League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Kriss Worthington Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Berkeley; Council District 7

The questions were prepared by the LWV Berkeley/Albany/Emeryville and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you see as your District's biggest problem and how would you address it?

For District 7, there are three main issues: increasing affordable housing, improving both the reality and the perception of public safety, and revitalizing Telegraph Avenue. I am addressing each of these issues with specific proposals. We are working with the Housing Commission to implement the NAACP coalition's report that urges for more affordable housing. On Public Safety, I am working to increase neighborhood watch in the campus area, to get the beat officers to be walking/biking the beat, and to improve pedestrian lighting. Also, I want us to seek funding for the implementation of the BPD's newest Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design report. I am fighting for a comprehensive Telegraph Livability plan to shape the street in a new direction, one that meets both student and community needs. This plan includes all-ages entertainment, late night businesses, Free Speech Walk of Fame, pedestrian lighting, and more retail options.

2. What would be your highest priority for the good of the City as a whole?

Bringing a progressive and independent perspective to every issue that comes up and ensuring that we consider use of technological innovation and the real world impacts of proposals. My philosophy is that city government has a couple of principal functions. First, to protect the citizens through strong regulations and ordinances (but only as needed) and second, to make it safe for people to express and enjoy a wide diversity of life styles. Berkeley has been, and must continue to be, a place where people of every age, race, sexual identify, political inclination are safe and can be productive. For instance, we must be responsive to constituent service issues, and we must help small businesses survive the poor economy. We must work with landlords to find reasonable solutions to housing needs and we must find new sources of funding for affordable housing. I want to continue my own efforts to diversity Council appointments, including the hiring of women, people of color, and students. We must support small arts groups and individual artists. And we need to find practical cost-effective public safety improvements. In many aspects of the city, technological innovation to allow information to be shared more readily should be a priority. I should say that I began my public work in the civil rights movement and the peace movement, and these two movements still form the core of my philosophy.

3. The Downtown Initiative, Measure R [Initiative Ordinance Amending Downtown Zoning Provisions and Creating Civic Center Historic District Overlay Zone] proposes detailed changes to the current zoning rules. Do you support or oppose it and why?

I am neutral on Measure R. I believe that the practical common sense solutions that I have introduced for Telegraph Ave, like one hour free parking, and increased the floor area ratio to 5.0, will actually attract tens of millions of dollars of investment in more significant ways than most of the existing debates about various downtown plans.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 13, 2014 14:16
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