Berkeley City Council District 4 is a unique place: home to students, families and seniors, renters and homeowners, businesses and quiet residential streets. Our district requires a representative with the experience and dedication to hit the ground running with progressive solutions, the temperament to listen to the diverse voices and perspectives of our community, and the progressive values to fight for those most in need. Soli Alpert best fits the bill to represent us on the Council.
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Soli is a proven, dedicated public servant with the experience to lead. As a former legislative aide and current vice chair of the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, Soli has already played a huge role in enacting progressive legislation at City Hall. He helped author the Vacancy Tax, overwhelmingly approved by voters to tax long-term residential vacancy by larger landlords, generating funding for affordable housing. He was essential in crafting and delivering the Fair Workweek ordinance, creating landmark protections for low-income workers in our city. He has helped author legislation ensuring developers pay their fair share to fund affordable housing and is working to protect tenants from displacement while allowing new construction in amendments to the Demolition ordinance. In the best sense, Soli is a legislative nerd who will hit the ground running in City Hall. He has a deep understanding of how Berkeley’s institutions work, as well as the skills to make things happen in a bureaucratically encrusted city government.
We trust Soli to faithfully engage with all of us — workers, business owners, retirees, and students — to find solutions that create a clean, livable and fair future for all. We’re particularly impressed that, as a young person, he has consistently been able to engage with and address the needs of seniors and retired members of our community. Additionally, while a tenant and steadfast supporter of renters’ rights, he has been deeply receptive to the needs and challenges faced by homeowners, especially those on fixed incomes.
Even we, his strong supporters, have had times when we disagreed about the best approach to an issue facing the city. What makes Soli special is that in each of those instances, he has meaningfully and deeply engaged with us to find common ground and solutions that work for the whole community. You can never please everyone in politics. Rather than telling people what he thinks they want to hear, Soli has repeatedly confronted disagreement to build shared understanding.
His values — a commitment to labor and tenant rights, racial and economic equity, global human rights and open and transparent government — center the impact and consequences of City Council decisions and legislation on the people of Berkeley. He does not shift his message to appeal to the broadest possible audience; he is grounded in representing his constituents whether the issues are local, regional or global. There is a reason Soli is the only candidate targeted by attack ads funded by out-of-town dark money groups. Soli is the only candidate with the experience and track record of standing up and fighting for low-income and working-class residents. He will represent all District 4 residents, especially communities whose voices aren’t always heard. That’s why over 60 District 4 residents have publicly endorsed his campaign.
We hope you join us in ranking Soli #1 on your ballot on or before May 28. You can go to Soli.vote to learn more about Soli, his platform or how to vote.
Karma Smart is on the Community Health Commission; Erin Diehm is on the Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront Commission; Jack Kurzweil is a longtime activist. All three live in District 4.
