Alameda & Contra Costa Counties

In his tenure as Governor, Gavin Newsom has signed a beautiful flurry of pro-housing bills. Most recently, he signed AB 2907, which eliminated parking mandates on sites near transit. Not to mention SB 9 and 10, which repealed single-family zoning throughout the state. We are proud to endorse him, and look forward to four more years of his leadership.

Rob Bonta has brought an unprecedented passion for enforcing state housing law to the Attorney General’s office. His leadership of the Housing Accountability Unit and his dedication to protecting pro-housing legislation from NIMBY nonsense has earned him the title Housing Champion.

Aisha Wahab is a strong advocate for Affordable Housing, streamlining housing permitting and making sure cities hit their state-mandated minimum housing goals (RHNA).

Buffy Wicks showed Californians what true grit looks like when she took personal risk during shelter-in-place to show up on the Assembly floor with her newborn and speak up for SB 1120. From her first year in the Assembly, Assemblymember Wicks has led on housing issues, with keen insight on policy details that have an outsized impact on housing. Combined with the courage to move forward on important bills even when they face resistance, Buffy Wicks has become a crucial housing champion in Sacramento. She has authored and co-authored powerful bills on a broad range of housing issues, including a state-wide rental registry, housing element strengthening and important permit streamlining legislation, and dozens more. We need more legislators like Assemblymember Wicks, who see the human cost of our housing crisis, give it the attention it deserves, and fight to build the homes we need at a scale that counts.

Mia Bonta is a consistent vote for housing, focused on the deep need for subsidized affordable housing and strong tenants protections. In her questionnaire, Mia told us:

Shawn Kumagai will bring a strong pro-housing voice to Sacramento. His substantive policy chops are matched with a passion for building housing for all, which will make him an exceptional leader on housing in the State Legislature.

Alex Lee is one of only two renters serving in the California State Assembly, and his commitment to advocating for those most damaged by the housing shortage is second to none. As a strong supporter of every major pro-housing bill, every major push for tenant protections, and every effort to increase funding for affordable housing, Assemblymember Lee has been a steadfast housing champion.

Alex has supported upzoning bills like SB 50 and SB 9, while also authoring legislation to enable Social Housing and fighting to curb Ellis Act evictions. Assemblymember Lee is a legislator that truly supports “all of the above” solutions and proves that “both-and” can be more than just rhetoric.

Alfred Twu is a long-time leader in the pro-housing and pro-transit movements. With a background as an architect, Twu has the ability to identify the practical, physical, and systematic needs of our communities. He also has a gift for communicating those needs in ways accessible to laypeople and experts alike. The entire region will benefit from Twu’s skills on the AC Transit Board.

Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft has worked hard to advocate for the creation of housing for all types for people, at all income levels. An example is her support of the development of Jack Capon Villas in 2020, a 60-affordable-unit project for persons with disabilities. Achievements like this will help Alameda meet their goals of affordability, diversity, and sustainability.

Hannah Groce provides a refreshing take on collaborative effort focused on advancing housing solutions, compared to past Alameda council members. She has spearheaded a variety of initiatives to “produce, preserve, and protect affordable homes in the Bay Area, and to ensure our region remains a diverse place where all people are welcome and can thrive.”

Jim Oddie is ready to once again advocate and help with building new housing affordable for all income levels. As a past council member, it was clear he knew that housing was one of Alameda’s top issues, as shown here. Moreover, Jim’s love of Alameda is shown by additionally wanting to help” improve tenant evictions & services for those unhoused or transitioning into long-term housing”

As a past Council Member and Mayor, Nick brings a track record of success in housing legislation, as demonstrated by Ballot Measure N1, which authorized Albany City Council to amend the residential parking requirements. Nick Pilch will do what it takes to tackle the region’s housing crisis & create more housing for all income levels.

Rashi Kesarwani is an impactful and data-driven decision maker in District 1 for housing affordability and stability for all income levels. One of her recent achievements in Housing was leading the Berkeley City Council to an unanimous vote for a BART station design that is seven stories, in her backyard! Her re-election will continue to help Berkeley in its own housing shortage.

Rigel Robinson is the clear choice for District 7 to tackle housing affordability and stability for all income levels. One of his earliest indications of truly helping Berkeley and the nearby region, is his discovery of the impacts of housing, starting from student housing and how it was important to provide housing for all income levels of all types of residents.

“He came to realize exacerbates housing insecurity and other problems, not just for students, but other residents of the city and East Bay.” East Bay Express (2019)

Mark Humbert has earned our endorsement because of his public support of all kinds of new housing. In a recent candidate forum, Humbert expressed his support for both market-rate housing and affordable housing. Alleviating the housing shortage is high on his list of priorities and we are proud to support him.

Gabe Quinto is a pro-housing candidate who realizes the importance of sustainability and dense upzone projects that El Cerrito needs. As a council member, he was vocal and supportive of 69 affordable units near the del Norte BART station, a balance of housing & transportation for sustainability. We look forward to seeing him advocate for more diverse dense housing in El Cerrito.

Loren Taylor is the housing advocate Oakland needs now. Loren is fighting homelessness with the best tool: housing. He has advocated for vacant lots in Oakland to be turned into affordable units.

Loren knows the solution to Oakland’s housing situation is multifaceted and will take a multi-pronged approach in order to solve. He will make it happen, through policies like ministerial approval of code-compliant housing projects.

Note: This is a ranked choice voting. Please use Loren’s strategy of ranking him #1 and Treva Reid #2, or simply vote for Loren as #1 and leave the rest blank. Otherwise, we recommend choosing at your own discretion, with Taylor being first in your rank-choice vote.

Measure L allows the City of Berkeley to issue $650 million in bonds to finanace:

• Affordable housing and social housing projects
• Infrastructure improvements to improve walkability, bikeability, and improve parks and open spaces, and to reduce wildfire risks

We support Measure L because we support increased funding for affordable housing, which will help Berkeley meet its state-set housing goals.

We supposed Measure U because it allocates a significant amount of funding to Oakland’s most dire infrastructure needs, including affordable housing and street improvements, as well as to smaller public works projects such as parks and recreational spaces. This measure prioritizes projects that advance social and geographic equity to address the disparities in infrastructure conditions that currently exist between low-income and affluent neighborhoods in Oakland, such as crumbling streets. Finally, Measure U provides funding for projects that would otherwise not be completed at all or within their projected timeline.

East Bay YIMBY strives to keep Oakland residents and grow the Oakland community. Being said, along with abundant diverse housing, we require Cities like Oakland to improve the tenant protections of Oakland residents who are facing non-“just cause” evictions. Measure V would protect households with children, and educators during the school year.

This ballot measure would update the Just Cause ordinance by extending eviction protections to newer housing as well, except for the first 10 years after the building is built. It would also protect tenants who live in RVs.

East Bay YIMBY supports abundant diverse dense housing. To that end, we stand by the opportunity for Oakland to be authorized to bypass Article 34 and build up to 13,000 low-income units of “social housing.”

In 1950 in California, Black people, Latinos, and other minorities fighting against structural racism sought greater government investment in public housing. However, due to Article 34, an amendment to the state constitution, passed and created new obstacles to public housing. Article 34 was an intentionally racist barrier that affluent communities used to exclude others. Article 34 requires voter approval before public housing can be built in a city.

NOTE: The measure wouldn’t provide funding or approve projects. However, it provides the opportunity for Oakland to start the groundwork to get land, money, and more for Social Housing.