Berkeley councilmember abruptly resigns during city meeting
BERKELEY -- Berkeley city council meetings are always lively with debate and public comment.
This Tuesday, a councilmember stunned many with her sudden resignation.
Kate Harrison was elected to the council in 2017. Harrison is now in her second term representing District 4, which covers the downtown area. She apologized to her constituents but felt it was something she had to do to spotlight issues at city hall.
"At this point I feel like the processes at city hall are broken and people on the council have no idea how bad it is," Harrison said.
While the announcement was sudden, the decision was not. Harrison said she had been thinking about it for a while.
It came in the middle of a discussion about spending $7 million to install cameras at several Berkeley intersections -- a project she ended up opposing.
"We have seen a steady but slow erosion of democracy. We got rid of the policy committees a few weeks ago. Why? That would've been a great place to talk about this proposal which has some merit. I feel like people are trying to silence dissent in this city," Harrison explained.
Her fellow councilmembers like Sophie Hahn were caught by surprise. Hahn didn't get what Harrison meant by "broken processes."
"I have to tell you it's a mystery to me. I do not fully understand. I don't even partially understand what she is referring to," Hahn said.
Because Harrison is less than half way through her second term, the city must now hold a special election to fill her seat. It also means Harrison's district would lose its representative.
"Not having the full number of council members that the people of Berkeley expect, votes might not be there or they may fall differently," Hahn noted.
By putting the spotlight on Berkeley city politics, Harrison's hope is that, in the end, it's the people who will benefit the most.
"The people of Berkeley need to have a say in what's happening in their town. This town doesn't belong to politicians. It belongs to us, the people," Harrison said.
Harrison says her resignation won't impact her race for mayor. She will face off against councilmember Hahn in the November election.