Eligible voters in Berkeley’s District 4 will get to cast their votes to elect a new District 4 City Council member in a special election May 28.
The special election comes after the abrupt resignation of Councilmember Kate Harrison during a February council meeting which left the seat vacant. It marked the second resignation of a council member this year.
The filing period for the special election closed March 29.
The Daily Californian has provided an introduction to the four candidates voters can expect to see on their May ballots below.
Soli Alpert
Soli Alpert, a local progressive activist, currently serves as the vice chair of the Berkeley Rent Board.
Alpert is running on platforms of affordable housing, public safety and “building a Berkeley that works for working families.”
To Alpert, one of the most pressing problems facing District 4 residents and the city as a whole is a lack of affordable housing and legislative action to address housing issues.
Alpert said the city has fallen behind its target for developing middle housing and housing for very low-income residents.
“Instead of just trying to get affordable housing to be a part of a larger bond, I’m dedicated to putting an affordable housing bond measure on the ballot that will specifically fund affordable housing construction, preservation and tenant protections,” Alpert said.
To address his public safety campaign goals, Alpert said he would focus on “less expensive and more effective ways to address safety” such as street lighting and civilian escorts for people walking late at night.
Alpert said if elected he would work to enforce city labor laws and expand current labor laws to protect working families in the city, citing his work on the city’s Fair Workweek Ordinance.
Elana Auerbach
Elana Auerbach is a community organizer, member of Berkeley Copwatch and treasurer of the People’s Park Council. She has also served as a member of a Berkeley Tenants Union steering committee.
Auerbach is running on platforms of affordable housing and housing justice,justice for the city’s workers and community-centered public safety.
According to Auerbach, her approach to affordable housing reform will be focused on housing that “serves regular people” rather than corporate landlords and developers.
“For too long, our city’s leaders have capitulated to corporate and developer interests and to the UC,” Auerbach said in an email. “The people of District 4 deserve a council person they can count on.”
Auerbach wants to implement the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, expand rental protections and housing opportunities and work to repeal Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act to expand rent control in the city.
Auerbach hopes to support the city’s working class by raising the minimum wage, implementing stronger wage theft protections and ensuring the city bargains “in good faith” with its workers.
Auerbach said to address public safety, she would expand the Specialized Care Unit to operate 24/7 and support fire safety and the modernization of the fire department.
Rubén Hernández Story
Rubén Hernández Story, a community organizer and public servant, has called Berkeley home for the last six years. He serves as the chief of staff to Councilmember Terry Taplin.
Hernández Story is running on platforms of housing supply, climate and mobility justice, safe streets, affordability and tenant protections, mental health crisis response, worker protections and budget and fiscal responsibility.
“As a Mexican immigrant and first-generation college graduate who grew up in Section 8 housing, I know firsthand the kinds of sacrifices working people have to make to support themselves and their families,” Hernández Story said in an email.
Hernández Story said he would work to streamline permitting processes for the construction of ADUs, tiny homes and middle housing. He added that he would support the city’s social housing pilot and housing preference policy to “redress the displacement of low-income households of color.”
To address his transportation platforms, Hernández Story said he would support bicycle and pedestrian safety improvement, bus rapid transit, pedestrian plazas and expand access to micro-mobility options such as e-bike rebate programs and subsidized bike share for low-income residents.
If elected, Hernández Story said he plans to support the city’s hospitality, restaurant and nightlife industries by improving safety and transit access. He added that he plans to support the adaptive reuse of underutilized commercial buildings.
Igor Tregub
District 4 candidate Igor Tregub has worked in public service for 2o years. He serves as a climate policy director and a commissioner on the city’s Zoning Board and Environment and Climate Commission.
Tregub is running on platforms of housing affordability, improving safety downtown and helping businesses thrive, championing climate leadership and making the city more transit-friendly, walkable and bikeable.
Tregub said he has heard from residents that the most pressing issues facing the city revolve around housing unaffordability, homelessness and community safety.
If elected, Tregub, who has previously served as a Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board member, said he will invest in affordable housing and expand tenant protections using “every available strategy and resource.”
Tregub said he will prioritize making Berkeley the first carbon-free city in the nation and will expand public electric vehicle charging infrastructure. He said he will help renters and anyone who has been left behind during the transition to clean energy access their benefits.
“A proud Berkeley resident and community leader for more than 20 years, (my) values and priorities are rooted in helping our community,” Tregub said in an email. “(I am) inspired by generations of Berkeleyans who have made a profound difference in the world, and (am) rooted in (my) own lived experience as an immigrant from Ukraine.”
Voting Information
The District 4 Special Election will be held May 28. All eligible voters should register by May 13. Registration is available online at https://registertovote.ca.gov/. Alternatively, eligible voters can register in person at U.S. post offices, public libraries, the DMV or at the City Clerk Department at 2180 Milvia Street. All paper applications must be postmarked by 5:00 p.m., May 13.
