My name is Brian Donahue and I’ve lived in Emeryville for 42 years. I am the editor of the online news site about politics in our town called the Emeryville Tattler. I thank you for running and helping the cause of democracy for our town. Every City Council election the Tattler has run a questionnaire for the candidates in order to increase the depth of understanding of the choice for the voters. This year, there are 10 questions. I ask you take time in answering but to return your answers before October 15th. Please be a concise as possible in order to save space and help your respective campaigns (alas, many voters have short attention spans). Here are the questions:
I support my colleagues when it comes to housing and transportation policies, but I also know what it is for housing policies that may be well-intentioned during planning phases, but end up not meeting the needs of the people.
I did not grow up in the projects, but I did grow up near them. Sometimes our housing conditions were so dilapidated that I wished I lived in the projects of Breevort and Kingsborough in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
The cities ran out of money to support low-income housing and subsidized housing like the New York City Housing Authority. That created pockets of despair and violence during the crack epidemic. I do not want a return to that level of city-seeded disenfranchisement. My goal is to ensure that Emeryville doesn’t run out of money, and I think we can get to a fiscally sound Emeryville without cutting costs and raising taxes on small homeowners.
So I hope that the reason we haven’t met these park-related guidelines is because we are rushing approvals only to be duped by developers or that it’s a cost-cutting measure, so I would have to look into why it’s not happening according to the information you’ve provided.
Should we be meeting these guidelines? Yes.
I don’t think the number is good. I believe in density.
YIMBY may not have endorsed my candidacy and I did not seek it from them. I am very careful about who I receive support from because I do not want it to shape how I view what is possible for our city.
However, many of YIMBY’s remarks about density I do agree with. With over a thousand units being built in Emeryville, based on what was shared with me during the public orientations, we can expect a doubling of our population.
I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is livability and affordability and cutting our high turnover rate among the resident and business population.
The metrics used should be determined by ABAG if that is the agreement. If we disagree with them then we should provide metrics of our own based on our needs and citizen feedback. As long as the communication is clear, a resolution can be formed that works in favor of Emeryville.
Yes. I signed a pledge authored by Ally Medina that aligned with the interests of Dianne Martinez. That is how I collected their endorsements and I shared the pledge with Courtney Welch and she provided her endorsement as well. I posted the pledge on my platform page, www.votepriforce.com. Yes, I'm transparent AF.
Personal? No. Personal communication is by choice and should be left to the discretion of both parties.
Why? It could and usually does lead to harassment, trolling, and other behaviors from the public that make it a hostile work environment when work creeps into the time elected officials set aside to read a bedtime story to their kids, work out their glutes at the gym, or date night with their spouse.
Also, we get what we pay for. If Emeryville residents want full-time attention from elected officials, then elected officials should not have to balance their full-time work with their duties in office.
Positions should be full-time and I will be working towards drawing up a measure that would make elected city officials full-time public servants and the mayorship an election-based position rather than being chosen by the city council. Most Emeryville residents I’ve spoken to don’t even know that the positions are not full-time and that the mayor isn’t duly elected.
With the mayorship cycling the way it does between city council members, it’s akin to student government rather than a transparent engaging system, which is the basis for a democracy.
It’s no wonder voter apathy is high in Emeryville and voter turn-out is abysmal.
Emeryville deserves an elected city government working full-time with no other professional conflict to consider, whether they be conflict of interests or scheduling conflicts. Emeryville deserves a full-time, four year mayor just like our neighboring cities, elected by the people, for the people, or do we wait until a crisis to happen to change things?
As a council member, I will be available in ways that would be surprising to most. As a business leader, I am accustomed to having an open and public life. However, if there is anyone who tries to troll or harass me, I will shut off their access to me and I am smart and creative enough to loophole every Brown Act provision that would prevent me from doing so. I’m a hacker and it’s how I think.
I must protect my partner and daughter and I will not, as a Black man in America, allow my family to be harassed or bullied by anyone. The same would also go for my colleagues. I would not tolerate the same happening to them and would defend them vehemently, probably more than I would myself.
This isn't my kind of politics and it needs to change and I don't care how things were in the past when that was okay. Harassment and bullying from the city council to the public and vice versa will not be condoned by me. I will gladly pull out my vintage Gameboy and Tetris it away if I am asked to be in a room wherein someone is insulting me.
Not happening.
100% support it.
If there is evidence or reports of inhumane treatment, that should be independently investigated. I do not support dehumanization. I help fund organizations across the country that combat dehumanization, so I wouldn't change that about me because it's part of my values system as a practicing Buddhist for over thirty-three years. Politics won't change that.
When I moved to Emeryville, I was told that Emeryville isn’t where growing a family, particularly a family of color, is feasible. I believe that is partly true.
There isn’t enough that the city does to keep families here, especially BMR residents, people of color, and those that I consider society’s underdogs. But it isn’t just race and income. Emerging entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders should be able to find a home in Emeryville and be incentivized to stay here.
Emeryville should be more than a commuter town or be attractive to newcomers because of its proximity to other cities. Emeryville should be a shining city that attracts the best and brightest but we have to earn the respect of their livelihoods to keep them here.
I’m not sure if it’s a good trend or bad but I would like to see Emeryville renters eventually become homeowners.
Public meetings should be reinstated, but it may also depend on the meeting. Shorter meetings can be delegated to video conferencing, but important decision based ones should be in person.