Stephen Murphy

Todd Andrew, a real estate consultant who has lived in North Berkeley for 20 years, is running for the District 5 spot on the Berkeley City Council this November.

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.

Real estate interests continue to pour money into the Berkeley election, with the latest contribution this year nearing $20,000.

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.

Stretching from Cedar Street to the far northern edge of town, District 5 encompasses both winding residential streets and the bustling shopping districts along Solano and North Shattuck avenues.

According to an independent expenditure report, the Berkeley Police Association’s political action committee spent about $18,000 on mailers for District 5 City Council candidate Stephen Murphy’s campaign, funded largely by small individual contributions from Berkeley police officers.

As local elections approach in November, some are concerned about the perennial issue of low student engagement in Berkeley politics.

With the upcoming November election in mind, the Downtown Berkeley Association, or DBA, released the responses to a questionnaire Monday that asked mayoral and Berkeley City Council candidates about their visions for the future of the Downtown area.

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.