Vote yes on Measure Z for a Berkeley public bank: Op-ed

Editor's Note: TBS publishes guest essays from community members on issues of concern. Today's piece was written by Eric Leenson, co-founder of La Peña Cultural Center; Sunny Singhal, Berkeley homeowner and public bank advocate; and Wilhelmenia Wilson, executive director of Healthy Black Families.

Berkeley residents work hard to build a community where people can afford a home, small businesses can thrive and future generations can live safely. Yet too often, the money our community generates helps build wealth somewhere else and is invested in war, private prisons, fossil fuels and data centers.

We deserve a financial institution guided by the needs and values of Berkeley, with the benefits of public ownership flowing back to our community.

That is why we are urging Berkeley voters to vote yes on Measure Z.

For families struggling with rent, business owners trying to keep their doors open and neighbors worried about the future, resources are too often out of reach. We need tools we can shape ourselves. Measure Z would help create a public bank serving Berkeley, dedicated to affordable and workforce housing, local small businesses and green energy and infrastructure.

Recent surveys reinforce what we hear in conversations throughout our city: People are worried about housing costs, homelessness and deteriorating roads and parks.

Behind those concerns are real people — a teacher who can’t afford to live in the city she serves, a third-generation Berkeley senior facing displacement, a shopkeeper struggling to finance improvements, a hills family always aware that a fire could wipe out their entire neighborhood. Our financial priorities should reflect their lives.

A public bank offers a way to bring our money and our values closer together. Ownership would give Berkeley the role of shareholder in the public bank we help build. Its mission would center community needs, and its earnings would strengthen public finances over time. Instead of accepting a system that builds wealth for Wall Street shareholders and billionaires, we can invest in a public bank designed to benefit us, the public.

Imagine more financing available for deeply affordable housing, neighborhood businesses and projects that prepare us for a changing climate. As responsible loans are repaid, that money can support new loans, extending the value of our initial investment. The goal is a lasting source of community financing, with earnings returning to Berkeley’s coffers and easing pressure on future budgets without additional public subsidy.

Public banking has an American track record. The Bank of North Dakota earned $231.8 million in 2025. North Dakota demonstrates that a publicly owned bank can operate successfully and strengthen public financial resources. We can draw on that experience while building a public bank suited to our own community.

Like any bank, the public bank would have to meet FDIC regulations; if anything, a public bank is more transparent and accountable to us, the people of Berkeley, through public meetings and annual reports.

We cannot afford to treat the current financial system as our only option. Berkeley has needs that deserve patient investment and residents who deserve a meaningful voice in the priorities guiding that investment.

Measure Z gives us a chance to build something we own together — something that can keep working for Berkeley long after this election.

Let’s put our money behind our neighbors, our values and our future. Vote yes on Measure Z on or before Nov. 3, 2026. For more information, visit keepberkmoneylocal.org.

The Scanner will periodically publish guest essays from community members on issues of interest or concern. Authors who are not already TBS members will receive a complimentary membership in return. Submit your ideas to TBS.