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EL CERRITO -- Early election returns showed that Mayor Janet Abelson of El Cerrito is leading in the city council election, and challenger Sandi Potter running second ahead of Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Perka. Updated Nov. 8, 10:55 am
Abelson, a retired transportation planner, had 35 percent of the 6,860 ballots counted as of 11:30 p.m. Abelson, Potter and Perka are vying for two open seats on the council.
Planning Commissioner Sandi Potter, who announced her bid for the council only 2 1/2 months ago, came in second with 35 percent, while Kathie Perka, the current mayor pro tem, floundered with 30 percent.
"I really appreciate the voters' confidence in the issues that I stand for," Abelson said. Elected mayor by fellow council members a year ago, Abelson presided over the restoration of the El Cerrito Plaza and the landmark El Cerrito Theater over the past year.
A crowd of some 50 campaign volunteers and supporters gathered at Potter's house to celebrate her early success. "It looks really good," Potter said. She would carry out her campaign promise of supporting more affordable housing in upcoming projects like the Del Norte redevelopment project near the El Cerrito-Del Norte BART station, she said.
"In mixed-use projects like Mill & Lumber we had a pretty high 15 percent devoted to affordable housing and I think we will be looking at about the same amount in Del Norte," she said.
Perka was not available for comment.
The re-election of incumbent Abelson and success of newcomer Potter would tilt the political balance of the city of 23,000 people. Liberal Repubican Abelson has formed an alliance with Democrat Sandi Potter with the two supporting each other and agreeing on many issues including development and arts advocacy.
On the other side of the race is Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Perka, a former business executive and strong advocate of commercial growth. She became the target last week of a negative mailer linking her to struggling gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon. The previously unknown Committee for Sound Public Policy, who distributed the mailer, tried to show that Perka was out of touch with voters in a city dominated by Democrats.
"Bill Simon in Sacramento and Kathie Perka in El Cerrito will move the Republican agenda forward," said the mailer.
Perka's supporters had called the mailer a hit-piece aimed at discrediting her in the highly Democratic community. Both Abelson and Potter had denied any links with the mailer or the Committee that distributed it.
El Cerrito saw aggressive development and planning over the past year. The dilapidated El Cerrito Plaza was rebuilt into a big shopping complex and expected to bring in millions of dollars from such tenants as Albertson's, Long's Drugs and Barnes & Noble. Planning for the Del Norte redevelopment project is nearing completion. The city bought the landmark El Cerrito Theater at half a million dollars, cleared the Mill & Lumber parcel for residential-commercial development and was set to build another city hall.
With several key projects under way or just started, the election is likely to have significant impact on the future look of the city.
Abelson voted in favor of creating a separate arts commission to promote cultural activities and moving ahead on the Mill & Lumber project. She promised to improve park and recreation services, repair the streets, and build more walkways and bicycle paths, if elected.
Potter, who had worked three years with Abelson on the planning commission before the latter was elected to city council, agreed with Abelson on the concept of "smart growth," which means bringing jobs, shops and housing together in one area. Both voted in favor of building a day-care center on Schmidt Lane and of adopting design guidelines for the Del Norte project. The guidelines would reserve city power over what kinds of businesses to bring in and which type of housing -- residential or commercial -- to build, instead of letting developers handle it, Potter said.
Both Abelson and Potter were endorsed by city council members Mark Friedman and Letitia Moore, who had formed a liberal majority on the council with Abelson, voting in favor of affordable housing and more benefits for working families including better day care services. The election of Abelson and Potter will strengthen the majority by one more vote.
Perka has the backing of Gina Brusatori, a popular two-term incumbent who has been Perka's only ally on the council. Both had years of experience in business. Perka used to be a buyer at the Emporium-Capwell department store, and Brusatori is an investment banker. The two formed a minority coalition in the council that was fiscally conservative and pro-business.
Perka had noted that half of the city's streets need repairs and promised to speed up work on them, if elected. She said she would also work to raise salaries for the city's policemen and government employees.
Despite the strong responses to the mailer by loyal Perka supporters, many voters say the campaign was too low-profile for them to learn about the candidates and the issues.
Coming out of a polling station at the Fairmount Elementary School, Ayesha Dhillon said she did not vote on the city council election. "I don't know who they are and what their track records are like," she said. "They didn't make themselves known."
However, the working mother said she would certainly have voted for the more progressive candidates had she known more about them. "I'm against commercial growth. We've had enough of it," she said. "I was really glad we didn't get another bunch of high-rises in the Plaza."
Lawrence Felipe, an El Cerrito renter who has a job in Berkeley, said he voted for incumbent Kathie Perka simply out of name recognition. "A co-worker talked about her -- I don't even know who the other candidates are," he said.