Contra Costa County renters need to earn $43.63/hour to afford average rent. We need to build a LOT more housing to bring rents down, and El Cerrito is doing that. We're also investing in homeless outreach, and we just increased our investment in preventing homelessness with financial assistance.

Apply and spread the word! If you have any questions or are wondering if this could be a good fit for you, please reach out to - I’m happy to talk.

On my walk home from BART tonight, I was thrilled to see signs announcing an El Cerrito Plaza BART parking lot will close in less than 2 weeks to make way for housing. Ultimately, all the surface parking will be replaced with 743 homes - nearly half affordable. Can’t wait to welcome new neighbors!

BART holiday sweaters are here! I picked mine up just in time for today’s cold, rainy weather. I have every BART holiday sweater, and this one might be my favorite. It’s warm, cozy, and cute! And BART is offering youth sizes for the first time. Order yours: www.railgoods.com/bart/2025-ho...

We gotta a take this energy forward. The election victories tonight need to be the beginning. Organize for the future.

Congrats to Charlotte & my former colleague Dave Campbell on this massive win! I remember our first attempt to do the same thing here in Alameda County which “failed” with 66.54% yes votes.

Don't forget that Zohran Mamdani spent his entire campaign standing proudly beside the trans community. He went to trans rights rallies just to show support. He proudly waved trans rights flags without hesitation. He refused to back down in support of trans rights. That makes me happy.

Just voted yes on Prop 50! It was super convenient to put my ballot into the drop box at El Cerrito City Hall on my way into tonight’s council meeting. Was happy to see several others dropping their ballots off at the same time. If you haven’t voted yet, you have until 8 pm tonight.

It’s happening! Developers will break ground this month on El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD, replacing parking with 743 homes and hopefully a new library. Join BART for a pop-up info session Wed, Nov 5 from 4 to 6pm to learn about the TOD and station access improvements. www.bart.gov/about/busine...

It’s Election Day! Make your voice heard by voting in-person or returning your ballot at an official, secure ballot drop box. Every vote matters. vote.ca.gov

Let’s pass Prop 50 today. Then let’s work toward a federal law mandating independent redistricting in all 50 states. California responded — appropriately — with Prop 50 when Trump & Texas decided to cheat. But independent redistricting is the best approach & should be the law of the land.

Second week of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge trail closure. Heck of a job, @mtcbata.bsky.social!

The car is the albatross around the neck of all Americans. It’s the one thing you can’t do without to participate in the economy in many places, yet it’s also the thing that consumes so much of your income and life that you are a chained to supporting it.

Electric bicycles and scooters are the transportation of the future.

This post blew up a lot more than expected! Apparently folks here love music on transit as much as I do. I hadn’t noticed before, but the artist is on Bluesky: @markpdyson.bsky.social. It looks like he frequently performs at SF BART stations.

I was running early to an event so I got off BART a stop early at Powell Street for an extra walk. Instead I sat and listened to a wonderful pianist play for 20 minutes. At one point another person came up and asked if they could play together, and they did. I love music on transit ❤️🎶

Just now I let an AC Transit 57 bus pass me by and waited several more minutes for the free Emery-Go-Round to BART, something I’ve done many times. And I realized that come December 10, with the rollout of Clipper 2, I’ll NEVER do this again. All AC Transit to BART transfers will be free! 🎉🚍🚄

If you're around Sunday 11/2 from 12-2pm, we could use a few more volunteers to help distribute meals by bike to our unhoused Oakland neighbors. We're teaming up with Community Kitchens to get folks fed. RSVP at portal.ckoakland.org/volunteers/s... (you have to enter your email to see the shifts!)

Join @bikeeastbay.bsky.social at their Urban Cycling 101 Day 1 Classroom Workshop! 🚲 Saturday, November 1 11 am - 1 pm South Branch Library 1901 Russell Street Register: bikeeastbay.org/event/urban-...

Shameful. I will never support Newsom for President or any other office. No matter how much he has done on housing, standing up to Trump, Prop 50 redistricting, gay marriage, or any other issue you care about, he cares more about where the political winds blow than about people or policy.

@danbrekke.bsky.social is one of the best transportation reporters - being a transit rider informed his work. He’s the only Bay Area reporter who was on the transportation beat for my entire 12 years on the BART Board. Congrats Dan, and your reporting will be missed! www.kqed.org/news/1206213...

An exciting project that's desperately needed for safety. Love this quote from @bikeeastbay.bsky.social Advocacy Director Robert Prinz: "There’s 100 years of car-oriented infrastructure that we’re going to have to revisit – but the more work a city does around this stuff, the easier it gets."

The US federal government's spending on housing—directly through the budget, or through tax expenditures—amounts to more than $400 billion a year. Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners. www.urban.org/research/pub...

The California Air Resources Board has done so much good for CA and the climate but they completely screwed up on e-bike incentives. They should own up to their mistakes and relaunch the program that had tons of demand. Instead they’re dismantling one of our best tools to address climate change.

I felt the same way this morning when I stepped onto a BART train at El Cerrito Plaza - only the 3rd station on the Red line - and there were no seats available. And this has been happening most days recently. It makes me so happy to see folks back on BART. Transit is back!

It seems bad that only $668 million of California's $31 billion transportation budget is for public transit capital projects next year. HSR gets another $798 million. $1.45 billion out of $31 billion. It's a hidden form of climate arson.

The Ava rebate program in Alameda County offers larger rebates and folks seem to know about it, but folks still don’t seem to know about Contra Costa’s program. Apply for a rebate and spread the word!

Depressing how CA measures to the rest of the US on housing, childcare costs, and more. Most concerning - the share of Californians who lack the resources needed to fully participate in the economy is 58.1%, nearly the highest in the nation. We can solve so much of this by building more housing

Save the Date: Join Us on November 19 to Learn About Our Plans for 2026 - sf.streetsblog.org/2025/10/27/j...

Thrilled North Berkeley BART Access Project is complete! It is a rare project that continues a high quality bike connection through a parking lot to a destination with no gaps. Let's make more of these happen! Ribbon cutting event was joyous, and I was happy to speak for @bikeeastbay.bsky.social.

$50,000! We’ve been building too much parking and car infrastructure for a long time. But to continue to do this when most folks won’t be able to afford their next car makes absolutely no sense. The car light future is arriving - we need to invest in walking, biking, and transit to catch up.

It’s 6am on October 27th, 2025, the first day of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge trail closure and free bike shuttle service. I’m here for most of the morning handing out rider surveys for @bikeeastbay.bsky.social. You can take it here too: bit.ly/rsrshuttlesurvey

They are spending more money to deny bike and pedestrian access to the bridge than if they had left it open. What this will eventually mean is cuts to the shuttle service, and even less access for people.

Close the bike lane, offer a "free shuttle" that just gets stuck with all the other car traffic. Fewer bikes= more traffic.

Every city should do this! In El Cerrito my dream is to close this stretch of Elm Street to cars on Halloween. By 7 pm the sidewalks are so congested with trick-or-treaters that folks move slowly or spill onto the street. Would be amazing if the street was open to and safe for people walking.

I’ve never been so excited to see a bike/walk path closed. Repaving work has begun on the Ohlone Greenway! This is an important project for bike/walk access, as the pavement has deteriorated to the point of being hazardous. Access will remain on the other side of the path during construction.

The steam train, El Cerrito pool, and Oakland Zoo were our saviors with a small child during the pandemic. I can’t imagine the East Bay without the steam train. Please email East Bay Regional Parks! I’m also going to ask my daughter to write a handwritten note.

Love watching the sun setting from a BART platform. The view from West Oakland is particularly stunning tonight. ❤️🌅

Love Robert’s summary of the decisions made on the Richmond San Rafael walk/bike path (click the arrows in the blog for more details):

Maddening but not surprising. Read the thread for details. And know that we at @bikeeastbay.bsky.social will continue to fight for 24/7 biking and walking access on the bridge. The current decision is temporary, and BCDC will make a final decision in the coming years. They can still fix this.

Thanks El Cerrito Mayor @carolynwysinger.bsky.social for this statement: "City of El Cerrito remains steadfast in our commitment to being a welcoming & inclusive community for all who live, work & visit here...El Cerrito does not collaborate with ICE in the enforcement of federal immigration laws."

It’s official: I’m running for Congress to represent San Francisco! I’ll fight for our city – against Trump’s takeover, for our values, & for real progress. I’ve delivered on housing, healthcare, clean energy, & civil rights – & I’ll do it again. Let’s build the future our city & country deserve.

I'm getting questions, so to clarify: 1. Clipper 2 doesn't require a new card, it will be activated on your current card or app. 2. Free/reduced cost transfers were approved by transit agencies last year... while I was still on the BART Board. We've just been waiting on Clipper 2 to activate them.

Finally! Clipper 2 is so important, as it will allow: 💵No-cost/reduced cost transfers between transit agencies 💳Ability to pay with credit cards or your phone ⏲️30 min grace period for BART excursion fares Note that if you want Clipper 2 immediately you’ll need to contact Clipper in December:

Had a fantastic day in Sacramento at Active Transportation Leaders Convening organized by @calbike.bsky.social! Great to meet leaders from throughout the state and to share ideas. And it was fun to ride Capitol Corridor with my fellow @bikeeastbay.bsky.social EDs & Bay Area bike and walk leaders!

My daughter woke up this morning and immediately drew this picture. Clearly the El Cerrito No Kings protest had an impact on her, and hopefully all of her kindergarten friends who joined us.

I found this a really illuminating thread on what demonstrations do and why they matter.

The sunset and El Cerrito’s view of the Bay and San Francisco seemed even more beautiful tonight, after a day of massive, joyous, impactful No Kings protests throughout the Bay Area. We live in an incredible community and I’m feeling extra appreciative of that today.

Loved the energy at the El Cerrito #NoKings protest! Many more people than last time, I’d guess 1500-2000. Phenomenal for a city of 25,000. So many families with kids, including mine, and many seniors. Just average El Cerrito residents, some at their first protest. And lots of whimsical costumes.