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BERKELEY-- Election Day in one district in Berkeley will be a formality this year. "It's really not a race," said council member Kriss Worthington about the District 1 council race between incumbent Linda Maio and her challenger, named simply, Rhiannon. "Linda will easily win," says Worthington, "and it won't be close."
Rhiannon decided to take on the 10-year council veteran after learning that she was running unopposed. "In a democracy, you have to have choice," Rhiannon said by phone a few days before the election. "It's not much of an election if there's no one else running."
Maio's presence on the council is an important one because she swings between the council's progressive and conservative factions depending on the issue, though she usually votes with the progressive bloc. "Linda Maio is the deciding vote on the city council," says Worthington.
Maio, who got into politics in the 1970s when she started a movement to create Ohlone Park and is a founder of the non-profit homebuilder Resources for Community Development, was first elected in 1992 and has easily won re-election four times.
She has been vocal on affordable housing and community environmental programs. Last October she supported legislation to give about one million dollars to the Berkeley Housing Authority to subsidize rent for low-income tenants.
But Rhiannon is critical of Maio's development plans, saying that she is directing millions of dollars to one or two non-profit developers who are behind in the affordable housing they are supposed to create.
Rhiannon, a West Berkeley resident for 23 years, has a history of civic involvement. She has been president of the Oceanview Tenants Association for 20 years and is active in the Oceanview Neighborhood Association.
She was appointed to the West Berkeley Project Area Commission by Maio ally councilwoman Dona Spring, in 1992 who was surprised to find her appointee challenging her friend in this race.
Her platform rests on promoting public participation. She wants to make city council agendas available to the public two weeks in advance instead of the current five days. "I want residents to have more of a say in what goes on down here," she says. "I want them to have more access to information on what the city is planning for West Berkeley."
She accuses Maio of not being responsive to the citizens when there have been problems in the district.
Rhiannon has not raised a significant amount of money -- only $200 -- and has not mounted a big campaign. She has succeeded in what she set out to do -- provide an alternative.
And while she says she has strong support, it is highly unlikely that it will be enough to garner her many votes on Tuesday.