We’ve all been stressed out for a long time -– as the never-in-our-lifetime news keeps on coming: Covid-19 with the resulting casualties and isolation, the economic meltdown, unemployment, the tragedy of George Floyd – and the ongoing horrific actions of President Trump — just to mention a few.
There will be a post-Covid-19 world — and a time when El Cerrito gets beyond its fiscal problems. And that’s when we have to focus on what we’ve learned and then change the way we do things going forward:
- first responders identified inequities in housing, health insurance and employment that became so evident during the coronavirus epidemic;
- all communities should review police tactics, policies and funding as public safety evolves;
- broadband and internet services for every neighborhood must be a national goal with increased online schooling, work and telemedicine from home now a necessity;
- safety net systems to better protect tenants and small landlords must be in place;
- city planning must prioritize people who walk and bike, and public transit must have reliable funding and better methods to keep vehicles clean.
I am proud of what I’ve done as an El Cerrito City Councilmember. I am running for re-election in my home town to get El Cerrito back on track, to build our reserves and protect against potential wildfires which could devastate our city. But I also want to speak out regionally and in the state on the changes that we should all be working toward in a post Covid-19 world.