BERKELEY PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE
Mission Statement: The Berkeley Progressive Alliance works at the local level to address the challenges of global climate change and growing economic inequality. We stand for open, transparent, and fair governance, social and economic justice and an inclusive, diverse city.
Our Progressive Agenda: We will work to elect progressive candidates to local office and to develop and enact a progressive agenda for Berkeley.
Affordable Housing
Shelter is a human right. We need more housing that meets the needs of middle and low income people, including families and students, and maintains Berkeley’s cultural, racial, and economic diversity. We support:
- Preserving existing housing through strict limits on demolitions, condominium conversions, short term rentals and through the purchase of properties by non-profits.
- Increasing funding for affordable housing through applying the hotel tax to short term rentals, increasing the business tax on large landlords to capture windfall profits from rising rents, increasing affordable housing fees paid by developers to reflect the cost of new residents to the city, and an affordable housing bond, if practical.
- Changes to State law to allow cities to apply rent control to new housing after 10 years.
- Developing permanent housing and positive solutions to the challenges of homelessness. Creating supportive services crafted with the assistance of homeless people themselves and local non-profits.
A Green, Sustainable City
We must think and act boldly to meet the growing threats to our environment. We support:
- Increasing use of renewable energy:
- Moving rapidly to implement Zero Net Energy standards for new buildings.
- Enhancing citizen control over energy resources through Community Choice Aggregation.
- Offering incentives for property owners to install solar panels and make other energy and water efficiency improvements.
- Renewable energy and water efficiency measures for all City and School properties.
- Offering incentives to purchase electric cars, especially in tandem with solar roofs, and installation of free electric charging stations on downtown streets and near campus.
- Encouraging use of alternative modes of transportation, through:
- Improvements to public transit service
- Better bicycle, pedestrian and car sharing infrastructure
- Incentives that encourage use of alternatives to cars, such as transit passes.
- A transportation services fee to help fund alternatives.
- Expanding and maintaining parks, public open space, and recreational facilities, including parklets, community gardens, a reopened Willard Pool and the proposed Center Street Plaza, and requiring developers to pay open space fees.
Social and Racial Justice
Our cultural diversity and reputation for equal justice can only be sustained through fair treatment of all of our residents. We support:
- Community- based policing and police accountability, including an independent police commission.
- Demilitarizing the Berkeley Police Department and preventing it from practicing racial profiling or brutality against those practicing their first amendment right to protest.
- Policies to rectify racial inequalities in Berkeley, to support Black Lives Matter and other civil rights movements addressing inequality, and to militate against racism.
Economic Justice and Economic Vitality
The City’s unique character and diversity contribute to its vitality. We support:
- Progress toward a living wage, starting with an across-the-board increase in the city minimum wage to at least $15 per hour.
- Local hiring, card check neutrality agreements, and union labor agreements for large developments and for those on public land or receiving public support.
- Measures to encourage vital commercial districts and locally-owned neighborhood businesses.
- Preserving the city’s movie theaters and the Arts District venues, which attract business to restaurants, bars and other downtown businesses, particularly at night and on weekends.
- Improving Berkeley’s infrastructure, such as roads and sewers, to meet the expanded demand from population growth.
- Preserving Berkeley’s historic landmark buildings, including the Berkeley Main Post Office, Berkeley’s Civic Center, and other historic Berkeley buildings.
Public Education
We need to enhance City-BUSD collaboration to improve education. We support:
- Taxes and bond measures to support our public schools and local community colleges.
- Encouraging UC Berkeley to put students first, stop raising fees, and provide more housing.
Campaign Finance Reform
To reduce the corrupting influence of money in politics, we support:
- Public financing of elections.
Berkeley Progressive Alliance 