Fred Dodsworth

In contrast to an unexpected national election outcome, Berkeley’s local elections resulted in a victory for the progressive agenda.

Both incumbents up for election, Darryl Moore and Susan Wengraf, held out in Tuesday night’s city council elections for Districts 2 and 6, while newcomers Ben Bartlett and Sophie Hahn will take over in Districts 3 and 5.

Sleepless nights, door-to-door canvassing and relentless phone banking are common themes for Berkeley’s mayoral and City Council candidates as they vie for residents’ votes in the election season’s last days.

A political action committee backed by three unions has raised $24,000 this year for eight candidates in the upcoming Berkeley elections, according to an expenditure report filed Thursday.

Nestled in the northeast hills of the city, District 6 finds itself in a time of potential transition as its City Council member seat is up for reelection — first-time candidates Isabelle Gaston and Fred Dodsworth are currently in the running against incumbent Susan Wengraf.

With the mayoral seat and positions in City Council and other local government organizations up for election this November, the Berkeley Democratic Caucus met Oct. 5 to endorse candidates and hold its first membership meeting.

Berkeley City Council unanimously agreed to hold a public hearing to discuss the first phase of a pilot program that will add a two-lane bikeway and a transit-only lane to sections of Bancroft Way at its regular meeting Tuesday.

Berkeley City Council candidates for the Districts 5 and 6 seats congregated in a packed television studio in Downtown Berkeley to address city issues such as public safety and homelessness at a forum Monday night.

At a meeting held Saturday, progressive voters united to endorse candidates for the upcoming mayoral and city elections, and Councilmember Kriss Worthington announced his intent to run for mayor.

Despite confusion regarding the city agenda, Berkeley City Council approved allocating $15,000 to Youth Spirit Artworks — a job training program for homeless and low-income youth — to fund its winter warming center and regular operations at a meeting Tuesday.