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Judging from the seven or eight times people broke in with enthusiastic applause and the standing ovation the two-term mayor got when her State of the City address was delivered, the crowd that filled almost every seat in the City Council Chambers Tuesday night loved Mayor Shirley Dean’s speech. 

“I liked what she said about helping the school district,” Barbara Wittstock said, referring to Dean’s call for the city to help the district with maintenance and policing efforts. “There’s been a separation between the two entities.” 

School Board Director Shirley Issel agreed. 

“I welcome the help of the city to assist the schools,” she said. 

While Dean focused on what the city could do for the schools, she promised not “to do a Jerry Brown” by making recommendations regarding curriculum. 

The mayor underscored the need for job training for Berkeley youth and promised to work with the schools to create a “Saturday academy” for pre-apprenticeship training in the building trades. 

And Dean made a plea for citizens to volunteer in the schools. 

“If you are an employer, give your employees time off to be a school volunteer,” she said. Then appealing to the employees, she quipped, “Tell your employer that the mayor said it was OK (to volunteer).” 

The mayor also called on every employer to hire at least one youth during the summer. 

Turning her attention to the local economy, Dean touted the reduction in ground-floor retail vacancies downtown under her watch. Vacancies have dropped from 25 percent in December 1994, when she took office, to today’s 3 percent, she said. 

“Berkeley must shed the perception that it is anti-business,” Dean said, noting that the city lacks a department store downtown. “If you live in Berkeley and want to buy an ordinary item like a sheet, you find yourself driving to Walnut Creek.” 

The mayor also took a swipe at the federal policies which exempt Internet business from paying local sales taxes. “These policies are projected to have a devastating impact on small business throughout the nation.” 

Housing development was also a critical part of Dean’s message. 

“Since I became mayor, the total number of new housing units has more than doubled, with 535 new units and more in the pipeline. Two hundred and fifty-seven of these units are affordable to low- and very low-income people,” she said. Low income is considered $43,000 for a family of three and very low income is considered $29,550 for a family of three. 

Efforts must be made to increase affordable housing, Dean said. People who hold Section 8 certificates - housing vouchers for which low-income people pay 30 percent of their income as rent - often cannot find housing, because landlords can find market rate renters who will pay more. 

“I will pursue income tax credits for owners in areas of high rent levels like the Bay Area, who provide housing for Section 8 certificate holders,” Dean said. 

There is a need to retrofit apartment buildings so that they will withstand a major earthquake, Dean said. “Given regulations by the Rent Board, apartment owners buy earthquake insurance on their buildings rather than retrofit them, simply because it costs less.” Dean was referring to restrictions on passing through retrofitting costs to renters. 

She laid out a three-pronged plan to get the apartments retrofitted: 

• Allow passing through a portion of retrofitting costs to renters whose rents are low – those whose rents have not been allowed to rise to market rate, because they have not vacated their apartments. 

• Set up a low-interest or revolving loan fund through state or federal agencies. 

• Allow new apartment-house owners relief from a portion of the transfer tax to pay for the retrofitting. This may mean increasing transfer taxes for apartment-house and commercial-building owners. 

Building more student housing is an additional concern. Subsidized housing needs to be available for students who need it, Dean said. 

She further called on the university to join with the city to build student-faculty housing on vacant land at Haste Street and Telegraph Avenue. 

The mayor made a special point of including the South Berkeley business district in her speech. 

“Let us turn away from divisive politics and roll up our sleeves to give a hand to areas like South Berkeley,” she said. 

She pointed to the Black Repertory Theater, saying that despite the problems it has had, it “can be an anchor development in South Berkeley that will attract restaurants and retail that will reflect the African-American heritage.” 

Last year, City Auditor Anne-Marie Hogan wrote a scathing report detailing management problems at the theater, whose building belongs to the city. 

Dean called for more parking, particularly at the City Center Garage and near Fourth Street. 

As for traffic problems, the mayor pointed to stepped-up enforcement and the additional enforcement that will come when three new traffic officers come on board. 

“I’d even like to see the police stop people and present them with tickets for dinner or lowers or some small nicety when they notice that people ware extra courteous and polite.” 

Dean said that a citywide fast pass needs to be explored, as well as all kinds of public transportation. 

Among her personal successes, Dean listed: 

• Her work with the community to get new sports fields at Fourth and Harrison streets. The groundbreaking was Monday. 

• The revitalization of the arts and theater district, with the city’s help, including loans to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre for construction of its new theater and to the Freight and Salvage for its new venue. 

• Working with the county, the university, Alta Bates Medical Center and the city, the Mayor’s Task Force on the Uninsured set up a clinic staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses. 

But the mayor, part of a moderate four-member faction, said she often was unable to get a majority for many of her projects. 

For example, Dean is a strong supporter of a ferry network, proposed by state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland. 

“The City Council (majority) does not support ferries, but I believe that the public can and will reverse that position,” she said. 

She called on the audience for its support. 

“I want you to be a part of my team, not only in terms of support for my ideas, but in terms of new ideas...(and) assistance in getting proposals implemented.”