Taking a Class on How SF's Government Works
What do you know about how your local government? Can you name the mayor? Do you know who your city council person is?
I’ve started taking Michael Adams’ class “How SF Government Works”. I plan to write up more about the experience later but for now I want to say that just the initial information provides a useful framework for which to view the organization.
He encourages the class to write out their thoughts and share them because it’s an important step in accumulating political capital. People need to know why they should listen to you and trust you. Luckily, I already have experience doing this but it’s a good exercise for people who aren’t writers.
We are supposed to post about who our mayor , local supervisor, and another elected official are and what their background, etc. is but I live in Berkeley so am adapting it. Even the template for the SF government is very helpful to compare and contrast with Berkeley like Board of Supervisors vs the Berkeley City Council. And I think even identifying who the elected officials are, because there aren’t that many, is helpful for when I’m going to all these events and can put names to faces and have context for who they are and what they do. And identifying the margin of victory helps show how tight the race is and maybe how much room for influence there is.
More later but for now, my homework is below:
SF Gov Homework #1
Berkeley
1. Mayor
Mayor: Adena Ishii
Time in office: Since November 2024 so roughly 11 months
Margin of victory: 1,039 votes in November 2024 general election
Previously held public or private/party office:
President, the League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, and Emeryville
Co-chair, Berkeley Unified School District Reparations Task Force
Education consultant
2. City Council
City Council District: District 4
District Map:
Neighborhoods:
Downtown Berkeley
North Shattuck
Part of West Berkeley
District Population: 15,728 in 2020 https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/IRC%20Redistricting%20Summary%20Data%20Analysis%20of%20Unofficial%20Legacy%20Data%20for%20Berkeley%20Census%20Count.pdf
My District Supervisor: Igor Tregub
Picture:
Public profiles:
Official website: N/A
Email: itregub@berkeleyca.gov
Time in office: May 2024, 1 year, 4+ months
Margin of victory: 49 ballots, 10 raw votes
Board and Committee Assignments:
Member, Berkeley City Council
Member, Land Use, Housing & Economic Development Committee
Member, Health, Life Enrichment, Equity & Community Committee
Member4x4 Joint Task Force Committee on Housing
Member Budget & Finance Committee
Member, City/UC Berkeley/Student Relations Committee
Member Mental Health Commission
Previously held public or private/party office:
Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board member
Clean energy consultant
Chair, Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter
3. Berkeley School Board
Berkeley School Board President: Michael Chang
Picture:
Public profiles:
Ballotpedia: N/A
Time in office: November 2022, 2 years
Margin of victory: 1198
Previously held public or private/party office:
Lecturer at UC Berkeley
Civil Rights Attorney
Berkeley’s Police Review Commissioner
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