Extra

It’s not just the special interest money—over $300,000 so far-- it’s the whoppers. The Yes on L campaign has filled our newspapers and mailboxes with a series of false claims. The latest was in a letter from the mayor, printed in the November 3, 2022, East Bay Times, claiming “Measure L expenditures would be guided by existing city plans developed with years of community input.” Uh, no. The most recent adopted plan, the 2014 Resilience Strategy, promised to prepare plans. It promised the city would develop “… a next-phase, comprehensive Stormwater Master Plan.” That plan was to be collaborative and identify and prioritize projects that would help the streets, flooding, and deliver cleaner runoff. The Strategy also promised to develop “a robust wildfire evacuation control plan for the Berkeley Hills. “ With Measures GG and FF, and the clean water fee that voters have approved, the City had the money to develop those plans. When it put a $100 million bond on the ballot in 2016, Measure T1, the council further directed the staff to “develop program plans to address …infrastructure needs beyond the $100 million … bond…[that] identify the priority of improvements…” None of those plans have been completed. The marina? Bogged down in controversy over commercializing Cesar Chavez Park. At least two years behind schedule.  

Then there is the claim that undergrounding utilities, on 7 miles of Berkeley’s 216 miles of streets, will prevent 99% of wildfires.  

Whoppers and special interest money. Consider those when you vote.