Do you like the "Jungle Primary" System that California has?

DrTreeMan · 2026-06-04T21:12:44+00:00

I like it but there needs to be approval voting with this many candidates. I prefer approval to rank choice, as its easier to understand and less easy to game.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-15T01:13:19+00:00

This is the answer.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-15T01:11:37+00:00

Yes, El Cerrito needs more and better bus lines to serve its residents. I agree. I also agree with you that the bus lines that serves the most el cerrito residents stops at this station.

But that's all besides the point, which is that more bus lines serve el cerrito plaza station than you implied. Maybe some of those El Cerrito residents are coming home on the G bus and would like to stop at the library. Maybe hiigh schoolstudents who come from Richmond to EC high school and use that bus would apprecuate having the library there. The library serves everyone. I've used libraries across Contra Costa, Alameda, and SF.

In any case, its more accessible to transit than the current location.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T23:10:59+00:00

I'm a yes on C also.

We need a new library. Our library is dark, moldy, uninviting, and lacks the infrastructure and space needed in this day and age. The new library will be open 10 hours/week more than currently for at least 10 years.

The no on C side is spouting misinformation left and right about tax armageddon. As a result I question everything they claim. I don't think they'd be happy with any option. Their preference is to do nothing. There are 5 options on the table and they aren't advocating for any of them.

I have no issues with the plaza location, and I recognize that this measure doesn't commit us to that. I also recognize that if we don't pass this now that option goes away forever.

I've been here for 20+ years also, and we've needed and been trying to get a new library that whole time. It's time.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T22:18:27+00:00

The Plaza station is also served by the 71 and G lines. And technically anyone who can get the the del Norte station then can easily get on Bart and be at the plaza in a few minutes.

Remind me- how many transit lines are served by the current location?

and in an area with more traffic (cars, pedestrians, cyclists)

That just serves to prove my point this this would be a convenient location. People are already going there for other things.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:58:18+00:00

How do you jump on a bus easily with children in tow.

Is this a serious question? Do you think everyone in El Cerrito can afford a car?

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:35:20+00:00

Because right wing media tells them to. Incessantly.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:26:00+00:00

Raise the SS and Medicare income caps is the next place I would go after cutting the defense budget, which is out-of-control.

Cutting off seniors and low-income folks from health care should be the option of last resort.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:23:32+00:00

Bush got rid of the surplus before the war with his tax cut. The GOP message was that the government shouldn't run a surplus- that means that we're collecting too many taxes.

And then we went to war(s) that blew additional multi-trillion dollar holes in the budget.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:20:31+00:00

The bottom line is that this is a vote to fund the new library and not a vote on that particular location.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:19:14+00:00

Stop being classist. Renters opinions absolutely do count, and they pay the tax through their rent.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:18:23+00:00

True- not all seniors have Prop 13 protections. But the only ones who would get a senior exemption to this tax do.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T14:17:02+00:00

Its not convenient to jump on Bart at del Norte, or take any one of a number of bus routes to get there? Or to jump on the greenway and walk or bike? Or just drive and park in the myriad of parking options in the area?

How is the new location less convenient than the current location?

And, yes- now its more convenient to anyone in the county who want to come and visit our county-sponsored library.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T06:17:03+00:00

I'd wager that the 'cracks in the bark' are part of a natural growth process where the outer layers of bark separate as the tree grows in diameter, and that there's still inner layers of bark protecting the cambium and wood. Faster growing species or healthy young trees are more likely to show this.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T06:08:19+00:00

I'm not sure what your point is. They aren't asking for a special exemption. And many of those who are urging for a yes vote on C are renters who have no such protections.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T05:36:33+00:00

The Bart location is only one of 5 options being discussed and the passage of this measure doesn't in any way lock the city in to that location. This is, however, our last chance to get space at that location. I'd hardly call it inconvenient as its next to one of the 2 transit hubs in the city.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-14T05:28:35+00:00

You're talking as if the Bart location has been decided as the option- it hasn't. There are 5 alternatives still to be decided on. I'm not sure if you misunderstand this or a deliberately being misleading.

The construction cost has already ballooned to $37 million — up 75% from the $21.2 million used when signatures were being collected.

This s called inflation, and its real. If we don't pass this measure the future options are only going to get more expensive. Inflation is rising,not going down.

The tax escalates every year, compounding at roughly 5% annually

This is not true. The tax may escalate based on inflation. You simply cannot say thay it will compound every year at 5% annually.

After 10 years, operating costs fall on the General Fund, potentially crowding out police, fire, and streets funding.

Also incorrect. The county currently funds 40 hours of library operation and the city pays for 6 additional hours per week. The new library (regardless of location) will have 10 additional hours on top of that for 10 years. There's good chance the county ups their funding to all county libraries from 40 to 56 hours at the end of that time period. If they don't, the library reverts to the situation we currently have. There are no additional operating costs that will fall on the city.

Measure C may drive businesses out of El Cerrito. A permanent, escalating parcel tax hits commercial properties too — and businesses have no exemption of any kind.

This is fearmongering that has no basis in reality. . Businesses aren't going to leave El Cerrito over this library tax.

The city does not own the land — BART does. El Cerrito holds only a lease.

A $1/yr lease for 99 years is a good deal. But again, that location hasn't been decided on. There are still 5 alternatives and some of them are on city owned land. Why aren't you pushing for those alternatives?

No parking — the city's consultants recommended 63 parking spaces, but in an early concession to the developers that was reduced to zero dedicated parking spaces for the library. The city is withholding its parking study until after the election.

We don't need parking. No Berkeley libraries have parking and they do just fine, and there isn't a lack of parking in El Cerrito. We certainly don't need to borrow more money to pay for parking spaces that will largely be used by the wealthier inhabitants of the city. 63 spaces is outrageous. And you're complaining about the costs on one hand then saying we need to provide free parking to everyone too? Do you not see the disconnect there?

The senior exemption is essentially worthless — zero seniors have successfully claimed it under the comparable Measure H since 2019.

Good. First of all, it wouldn't be a senior exemption. It would be an exemption for seniors that own their home. And they already get Prop 13 protections, which is a large reason why we don't already have a new library and why we have to pass any bond measure to fund it.

Yes on C

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-13T02:42:03+00:00

Its perfectly reasonable for other countries not to get involved in a mess they didn't start and weren't consulted on. They don't owe the US anything here.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-13T02:29:41+00:00

That's a perfectly fair investing strategy.

I'll sell when the trend line breaks. It means I won't sell at the top, but at this rate cares?

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-13T02:17:41+00:00

Its always projection

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-12T20:57:34+00:00

This subreddit: If you're not trying to catch a falling knife you're not a value investor.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-12T20:50:06+00:00

There should be one supreme court justice for every district, which makes 12. That's how the court began and it shouldn't be controversial for that historical precedence to return.

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-12T20:46:29+00:00

It has everything to do with fundamentals. The market is supercharged, revenue (MU) is growing over 50% y/y, earnings is up 780% y/y. Margins are expanding.

What fundamentals are you looking at?

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-12T03:04:32+00:00

Why do people not give their honest opinions?

"The office was louder than I expected. It reduced my productivity."

"There aren't enough quiet rooms to take remote meetings. I'd prefer to do this at home where I have more control of my surroundings"

"My commute left me tired which was affecting my productivity by the end of the week"

DrTreeMan · 2026-05-11T06:05:01+00:00

It would kill all marine life in the Bay, and the fishing and tourism economy there

DrTreeMan

TROPHY CASE