Extra

It's official--sort of. Realtor Laurie Capitelli, who has represented District 5 in the Berkeley Hills for a number of years, filed papers yesterday with the Berkeley City Clerk indicating his intention to run for Mayor of Berkeley. His professional campaign treasurer is Linda Perry of San Leandro (not the Linda Perry who formerly lived in Berkeley), and a San Leandro bank, U.S. Bank, is listed as the designated repository of to-be-deposited campaign funds. There are rumors, as yet unconfirmed, that Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates plans to retire in mid-December, allowing Capitelli to be appointed in his place and to run subsequently as an incumbent. There has been no official announcement as yet from Capitelli.

Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, one of the council's three progressive members, who represents downtown Berkeley, has already announced that he will be a candidate for Mayor in 2016.