“2020 is going to be etched in the history of our nation, and historians are going to look back at the decisions we made today, not just as a response to COVID but at the other issues of our time.”
A CONVERSATION WITH MAYOR JESSE ARREGUÍN ON
THE STATE OF THE CITY
WITH
EMILIE RAGUSO of Berkeleyside,
ERIN BALDASSARI of KQED, and
SARAH RAVANI of The San Francisco Chronicle
As Berkeley’s Mayor, Jesse has made addressing homelessness, affordable housing, improving infrastructure and educational outcomes his top priorities.
Over the past four years he has worked to change Berkeley’s approach to addressing homelessness, focusing on compassionate solutions and housing first. The Mayor has also led efforts to increase housing production, expand tenant protections, expand anti-displacement programs, and create a dedicated funding stream for affordable housing.
Mayor Arreguin is the President of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the Bay Area's regional planning agency and Council of Governments.
Emilie Raguso is Berkeleyside's senior editor of news. She has been covering City Hall, public safety and housing in Berkeley for nearly a decade. In 2017, Emilie was named Journalist of the Year by the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal board. Emilie previously launched and ran the community news site Albany Patch in Albany, California. Her stories have appeared on the New York Times website, Salon and NPR.
Erin Baldassari is a housing reporter for KQED and co-host of the new podcast, SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America. Her past life was in newspapers, where she most recently worked as the transportation reporter for the Mercury News and East Bay Times.
Sarah Ravani covers the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. Her coverage includes City Hall in Oakland, Berkeley and other East Bay cities. She also covers homelessness.