El Cerrito Wire

The West Contra Costa Unified School District board voted unanimously Wednesday, July 15, to place a measure on the November ballot to renew a parcel tax. The measure would continue the existing rate of 7.2 cents per building square foot, which applies to businesses and commercial space as well as homes. The tax was first passed by voters in 2004, then renewed in 2012 and 2016. “We need your support now more than ever,” said Trustee Leslie Reckler. Passage requires a two-thirds majority vote. According to the resolution passed by the board, if the renewal does not pass, “the District may face further cuts to teachers, programs, and student services.” At the June 24 meeting where the school board approved a budget for 2026-27, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said the district has cut close to 10% of its workforce. The tax brings in about $10.1 million annually. The measure would continue the tax for nine years. Without the renewal, the tax expires at the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year. The...

Gabe Quinto confirmed on Tuesday, July 14, that he will seek reelection to the El Cerrito City Council, while Courtney Helion, who had set up a campaign committee for the 2026 race, said she will not run.  The city website shows Megan Steffen took out papers July 14. [This sentence added July 15.] Wally Nowinski and Kimberly White have also announced they are running for the two open seats on the Nov. 3 ballot. The second incumbent, Carolyn Wysinger, set up a campaign committee in February but has not confirmed she is running. She was elected to the council in 2022. Quinto has been on the City Council since 2014 and is president of the League of California Cities. In a social media post, Nowinski said he works in marketing at a clean energy company and has long been active in Democratic Party politics. White has served on the city’s Financial Advisory Board since 2022 and runs her own firm advising public sector leaders. The city clerk has scheduled a drop-in session at the Communi...

As filing for the race for two West Contra Costa Unified School District board seats opened Monday, July 13, board member Leslie Reckler announced that she would not seek reelection on the Nov. 3 ballot. Reckler is the trustee representing Area 5, which consists of El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond. Caitlin Garibaldi has already announced that she will be seeking the position. Garibaldi has lived in El Cerrito for seven years, is a Fairmont Elementary School parent, and works in pet care. Garibaldi has filed FPPC documents indicating she plans to be a candidate and establishing a “Garibaldi for WCCUSD Trustee 2026” campaign committee. She has also set up a campaign website. Reckler has served on the board for six years. She was first elected in 2020 to a two-year term. While WCCUSD terms are usually for four years, two board members were elected to two-year terms that year as part of the school district’s transition from at-large elections to area elections. The other b...

The West Contra Costa Unified School District board is scheduled to vote Wednesday, July 15, on whether to place a measure on the November ballot to renew a parcel tax. The measure would continue the existing rate of 7.2 cents per building square foot, which applies to businesses and commercial space as well as homes. The tax has been in place since 2004. The tax brings in about $10.1 million annually. Without the renewal, the tax expires at the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year. The draft resolution calls for the tax to continue for nine years. The draft resolution exempts people 65 and older for a parcel they own and occupy, provided they complete an application. It also exempts people who apply if they are: “(b) receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability regardless of age; (c) receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, regardless of age, whose yearly income does not exceed 250 percent of the 2012 federal poverty guidelines issued by the United States Departme...

Photo: The current WCCUSD school board with an appointed student trustee and Superintendent Cheryl Cotton. Taken from a recording of a school board meeting El Cerrito residents who suspect the city gave up too easily when it agreed to transition to district elections need only look as far as the West Contra Costa Unified School District to see just how badly it can go if a public entity doesn’t react quickly. According to a 2019 article from Richmond Confidential, the school district ended up getting sued before it relented and switched to district elections. According to the article, the school district was forced to pay attorneys fees for both sides for an estimated total of $538,600. Had the school district taken the matter to trial, rather than reaching a settlement, the cost would have been even higher. And, the publication reported, the battle had “beleaguered board meetings for about a year.” El Cerrito’s move to district elections was triggered when it received a letter from an...

UPDATE: Reckler will not run for reelection CORRECTION: Updated 10:30 am July 12 to reflect the fact that Zelon Harrison, who earlier took steps to run in Area 4, closed her campaign committee. While filing doesn’t open until Monday, July 13, newcomer Caitlin Garibaldi has announced she is running in West Contra Costa Unified School District Area 5 and incumbent Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy has announced he is running for reelection in Area 4. Although El Cerrito won’t transition to district elections until 2028, WCCUSD began electing board members by area in 2020 after being compelled to do so by a lawsuit. Area 5 consists of El Cerrito, Kensington, and a chunk of Richmond. In the Area 5 race, Garibaldi has already filed FPPC documents indicating she plans to be a candidate and establishing a “Garibaldi for WCCUSD Trustee 2026” campaign committee. She has also set up a campaign website. Garibaldi has lived in El Cerrito for seven years, is a Fairmont Elementary School parent, and works in pe...

While the period for filing nomination papers for two seats on the El Cerrito City Council doesn’t open until Monday, July 13, five people have already taken some steps toward running for the seats in the Nov. 3 election. They include incumbents Gabe Quinto and Carolyn Wysinger, Courtney Helion who ran unsuccessfully in 2022, and two of the leaders of the campaign against Measure C, Wally Nowinski and Kimberly White. Nowinski and White this week filed FPPC documents with the city indicating they plan to run, set up a joint campaign website, and each posted on Nextdoor announcing their campaign. Helion has filed several FPPC documents for Committee to Elect Courtney Helion in 2026. While many candidates terminate their campaign committees after an election, Gabe Quinto for El Cerrito City Council 2022 has remained active. The most recent document posted on the City of El Cerrito's website as of 4:30 pm July 10 is the semi-annual statement for the second half of 2025. It shows an end...

While San Pablo Avenue runs through several communities, in no other city is it as important as it is to El Cerrito. The avenue accounts for 90% of El Cerrito‘s retail space and 60% of its office space. Consequently, it generates a significant share of the city’s sales and property tax revenue. “San Pablo Avenue runs from Oakland to Hercules, connecting a lot of places, but we’re pretty unique on the corridor… for us it is our primary commercial street… it’s our front door,” noted Community Development Director Melanie Mintz July 7. Mintz made her comments in her final City Council presentation before retiring. On July 20, Claudia Garcia will take over as community development director.  According to documents on the city website, discussions of developing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan to “ articulate a vision for the future of San Pablo Avenue” date back to at least 2007.   “For us, a main goal was to create a place on San Pablo Avenue, not just to pass throug...

The El Cerrito City Council approved a map July 7 to be used to elect city council members by district beginning in November 2028. (See image) The map divides the city into five districts. The map chosen had been known as A2.  The two city council members elected this November will be selected citywide, as has been done in the past.  In 2028, residents in districts 1, 3, and 5, as shown on the map above, will elect their council members. In 2030, districts 2 and 4 will elect their council members. All terms are for four years. The council was told that legally it could not consider where the incumbents live in dividing the city into districts. However, once a map was chosen and before the council determined which districts would have elections in 2028 and which in 2030, the district in which each council member lives was revealed. Once a map has been selected, it is legal for the council to try to line up the year each council member’s current term expires with the year in whi...

Update: Map selected El Cerrito City Council members will be elected by district beginning in 2028 using a map the council is scheduled to select Tuesday, July 7. The council is also scheduled to decide July 7 which three of the five newly created districts will elect council members in 2028.  The other two districts will elect representatives in 2030. Residents citywide will vote for council members for the final time this Nov. 3, when two seats are up for grabs. The council members elected this year will serve for four years, as will the council members after the transition to district elections. The council indicated at an earlier meeting that it wants to continue its practice of having the council select the mayor, a largely ceremonial role in El Cerrito, rather than electing a mayor separately. The council typically chooses a different member to serve as mayor each year. At a meeting June 16, the council narrowed the choices for a map of the districts to two options (pictured)...

Photo: Former site of Portola Middle School The recommendations of a committee in another Bay Area school district may provide some insight into the options available to the West Contra Costa Unified School District as it looks into what to do with the former site of Portola Middle School in El Cerrito and three other properties. Although the details of the properties in the two districts differ, both will have to follow the same complex state regulations. In its presentation to the Santa Rosa City Schools board on May 27, that district’s 7-11 committee recommended the district pursue 99-year leases with housing developers for four sites. For two other sites, the committee recommended delaying action for 3 to 5 years, in part to provide time to possibly work out some kind of deal for the properties with the city of Santa Rosa. Leasing rather than selling the land would provide the school district with ongoing income and more flexibility in how it spends those funds. If the land is sold...