AS YOUR COUNCILMEMBER, I WILL…

Invest in Affordable Housing
& Tenant Protections

Addressing Berkeley’s affordable housing crisis requires both strong tenant protections and real investments in housing that keeps students and long-term residents in the city. Throughout my work in the Associated Students of the University of California, I have never been afraid to push the University when students' needs are at stake, and I have built strong partnerships while advocating for the quality of life of transfer and non-traditional students. As a councilmember, I will use those relationships and that experience to work with partners inside and outside the UC system to advance meaningful solutions for affordable student housing in Berkeley and across the state. I will:

  • Invest in seismic safety for Berkeley Student Cooperative housing, which is facing $20 million in mandated renovations paid for by tenants due to its proximity to the Hayward Fault Line

  • Institute a vacant commercial property fee in conjunction with the existing vacant residential property fee and/or a temp process for businesses and direct the revenue to affordable housing and rehabilitation of existing units

  • Leverage D7 transit-rich zones near AC Transit and BART corridors that comply with SB 79 as sites for future meaningful development

  • Allocate dedicated Berkeley Housing Trust Fund predevelopment loans for D7 non-profit projects and establish an Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Task Force to strategically pair the D7 housing proposals with transit investments

  • Launch a public transparency dashboard managed by our office to track housing project timelines, funding allocations, and affordability levels with clear safeguards to prevent luxury-only development

  • Unionize Resident Assistants (RAs) to demand equitable payment for their labor and better housing conditions

  • Support stronger demolition controls, protect and expand Berkeley’s Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance, and extend the Berkeley Tenant Protections and Right to Organize Act

  • Advance an updated citywide economic analysis to better understand the current drivers of displacement, housing insecurity, commercial vacancy, and development feasibility

Build Public Safety Through Community Trust

I believe that public safety in Berkeley should be grounded in community trust, transparency, and solutions that address the root causes of harm rather than in punitive approaches with limited long-term success. Our community cannot rely on the Berkeley Police Department. A safe District 7 and City of Berkeley is one where our residents, students, and local businesses feel supported through public health responses, accountable policing, and public spaces designed for community well-being. Safety policy is incomplete without safeguards on civil liberties, upholding and reinforcing Berkeley’s commitment to sanctuary, and empowering community organizations to be partners in stewarding a safer city for everyone, especially our most vulnerable neighbors.

  • Transition to a car-free Telegraph to improve pedestrian safety, boost local businesses, and create a safe community third space

  • Oppose mass surveillance and protect data security through auditing and oversight for existing and potential contracts with any third-party
    entity that does not keep City information safe

  • Support students’ right to protest and organize, with blocks on BPD access to military-grade weapons

  • Envision sanctuary city status as an ongoing commitment that requires clear policy, enforcement, and zero tolerance for ICE collaboration

  • Integrate restorative justice practices to facilitate an anti-carceral approach to safety in the community

  • Protect pedestrian and bike mobility during construction projects to prevent accidents and injuries for our neighbors

  • Revitalize the Dwight Triangle as a community third space for community to gather, organize, and enjoy

Meet Basic Needs by
Protecting Labor

As someone who has grown up in Berkeley my whole life, I understand that a thriving District 7 is built on the dignity of its workers and the strength of its unions and small businesses as pillars of the community. When wages are fair, workers have the power to organize, and local businesses can grow with a fighting chance; the entire community benefits from this investment. Our collective strength and size as a population translates to soft power that can be leveraged to advocate for better conditions and quality of life. Ensuring that residents can meet their basic needs – from food to healthcare to stable housing – requires policies that strengthen worker protections and expand access to essential resources. I will treat economic stability for working people and students as a foundation for a healthy and resilient Berkeley community. 

  • Expand relationships with community and campus partners with weekly Office Hours to ensure students and residents have consistent access to nutritious food through community gardens, primary care referrals, mental health resources, and essential services 

  • Introduce legacy business grants and lease protections to reduce barriers and costs for locally owned businesses in high-rent corridors like Telegraph, stabilizing storefronts and sustaining the neighborhood institutions that generations have relied on and are fundamental to Berkeley history

  • Require large employers and developers receiving city incentives to meet living-wage standards and demonstrate meaningful local hiring commitments, ensuring jobs for D7 residents, and supporting the One Fair Wage campaign in Alameda County of 30 by 30 ($30/hr by 2030: if your business has over 25 employees, then you need a minimum wage of $30)

  • Support worker-led organizing at the UC, including the Save Science Bond Measure which would strengthen union jobs at the University of California as well as expand scientific research for lifesaving cures