Biggest Mistakes of Election 2012

Looking back on another tumultuous election season filled with countless political missteps, the Daily Cal’s opinion writers share their views on a few of the most significant blunders. 1. Rape Remarks During this last election season, a lot of ideas about rape and abortion were thrown around by politicians, the Read More…

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Talking on Telegraph. Stop.

Council Watch

Half of politics is talking, and the other half is talking about talking. Unfortunately, discussions about Telegraph Avenue usually fall into the latter category. Mayor Tom Bates hosted a forum last Thursday concerning the revitalization of Telegraph. According to Berkeleyside, plans have been put forth to construct new projects on Read More…

Progress on homelessness

CITY AFFAIRS: The Compassionate Sidewalks Plan is a good start toward fixing the city’s homelessness problem after the failure of Measure S.

Berkeley’s debate over its failed measure to restrict sitting on commercial sidewalks left many questions unanswered. Though members of both sides agreed that homelessness was a problem, once voters rejected Measure S, the city was left without a solution. Berkeley City Councilmember Jesse Arreguin’s Compassionate Sidewalks Plan, set to be Read More…

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A compassionate sidewalks proposal

Although Berkeley voters rejected Measure S, a controversial proposal that would have criminalized sitting on commercial sidewalks, we shouldn’t mistake it as an endorsement of inaction. The simple fact still remains: We need to address homelessness. I didn’t support Measure S, but I’m not calling it a day, as many Read More…

Beyond Measure S

CITY AFFAIRS: Following the failure of Berkeley’s proposed ban on sitting on commercial sidewalks, solutions to homelessness are still needed.

When Berkeley voters were weighing whether to approve Measure S, we hoped the ballot initiative would fail and force the local community to come up with better solutions to combat homelessness. Now, that moment has arrived. The measure, which would have prohibited sitting on commercial sidewalks in Berkeley during certain Read More…

Challenges still remain for the city

We need to cooperate to provide valuable public services

Yes on Measure S is proud to have run a positive, constructive campaign, and we remain committed to making Berkeley’s public spaces more civil and inviting. Starting with a significant deficit in some polls, Measure S has garnered an impressive estimated 48 percent of the vote as of press time. Read More…

The homeless need attention

The failure of Measure S means there is more work to be done

Once again, we are the margin of victory. Despite what people said about young voters losing enthusiasm and the 2008 election being a fluke, we have again defied expectations and turned out in even higher numbers. From the passage of Proposition 30 to re-electing President Barack Obama, our voices were Read More…

Same council, new mandate

CITY AFFAIRS: Following an election that reaffirmed the status quo on Berkeley City Council, officials must do a better job of working together.

Tuesday’s election results left the makeup of Berkeley City Council completely unchanged: All four incumbent council members were re-elected, as was Mayor Tom Bates. However, just because Berkeley’s main elected officials are the same does not mean their attitudes should remain static. The city’s challenges are steep, as exposed over Read More…