Candidate for
Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner; City of Berkeley

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1964, George moved to the Continental United States in 1983 to attend college in Worcester, Massachusetts. After a serving 4 years in the military in South Carolina, where he earned a veteran designation and was honorably discharged in 1993, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia. George and his spouse moved to Berkeley from Atlanta in 2002 and married in 2008 after 15 years as Domestic Partners.

George Perezvelez attended Clark University in Massachusetts and The George Washington University through the Pace Program. He is currently a Restaurant General Manager in the Bay Area.

A commitment to community service and respect for individual civil rights are Berkeley values that he holds dear.

George Perezvelez currently serves as the Chair of the Berkeley Police Review Commission, a civilian oversight agency created by a voter initiative in 1973. An appointee of Mayor Tom Bates, George is in his third year on the commission and served in 2009 as the Vice-Chair.

As a Police Review Commissioner, George has been involved in policy recommendations for various subcommittees including the Officer Involved Shootings Subcommittee, the Evidence Theft Subcommittee and the Regulations Subcommittee. George also routinely takes part in impartial hearings on allegations against Berkeley police officers.

George was also part of the community panel entrusted with interviewing and giving recommendations to the City Manager in the selection of the new Chief of Police.

George also serves aboard the Berkeley Commission on Labor ( Council Member Capitelli appointee) and the Sweat Free Ordinance Subcommittee.The Commission establishes policy in the area of labor by preparing reports, developing information and referral services, observing and reviewing labor disputes and promoting equal rights.

George has been involved in issues dealing with civil, minority, disability rights and outreach while participating as a member in Act Up, The Civil Rights Project and Project Open Hand (Dining Out for Life in Atlanta, GA and in San Francisco, CA), and several other political and non-profit organizations.

George lobbied and demonstrated on behalf of equal treatment for people living with HIV/Aids facing discrimination in housing, employment and medical insurance in the 90's. This grassroots movement helped influence the process leading to the decision by the Supreme Court in 1998 to rule on its classification and protection under the ADA.

George writes articles for the Examiner.com about social issues of interest for the City of Berkeley and Alameda County under the heading of "Alameda County Progressive".

Further, he is a member of the ACLU, Sierra Club, The Stonewall Democrats, Latino Justice Pride, Human Rights Campaign, Alliance for Justice, Out4immigration.org and The National Council of La Raza.