Name: Darryl Moore
Age: 55
Job: Senior management analyst for the Oakland Housing Authority: Administer project-based section 8 vouchers, as well as HUD guidelines, policies, and regulations, manage reasonable accommodation request, and manage the budget for the section 8 program
What office are you are running for? Berkeley City Council, District 2
What is the main reason you are running? I cut my teeth in Berkeley politics working as a legislative aide to Councilmember Kriss Worthington. After witnessing firsthand the tremendous impact that a Councilmember can have on its community, I felt that I could put my Masters in Public Policy that I earned from the University of Chicago to good use. Affordable housing, public safety, our public infrastructure, open space. Virtually all aspects of resident’s quality of life are affected by city policies. I felt that, as a Councilmember, I could shape so many aspects of my community and to make it the best that it can be.
Why are you qualified for the position? I graduated with honors from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1984, and went on to earn my Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago in 1986.
After graduating from Chicago, I moved to the District of Columbia, working as an Urban Fellow in the Mayor’s Budget Office as a Budget Analyst, and later as as a Senior Budget Analyst for the University of the District of Columbia.
Beyond my education, I believe my extensive experience serving my Berkeley community (described in my answer to the next question), prior to becoming Councilmember and while serving as Councilmember, gives me the necessary skill sets to effectively work toward the betterment of my community.
What sets you apart from other candidates? I have lived in Berkeley for 20 years. During my life in Berkeley, I have served the public in various capacities: as a commissioner (Housing Advisory Commission, Public Works, Zoning Adjustments Board, Mental Health Commission, and Berkeley Public Library Trustee), serving on a variety of boards of community agencies (Berkeley Youth Alternatives, YMCA, West Berkeley Foundation, K to College, National Black Justice Coalition, AIDS Project of the East Bay), on the Peralta Board of Trustees, and on the Berkeley City Council. Through all of those roles, I have a proven record of taking action to improve my community. I believe that living in the Berkeley community as long as I have, and gaining a varied perspective due to all of the roles in which I have served, allows me to understand how to effectively navigate a public entity such as the City of Berkeley, but also helps me find creative solutions to difficult and complex problems. I do not believe that any of the other candidates running in District 2 have had as extensive experience serving their community in capacities that play such a significant role in shaping our Berkeley community.
How did you end up in Berkeley? After graduating from the University of Chicago and working in the District of Columbia for some time, I felt it was time to return to my home state and be able to give back to the community that gave me so much as I was growing up.
What are the three biggest challenges Berkeley faces in the near future?
Public safety is a primary concern of all residents in whatever community in which they live. Berkeley has its own unique set of circumstances that make public safety a challenging issue. Our community is sandwiched within two cities that struggle with violent crime. Unfortunately, that means that there is sometimes spill over into Berkeley. We also have a much higher number of pedestrian and bicycle traffic since Berkeley residents are typically much more aware of their carbon footprint. As a result, we tend to have a much higher rate of pedestrian and bicycle involved accidents in Berkeley.
Workforce and affordable housing is a huge issue, to which anyone living in Berkeley can attest. We are losing our diversity due to the immense cost of housing. If we want to keep Berkeley Berkeley, we must ensure that people all walks of life and socioeconomic statuses can make Berkeley their home.
The state of our infrastructure is also a dire issue. During the years following the recent recession, we have not been able to invest in maintaining our parks, recreation centers, senior centers, streets, and other public infrastructure. While infrastructure is not a very exciting topic, it is something that touches our lives nearly every moment of everyday of our lives, and if there is something wrong with it, we certainly do notice it. We need to make sure that we upkeep our infrastructure so our children aren’t saddled with a bill much larger than the one we currently face.
What are your ideas to solve them?
Public Safety: I have requested five new Police Officers to help Community Policing and bike patrols in our City parks. I’ve been involved in a working group consisting of Berkeley Unified School District, Berkeley Police Department, Berkeley Mental Health, and local non-profits to examine violence prevention strategies that have proven effective in other urban communities, to determine which might best fit our community, along with figuring out how to fund and implement them.
I have also worked with neighborhoods to help them achieve traffic calming to improve traffic safety. I believe that this makes bike and pedestrian transit more appealing, as our streets are safer for these uses. We need to improve our bike and pedestrian infrastructure, making these viable forms of transit and recreation.
Workforce and Affordable Housing: I have made a career working on affordable housing for the Oakland Housing Authority, so it is no surprise that maintaining and building more affordable housing is a top priority. I want to build-up our Housing Trust Fund for Workforce and Affordable Housing to help our working professionals and low-income families that are increasingly being displaced. This is why I worked with my Council colleagues to put U1 on the ballot to raise money for affordable housing projects.
Infrastructure Enhancements: I support Measure T1 to raise $100 million to maintain and upkeep our infrastructure. This will go a long way in addressing the tremendous amount of deferred maintenance in our parks, recreation and senior facilities, streets and stormwater system. If we do not fix them now, it will result in ever-increasing costs to bring them back up to baseline. The Berkeley Pier is a prime example —it used to provide recreational activities to families, fisherman, and tourists. Now, it’s completely shuttered due to lack of maintenance.
What is your most inspired/unique idea for Berkeley? Piggybacking on Mark Leno’s SB1413, which allow school districts to use surplus property to develop affordable housing for their teachers, I would like to expand this to include other professionals that we want invested in our community, ie. police officers, firefighters, and healthcare professionals.
How will you be accessible to constituents? I feel I’ve done a good job during my Council tenure, being accessible to constituents: holding community meetings, sending out a District newsletter, meeting with constituents. I recently started sending out “Welcome Packets” to new residents of my district, which includes helpful community information. I would like to increase the number of community meetings on specific issues, as well as meetings to just solicit concerns, input, or just generally be available to answer questions. I am excited about the implementation of Open Town Hall, which is an online civic engagement tool to solicit resident’s views on various topics.
How much money do you expect to spend on your campaign? I expect to spend approximately $30,000.
A final thought? I feel as though I’ve accomplished a great deal during my time on City Council, increasing our police force while improving accountability through a city-approved effort to implement body cameras, revitalizing our parks, enhancing traffic safety, and increasing the number of affordable housing units, but there is a great deal more that I’d like to accomplish. Greening the Santa Fe Right of Way, reopening the Berkeley Pier, tackling Berkeley’s affordability crisis, and many other issues that affect the lives of our residents.
Campaign information
Website: www.moorefordistrict2.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/moorefordistrict2
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Moore4Berkeley
See complete 2016 election coverage on Berkeleyside.
