To the Editor:
As I ramped up my City Council campaign, many told me that there are two “sides” in Alameda politics, and I needed to pick one for a successful campaign.
Making a decision like that made me uneasy from the start. Alameda’s challenges are complex and require nuanced, thoughtful, fact-based decisions and actions. I believe that the divisiveness of Alameda politics is at the root of some of our serious government challenges. Our city council meetings are overly long, contentious, and poorly executed. We have high city staff turnover, including four different city managers, so far, in 2022.
We don’t have to choose extreme YIMBYism or extreme NIMBYism. We can add housing and limit disruption to existing neighborhoods. We don’t have to favor cyclists or drivers. We can improve routes for both, along with buses and ferries. We can support and fully staff the police force and hold the police accountable at the same time.
When elected, I will continue to listen to the community and work collaboratively with the rest of the City Council to move Alameda forward. I will work to change Alameda elections to Ranked Choice Voting to better incentivize representative and collaborative government in the future.
Learn more about my city council campaign at paulb4alameda.com.
Paul Beusterien,
Alameda
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