In the upcoming Nov. 3 elections, Berkeley’s District 1 voters will choose from a crowded field of five candidates to represent them on the City Council.
They are auditor Laura Babitt, environmental program manager Ross Bernet, policymaker Moni Gangopadhyay, energy efficiency engineer Steve Kromer, and therapist Daria Wrubel, all vying to succeed outgoing Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, who has been in office since 2018.
District 1 comprises the northwestern part of the city and includes the Berkeley Marina, Westbrae, Fourth Street and the Gilman District neighborhoods.
Laura Babitt
Babitt, a financial auditor and operations director, has served as the president of the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education and is a California Democratic Party delegate, according to her campaign website.
“As a Financial Controller managing global budgets, I know fiscal management is essential,” Babitt said in her candidate statement filed with the Berkeley City Clerk. “Our tax dollars must protect our first responders, build truly affordable housing, keep our streets paved, address homelessness with lasting solutions, and help small businesses thrive.”
State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, D-Oakland, and current councilmembers Ben Bartlett, Shoshana O’Keefe and Brent Blackaby have endorsed Babitt’s candidacy.
Ross Bernet
Bernet has worked on environmental programs in for-profit and nonprofit organizations for the past 15 years and will prioritize delivering a “safer, greener, and more affordable Berkeley,” according to his campaign website.
In his candidate statement, Bernet lists planting more trees, advocating for city parks and championing clean energy and sustainable transportation as priorities, along with creating more housing.
“I bring a pragmatic, progressive perspective to ensuring Berkeley delivers exceptional city services and spends tax dollars wisely,” his statement said.
His endorsements include Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, and Councilmembers Kesarwani, Terry Taplin and Mark Humbert.
Moni Gangopadhyay
Like Bernet, Gangopadhyay has also never held public office but has worked as a policymaker since 1997, according to her campaign website. At the California Public Utilities Commission, she worked on clean energy policy, regulating utility services and protecting Californians from fraud.
In her candidate statement, Gangopadhyay’s stated priorities include repairing streets, protecting the Berkeley waterfront and keeping mass surveillance, such as automated license plate reader cameras, out of the city.
“Working with community land trusts and nonprofits, I will focus on building on our successes in affordable housing growth, while expanding community and open spaces,” her statement reads. “I will work to improve tenant protections and fight housing speculation that results in empty building shells and pushes out our local businesses.”
Her website lists unions Alameda Labor Council AFL-CIO and the Berkeley Tenants Union, and the Green Party of Alameda County as endorsements.
Steve Kromer
Kromer is an energy efficiency engineer who has served on the board of Berkeley Partners for Parks, a nonprofit that supports local parks through volunteering and fiscal sponsorship.
In his candidate statement, Kromer said that his experience as an efficiency engineer will help him ensure that the city is putting public dollars to good use.
“Berkeley doesn’t lack good ideas — it lacks follow-through,” he said in his candidate statement. “I know how to turn plans into results that hold up after the meeting ends.”
Kromer’s campaign website lists local business owners Diana Gordon and Lawrence Brown Everett among endorsements for his candidacy.
Daria Wrubel
Finally, Wrubel is a licensed marriage and family therapist and former union organizer. She has also served as a member of Berkeley’s Sanctuary City Task Force and the Berkeley Unified School District Equity team.
According to her campaign website, her priorities in office will be to build more housing, protect small businesses and usher in public safety while defending civil liberties.
“I’m running to invest in public safety that keeps us safe without mass surveillance, and without risking further harm to immigrants, trans neighbors, and everyone the current federal administration has targeted,” Wrubel said in her candidate statement.
Wrubel is endorsed by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii and Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra.