Name: Timothy W. Carter, small business owner at Allstate insurance
What office/district are you are running for? Berkeley City Council District 2
What is the main reason you are running? West Berkeley has been neglected for too long. Our infrastructure is decayed and we badly need investment to realize our district’s potential. I’m tired of West Berkeley being the victim of partisan bickering. I want to work with other council members to find solutions for our community.
Why are you qualified? I’ve been a resident for 22 years, and a business owner for 20. I raised my three children here. I’m deeply invested in this community. Running a business requires leadership and negotiation skills, and I have been successful at both. I have sat on BUSD’s Personnel Commission and am currently the chair, so I have first-hand experience dealing with public agencies and demanding accountability for our community.
What sets you apart from other candidates? I have a deep and long-standing connection to this community. My wife and I chose West Berkeley to raise our children, and I have been intimately involved in my community to ensure that it continues to be one that I am proud to call home. Virtually all of my customers are District 2 residents.
What brought you to Berkeley and when did you come? I grew up in Oakland and, when it came time to raise a family, my wife Christina and I felt that Berkeley was home.
What are the three biggest challenges for Berkeley in the next five years? Housing, housing, and housing. Berkeley is in danger of becoming an exclusive and wealthy community if we can’t reign in our housing costs. The population of unhoused in Berkeley has exploded, with West Berkeley bearing the brunt and no viable solutions in sight. And climate change demands that we build a resilient city that is able to house people in a way that reduces our burden on the environment.
What are your ideas to begin to solve them? We need a new West Berkeley Plan, for starters. Our district could be put to such better use if we finally walked away from outdated, 20th-century ideas of urban land use. San Pablo Avenue can be a transit-oriented, walkable corridor from Oakland to Richmond. We can re-imagine West Berkeley and put housing and clean biotechnology where steel and asphalt factories once stood. We need to imagine a new West Berkeley for the 21st century.
What is your most inspired/unique idea for Berkeley? Redo the West Berkeley Plan and design a clean, walkable, jobs- and transit-rich western edge of the city.
How will you be accessible to constituents? I am available on Zoom twice a week and my office number is posted.
Why should voters choose you over the incumbent? I have a lot invested in West Berkeley and my long history here gives me the roots and relationships I need to effect positive change for West Berkeley.
Are you using public financing? Yes
How much money do you expect to spend on your campaign? About $20,000
Learn more about Timothy W. Carter online: WebsiteRead more about Timothy W. Carter on Berkeleyside. See complete 2020 election coverage on Berkeleyside.
