Re-elect Maio, Worthington, and Spring to Berkeley City Council; Bates as mayor

The Sierra Club urges Berkeley voters to re-elect Linda Maio (District 1), Kriss Worthington (District 7), and Dona Spring (District 4) to the City Council, and Tom Bates as mayor (citywide vote).

Linda Maio

Linda Maio, running for re-election to Berkeley City Council in District 1, has had a long-time interest in the use of natural materials in buildings. She has supported recycling in many forms and is very interested in doing more. This year Linda has been especially helpful with the process of drafting a creek-protection ordinance, in particular to shape it to a form which we hope will draw support from many homeowners. (The measure has not yet come to the Council.)

Linda is always very approachable to her constituents. She's been a steady and hard worker on the Council since 1992.

Kriss Worthington

Kriss Worthington (District 7 - Telegraph Avenue area in south Berkeley) lists his greatest joys in life as hiking, biking, backpacking, tennis, basketball, and climbing trees. He has done all of the above in 49 states and 57 countries. His most stunning encounters with Mother Nature occurred in India, in Greece, and at the Standing Stones of Callenish in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. Even with 10 years of experience on the Berkeley City Council, nature-lover Worthington still takes time every day to admire a plant, an animal, or the night sky.

Kriss credits his years as a former Sierra Club Group chair and Chapter ExComm member with teaching him how to sit through long meetings, listen to and learn from many voices, and fight effectively for environmental issues.

Kriss has shepherded groundbreaking eco-policies through the maze of city bureaucracy and politics, including the Precautionary Principle Ordinance and Zero Waste Ordinance. He successfully led the charge for a free eco-pass for city employees, and is pushing to expand it to include UC and other major employers. By studiously analyzing the city budget, Kriss has been able to identify and reprioritize millions of dollars in increased funding for affordable housing.

Kriss' steadfast support for Club activists has helped prevent massive and ecologically inappropriate developments, especially along the shoreline. His political acumen has helped create the groundwork for later compromises, such as building additional playing fields in areas where they don't hurt sensitive habitat. He has defended biodiversity by advocating to preserve breeding areas for migratory birds, protect native plants such as the western leatherwood, and defend habitat for the Cooper's hawk.

As Berkeley's representative on Alameda County's Congestion Management Agency, Kriss gently nudges enviro-friendly funding and policies. Beyond just being a good vote, Kriss has worked actively with environmentalists on strategizing how to channel community organizing and grassroots lobbying into winning campaigns.

A few of his priorities for the future are:

• campaign-finance reform for Berkeley and the state;
• expanding biodiesel, solar, and composting in Berkeley;
• supporting funds for parks, and encouraging the city to work with EGRET (Environmental Greening, Restoration, and Education Team), the group restoring native habitat and lobbying for more resources for the gem that is Berkeley's Aquatic Park; and
• squeezing in some day hiking and biking in that elusive 50th state.

The Sierra Club urges Berkeley voters to re-elect Councilmembers Linda Maio, Kriss Worthington, and Dona Spring and Mayor Tom Bates. To get involved in the campaign, call Mike Daley at (510) 848-0800, ext. 304.