East Bay for Everyone members have voted to make the following additional endorsements:

Oakland Mayor:

• Vote for Loren Taylor and Sheng Thao in either order
• Please do not vote for Ignacio De La Fuente anywhere in your ranked choices

Berkeley City Council District 8: 

• Vote for Mark Humbert

For Oakland Mayor, both candidates Thao and Taylor have significant strengths. Both recognize the need for significantly more housing at all income levels in Oakland, and are calling to bring the housing to wealthy neighborhoods like Rockridge first. They agree on making streets for people over cars, and on some level of tenant protections. The fact that two leading candidates for Mayor agree that we must both increase housing supply and provide tenant protections speaks to the work of EB4E and other pro-housing groups in pushing for lasting solutions. Ultimately we see both Taylor and Thao as sufficiently aligned with our goals. We believe we will be able to work together in a productive way, even though we do not agree on every issue. 

As an example of issues of our disagreement, both continue to support the Encampment Management Policy. This Policy promises to make more regular and accountable the process of homeless encampment clearance, which is inherently unjust no matter how it is done. Unfortunately homeowner groups demanded this policy and so the entire Council supported it in 2020. We need to turn away from sweeps, which do not resolve any safety issues (simply relocate them) and hurt our unhoused neighbors, and toward services and housing. Both Taylor and Thao show willingness to move in the right direction, including supporting converting hotels to supportive housing and expanding homelessness prevention services such as legal assistance. 

However, we think one of the most important things Oakland voters can do is reject the retrograde, cruel policies of De La Fuente by keeping him off your ballot, from rank one to rank five. De La Fuente does not just accept but actively boasts that he would viciously and routinely clear encampments, as his core policy. He has expressed contempt for moves to end the traffic violence that regularly kills Oaklanders, saying public safety comes first. He previously served on the council during a period of downzoning in Oakland and shows no sign of wanting to change that status quo which prevents new housing opportunities from arising. He has received large amounts of money from polluting coal interests and the anti-tenant National Association of Realtors. And while his victory is unlikely – he is out of step with the majority of Oaklanders – it is not impossible, so please do everything you can to prevent it.

For Berkeley City Council District 8, Mark Humbert is the clear choice if we are to retain the pro-housing majority that is achieving great things on the Council, including removing off-street parking requirements citywide and moving toward missing middle zoning and an affordable housing overlay. Humbert supports both high-density housing near transit, and bringing back missing middle housing in single-family home neighborhoods where it is illegal today. Humbert points to Berkeley Way as a project that should be replicated throughout Berkeley, which included both subsidized housing for low-income tenants and supportive housing with comprehensive services for individuals experiencing homeless. Both of his opponents court NIMBY support, while he is endorsed by the outgoing councilmember, pro-housing trailblazer Lori Droste.