Where do Berkeley mayoral candidates stand on crime?
The candidates have similarities, but their positions on policing, the Police Accountability Board and cameras reveal key differences.
Come election season, it can be tough to tell the candidates apart, especially if you don't have time to follow City Hall developments throughout the year.
With Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín running for state senate, five people are on the ballot to replace him.
Only three of Berkeley's mayoral candidates — Adena Ishii, Sophie Hahn and Kate Harrison — have participated in this year's candidate forums, and that's who we'll focus on here.
In recent days, we reviewed most of those forums to help you see where the candidates stand on crime and safety.
If you want to watch the events yourself, links appear at the bottom of this story.
We also dug into the records of Hahn and Harrison on city policies and council votes on policing over the years.
For most people, the most familiar names on the ballot for Berkeley mayor are likely to be North Berkeley Councilwoman Sophie Hahn and former downtown Berkeley Councilwoman Kate Harrison, who abruptly resigned from her seat during a City Council meeting in January.
At the time, Harrison said she'd "had it" with Berkeley and that its processes were broken.
City Hall reform, particularly in terms of city administration (including its former city manager), has been one of Harrison's main campaign platforms, along with climate concerns and getting "away from the culture of development without planning."
"We do not want Berkeley to turn into a lifeless, soulless suburb just with a lot of apartment buildings," she said at one forum.
Meanwhile, Hahn has said she will "never, ever quit on Berkeley or on my obligations," emphasizing her lifelong work in Berkeley and her years of service on various city bodies.
Hahn talks a lot about revitalizing the city and points to her track record of delivering "real results" over her nearly eight years as a council member and crafting policies that have helped significantly reduce unsheltered homelessness in Berkeley.
Ishii, the newest player on Berkeley's political scene, has presented herself as a coalition-builder who will bring "people together around common sense solutions" and offer an alternative to the "drama" at City Hall.
Ishii says she'll focus on getting things done rather than getting mired down in planning and has emphasized that she would be the city's first Asian mayor, and first female mayor of color, if she's elected.
Of all three candidates, Ishii emphasizes traditional public safety issues the most and has pitched herself as someone who will focus on "practical ideas."
She's the only candidate who has talked in the forums about having done a ride-along with Berkeley police and stressed that they should have appropriate staffing and tools.
"One thing that I have learned is that, usually, the Berkeley Police Department hires folks who are a little bit older and have a little bit more life experience and context. And I think that's very important because it gives them a wider view of how to interact with the community," she said in one forum. "I think the police need to feel appreciated."
She also talks about having worked in a law enforcement setting, at the DA's office in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, where she did work on human trafficking.
Public safety is also one of Ishii's top priorities, along with infrastructure, housing and homelessness, while Hahn talks about her vision for a "more just, equitable and sustainable Berkeley" and Harrison has pledged to "create a livable climate-forward city with urban amenities."
Harrison also says she wants "real public safety for all."
"That includes making sure we have an adequate police force but also that we are not wasting resources on things that they are not in the best place to do," she said. "We want them to fight crime, essentially."
That has been a recurrent theme for many police reformers, particularly since George Floyd and the subsequent national push to cut police budgets and shift duties away from police to civilian staff.
Harrison has been strongly aligned with police reform efforts
In 2020, Harrison also led a successful push to broaden use-of-force reporting for Berkeley police to require documentation even when there is no injury or complaint of pain during detention, even, for example, if an officer grabs someone.
The same year, she voted in favor of a proposal from her then-colleague Cheryl Davila to reduce the Berkeley police budget by 50%. (The motion, which only had support from Davila, Harrison and Ben Bartlett, failed.)
Hahn and Harrison both later voted, along with the rest of the Berkeley City Council, to reduce the police budget by more than $9 million amid calls for reform.
The next year, they both voted (along with the full City Council) to limit low-level traffic stops in Berkeley in an effort to reduce racial disparities in policing.
At the time, the police union opposed the traffic policy shift and said it would make Berkeley less safe.
All three candidates have spoken in favor of new efforts like Berkeley's Specialized Care Unit, an unarmed civilian-led crisis response team, and the need to have a range of resources available for community members that are alternatives to an armed response.
"How do we support our police?" Hahn said at one event. "I think we need to support them by diversifying the response capabilities, empowering them to do what they're best at, remunerating them well, respecting the important role they play, but also seeking ways to increase the amount of response and safety that we deliver through other modalities."
The Berkeley Police Association and Berkeley Fire Fighters Association have both endorsed Hahn.
Candidates weigh in on the Police Accountability Board
All three candidates have spoken similarly in favor of strengthening Berkeley's Police Accountability Board and taking its recommendations more seriously, although Harrison has taken the strongest stance on the issue.
"It needs to have its policy recommendations upheld by the council, unless there is a super-majority vote on the council to not do so," Harrison said at one candidate forum.
Like other advisory bodies in Berkeley, the Police Accountability Board's recommendations are considered by the City Council but are not binding.
Requiring a super-majority to deny a PAB recommendation would be an unprecedented shift in Berkeley operations.
Hahn has expressed support for the Police Accountability Board having its own independent attorney, rather than relying on the city's attorney's office as it does now.
"They absolutely need full access to records. This is something where Kate and I have been very much on the same page," Hahn said at one forum, adding, "Most importantly … we need council members who actually respect and listen to our Police Accountability Board."
Ishii has called the PAB "an essential body in our city" and said, like any commission, it must have access to the records it needs to do its work.
But, unlike Hahn and Harrison, she also raised the issue of officer confidentiality and how it might be a factor.
"We want to make sure that we're very careful with the information that's getting released if it has anything to do with people's addresses," she said, "because our law enforcement officers do need to have their identities protected."
Emilie Raguso
Candidate views on security cameras, ALPRs
Another area of some difference among the candidates relates to the city's approach to security cameras and license plate readers for law enforcement use.
In June 2023, the Berkeley City Council, including Hahn and Harrison, voted unanimously in favor of a new surveillance camera program in the city.
But, a month later, Hahn abstained from a vote on new automated license plate readers (ALPRs) for BPD, and Harrison was absent from the vote, reportedly due to illness.
At the time, Hahn said she had "serious concerns" about the number of ALPRs that would be mounted around the city and how intrusive they might be.
Hahn has repeatedly raised concerns about privacy and civil liberties and criticized the city policies that govern some municipal surveillance technologies, saying they need to be strengthened.
Hahn has, however, spoken in favor of police access to private cameras when residents or businesses want to share footage.
In October 2023, Hahn abstained again when it came time to vote on the city contract for the license plate readers and Harrison was again absent, according to agenda materials.
In January, Hahn abstained from a vote on additional surveillance cameras for Berkeley police. On the same night, Harrison stepped down from the City Council before the surveillance camera vote took place.
In June, Hahn also abstained on a contract related to city security cameras.
"I am very, very concerned that when you have totalitarian governments, which… we may have in this country sooner than we would like to imagine, we need to be extremely vigilant," she said at one candidate forum this year.
Harrison has pointed out that she helped write the city's surveillance ordinance, which governs technology use, and worked to limit data sharing and data retention when it comes to city security footage.
Harrison has also said she supports camera use when it relates to serious crime but has concerns in other contexts.
Ishii, meanwhile, has said she "absolutely" supports security cameras for police as long as the use complies with city rules.
Of course, this is Berkeley, so the candidates also overlap in many ways.
Sophie Hahn may have said it best in one of this year's candidate events.
"This race isn't about who is the most progressive candidate," she said. "Everyone here is committed to Berkeley's progressive values."
November 2024: Berkeley mayor's race
Candidates appear below in ballot order. Read candidate statements submitted to the city.
- Adena Ishii (education consultant)
- Sophie Hahn (Berkeley City Council member)
- Kate Harrison (international management consultant)
- Naomi D. Pete (no known website)
- Logan Bowie (paralegal) (no known website)
2024 Election: Watch Berkeley mayoral forums
- Berkeley Chamber: Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Forum
- Berkeley People’s Alliance: Berkeley Mayoral Forum
- LWVBAE: Berkeley Mayoral Forum
- Berkeley Neighbors for Housing and Climate Action: Mayoral Forum
- Berkeley Democratic Club: Mayoral Forum
More Berkeley election resources
Editor’s desk
Kate Darby Rauch
Editor’s desk
