Asa Dodsworth for Berkeley City Council, District 4: I made this blog when I first ran for office years ago..

Monday, May 30, 2011

I made this blog when I first ran for office years ago..

Campaigning is serious business, and in 2008 I had no idea what I was getting into.

There were five of us on that ballot City Council District 4, and the one other candidate I really liked, Jesse Arreguin, swept to victory with a strong landslide.

About two years later, a year before now, I placed my hat in the race Berkeley Rent Board, by offering myself for nomination by the tenants convention. The tenants convention is a nomination event put on by a coalition of tenants advocates and progressive political groups. There were six core political groups hosting that event who invited people to come out and vote, and every candidate seemed to bring a few people, there were 9 candidates in total. More then a hundred people voted in that race making it the largest and most diverse convention and endorsement by far. I assume the five people I invited & showed up, intended to vote for me but were undecided on the rest of the candidates. And I think thats reflective of everyone who came, they were undecided on most of the candidates, and each candidates success depended on their engagement of the voters at the Tenant convention. I was nominated that day by the convention with five other experienced candidates, and together we ran a successful campaign to safeguard what's left of Berkeley Rent Control. We were elected to the Berkeley Rent Board on Nov 2nd, 2010 about 6 months ago. And Along with Josh Daniel's I am proud to be the first Berkeley raised elected to represent Berkeley in 30 years. Its about time our Berkeley Politic reflected the people who grew up in this city.

If you want to get involved in our local politic,

stay in touch with me, friend my profile on Facebook,

http://www.facebook.com/citizen.dodsworth

or email me at: citizen[dot]dodswort[at]facebook[dot]com

( protip: replace [dot] with a single period, and [at] with @ )

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Campaign Issue

Vacant Property User Fee: we in Berkeley are blighted by vacant properties. Buildings that once hosted real vibrant businesses like Radston's Office supply sit empty for years. Radstons alone produced 400,000 dollars of sales tax income for the City of Berkeley. The Tower records location on Telegraph is big enough for a desperately needed grocery store, instead has sat empty for Ten years.

The reason these buildings can sit empty for so long is that in berkeley we have too few property owners. The market rate value of the rest of their rental property would be reduced if they lowered the rents on their vacant strorefronts. If we had more property owners they would suffer rather then benifit from refusing to offer their property at a rate worth leasing. We dont have a real rental market in Berkeley. And because of that we loose enormous ammounts of sales tax income, we pay unnaturally high rent, and we have to pay for increased police and emergency services for property that becomes a blight.

I will work to provide a real user fee, to address real costs to society of vacant property. In West Berkeley alone we have acres of vacant property. When we do this, we will expand the oportunities to everyone to have an art studio, to consider starting a business, and we will produce the economic activity to protect Berkeley during this recession.

This problem is not exlusive to berkeley In Washington DC they have created a vacant property tax rate that is higher to address the cost on society and the lost sales tax revenue from vacant commercial property, check it our

Neighborhood Empowerment: to enhance the number of real partners and active stake holders in the City of Berkeley's decision making process, I will provide real authority and responsibilities to formally registered neighborhood associations. The greatest reward for participation in governance is a real seat at the table.

I will work to provide 0.1% of our municipal budget, to be divided among the eight districts and spent at the discretion of those districts neighborhood councils. The neighborhood councils, will be composed of elected representatives of registered neighborhood associations. It will be the responsibility of the neighborhood associations not city staff to conduct properly noticed, conducted and recorded meetings and minutes. Neighborhood Associations will loose their representative status for 6 months if they or their representativeacts fraudulently. And all parties involved will be legally liable for any fraudulent or criminal behavior. With responsibility comes accountability.

Monday, May 30, 2011

I made this blog when I first ran for office years ago..

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