District 2 (Southwest): Moore (1st), DeLane (2nd)

I live in District 2 and I've voted for Darryl Moore twice before (2004+2008). This year he has credible opposition from Denisha DeLane. Adolfo Cabral, also running, appears to be less viable. As a decent Oakland Tribune article says, the crux of this race is differing views of development and the future of West Berkeley, as seen in their respective positions on Measure T, the rezoning of West Berkeley. Moore supports T; DeLane and Cabral both oppose it. See my Measure T writeup for more on what I think of it.

This is also about the changing factions in Berkeley politics: Moore looks more like the middle of Berkeley: . He has endorsements from both Mayor Bates and from Councilmember Max Anderson, normally associated with Berkeley progressives. DeLane is endorsed by Worthington and Arreguin, as well as several Planning Commissioners I have seen as opposing good development.

I have positive personal impressions of both of them. Moore has been a capable councilmember. He's not the strongest leader out there, but he has been making sure District 2 gets the resources it deserves (example: the much-needed revamp of San Pablo Park). DeLane has a little more fire in the belly; she's relatively young (33), grew up and went through schools here in Berkeley, and has done good work in the East Bay. I met her briefly (4 years ago, I think) through her community development work in East Oakland. I can imagine her being a competent councilmember too.I don't have the same positive impression of Cabral: he supports the ridiculous Measure U (see writeup) and draws support from too many people I disagree with (ex: Zelda Bronstein and Dean Metzger).

I plan to vote Moore 1st and DeLane 2nd, with no 3rd vote.