not how things turned out. South Shattuck remains Berkeley’s auto row, with Toyota, Honda and Volvo shortly to be joined by Fiat. All are in long-established car sales facilities. Only … Continue reading »
City Manager Phil Kamlarz announces his retirement
Phil Kamlarz, Berkeley’s City Manager for the past eight years, today announced his retirement. His last day on the job will be November 30th. Kamlarz has served the city for 36 years.
“He’s been an absolutely remarkable city manager,” said Mayor Tom Bates. “He’s the longest serving city manager in the city’s history.”
Bates said he would recommend the appointment of Deputy City Manager Christine Daniel as interim city manager, with an evaluation after six months for the permanent … Continue reading »
Summer movie series launches in downtown Berkeley: Vote for the films you want to see
Today sees the launch of “Center Street Summer Cinema” — free screenings of movies under the stars in downtown Berkeley on four consecutive Saturdays in August. Berkeleyside is proud to be the lead media sponsor of this exciting new addition to the Berkeley summer calendar.
Center Street will be the place to be on the evenings of August 6, 13, 20 and 27. At least 15 local restaurants — including Alborz Persian Restaurant and Sportivo – will serve café-style specials on or near the street, which will be closed to traffic between Shattuck and Oxford starting at 6:30pm.
Movie-goers can come early to dine al fresco while being entertained by performers from the Downtown Berkeley MusicFest. Other fun activities being planned for the events — which are being orchestrated by the Downtown Berkeley Association — include cartoons, short features, face painting, all of which will precede the main movie screenings. … Continue reading »
A councilmember takes to Twitter, other officials lag
Councilmember Kriss Worthington took to the Twitterverse on Thursday, and he did so with a vengeance.
Worthington signed up for Twitter in the morning, and began sending out a steady stream of tweets. “Congratulations to Berkeley High RISE students (EBAYC) on filming immigration documentary “The Next Step,” was one tweet. “Pinkberry’s grand opening on Telegraph Avenue happening soon!” was another.
By evening he had sent out 15 messages to his nine followers (Two of whom are Berkeleyside reporters).
“I just signed up today,” said Worthington. “We won’t send out quite so many every day, but in a burst of enthusiasm we sent out a bunch today. We’ll sort of find a pace how much to send and how much to be humorous and how much to be serious. We’ll be working on that.”
(The “we” must mean his staff is helping with his tweets). … Continue reading »
Will pharmacy war lead to new restrictions in Berkeley?
[This story was updated on 4/19/11.]
As the retail war between CVS and Walgreens heats up in Berkeley, Mayor Tom Bates is calling for a new law that prohibits any new pharmacy from locating within 1,000 feet of another pharmacy.
Bates will ask the City Council on April 26 to consider the new restrictions. If adopted, the planning department would work to amend the city’s zoning ordinances to add the changes.
“Everywhere you turn you see a Walgreens or … Continue reading »
City’s best scenario: cuts of $12.5 million
Some of the scale of the budget difficulties face by the City of Berkeley was painted graphically at a special session of the City Council last night. The city faces a deficit of $3 million in its general fund and $9.5 million in its special funds that could require the elimination of 96 positions over the next two years.
“These are tough decisions and they don’t come easily,” said City Manager Phil Kamlarz, introducing the discussion. City Budget Manager Teresa Berkeley-Simmons described the pressure on the city from shrinking state and federal budgets as “staggering”.
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