Who is Berkeley City Council candidate Mark Humbert?

Name: Mark Humbert

Age: 72

Occupation: Berkeley City Councilmember, Lawyer: ERISA, Taft-Hartley Trust, and employee benefits mediation and arbitration

What office are you are running for? Berkeley City Council District 8

What is the main reason you are running? I am running to help Berkeley live up to its values of inclusion and opportunity for all, because I want my daughters and other young people of all backgrounds to enjoy the same opportunity I did to call Berkeley home and build a family here. That means working to improve housing affordability, making our streets safer for all users, and ensuring that Berkeley is more sustainable and resilient in the face of disasters and climate change.

Why are you qualified? I have a track record of working with my colleagues and City staff to deliver for District 8 and the City at large. My ability to work collaboratively and constructively is built on decades of engagement in my neighborhood and on City issues, including as a leader in the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association and as a member of what is now the Transportation and Infrastructure Commission. My experience and the strength of my relationships with my fellow Berkeleyans, Councilmembers, and other elected officials mean I can get the work done.

What sets you apart from other candidates? I am running on a hopeful, forward-looking vision for how Berkeley can embrace positive change while honoring our history and living out our values. When I look around Berkeley, I think in terms of what we could be, rather than what to oppose or obstruct. I aim for pragmatic, honest governance and avoid making promises I can’t ultimately deliver on. I want to stick to what’s in the Council’s purview and focus on impact and follow-through over that which is merely performative. I know the difference between what’s achievable and what’s purely aspirational because I’ve put in the work.

How and when did you end up in Berkeley? After growing up an Air Force brat all over the world and attending college at New College of Florida (a liberal arts haven now wrecked by FL Governor DeSantis), I had the privilege of studying at Berkeley Law and moving to the Bay. I moved from SF to Elmwood in ‘99, raised our 2 daughters here, and continue to live with them and my wife in the same home off Ashby. The joy of building community in Berkeley is why I want to make sure young people have the same chance I did.

What are the three biggest challenges for Berkeley in the next five years? Barring an economic, natural, or constitutional catastrophe, our 3 biggest challenges are: housing costs, the budget, and our unfunded infrastructure needs. All of these are highly interrelated: High housing costs mean that homelessness stays high and young and old alike can’t afford housing for the stage of life they are in. This impacts the City budget (which already has a structural deficit) by increasing funding needs and reducing tax revenue. This also means less funding for our infrastructure, and we need strong infrastructure to support new and existing housing and our quality of life.

How would you begin to address them? I want to continue encouraging economic development and new homes because both are a net positive for Berkeley’s budget. Contrary to popular belief, new development in Berkeley more than pays for itself; indeed, the newest homes and offices tend to subsidize older buildings by way of much higher tax generation. Building new homes also subsidizes affordable units and, just as importantly, takes pressure off the overall housing market, lowering prices and easing displacement, which reduces City spending on housing and homeless services over time. I will continue to push for responsible budgets and limiting expansive new initiatives, so that more funding can go to critical infrastructure and essential services. And I’m supporting Measures U & V to help stabilize our budget and infrastructure.

What is one new idea you'd like to bring to Berkeley? Helping to broker the final compromise on Berkeley’s Middle Housing effort (kicked off by former CM Droste) is something I’m very proud of. But construction costs, architectural design, and permitting can be obstacles for families or smaller developers looking to do gentle density. I want to explore creating pre-approved designs for common Berkeley lot sizes in order to cut costs and approval times and also help guarantee good design. This is something I plan to pursue in my second term.

How will you be accessible to constituents? Email is the best way to reach me, and I am somewhat unusual as an elected official who manages my own inbox. Even if I reasonably have to delegate certain tasks or responses, I see nearly 100% of what comes through email. My newsletter is also open to replies and I often reply in turn. I attend neighborhood meetings, hold multiple office hours each year, and am happy to meet with people one-on-one or in small groups upon request. These are all practices I will continue in my second term.

Are you using public financing? Yes

How much money do you expect to spend on your campaign? $60,000

A final thought? I want more of what makes Berkeley wonderful: opportunities for people of all backgrounds to call it home; public services and urban amenities that offer a high quality of life; safe streets that encourage people to walk and bike to the places we love. But we can’t get there by standing in place. Berkeley has a history of looking toward and building a better future, and that’s what I fight for.

Campaign website: humbertforcouncil.com

See complete election coverage on The Berkeley Scanner.