Mayor Tessa Rudnick has expressed aspirations to become a city manager one day. This raises an important question: How would she approach governance differently to ensure transparency, fiscal responsibility, and better outcomes for the residents of El Cerrito?
With the State of the City Address approaching, now is the perfect time for Mayor Rudnick to share her vision—not just for her current role as mayor, but for how she would lead differently as a city manager. As residents, we also hope she will address these pressing financial and operational concerns:
- Senior Center Funding
Why does El Cerrito remain without a senior center while neighboring cities prioritize such facilities? As a future city manager, how would you ensure this essential community need is met? - Ohlone Greenway Maintenance
The Ohlone Greenway is a critical resource, yet its condition continues to decline. What actions would you take as city manager to prioritize and fund its restoration? - Road Conditions and Dedicated Taxes
The pavement condition index has steadily declined despite a dedicated sales tax for road repairs. How would you improve the allocation and oversight of these funds? - UAL Pension Liability
With the city’s unfunded pension liability now at $89 million, what specific strategies would you implement to address this financial burden and ensure sustainability? - Missed Library Grant Opportunity
The city reportedly failed to apply for a state-matching funds library grant due to a lack of matching funds. How would you ensure El Cerrito seizes opportunities like this in the future? - Weakened Financial Reserves Proposal
The Financial Advisory Board (FAB) recommended strengthening financial reserves, but you made a recommendation to the council to weaken the proposal. How would you balance short-term needs with long-term financial health as a city manager? - Fiscal Year 2024 Deficit
Even with service cutbacks, the city ran a deficit in fiscal year 2024. What specific changes would you make to prevent future deficits and ensure balanced budgets? - State Auditor’s Report and Ranking What would you do to improve the city’s rank as 13th most likely to become bankrupt?
Mayor Rudnick, this is an opportunity to share your leadership philosophy and clarify how you would address these challenges now and in the future. Your answers could help rebuild trust and guide El Cerrito toward a more transparent and sustainable future.
We encourage Mayor Rudnick to publicly respond to these questions and outline her vision for El Cerrito and her potential future role as city manager.
#ElCerrito #LeadershipVision #CityManagerAspirations #TransparencyMatters #FiscalResponsibility #CommunityFirst #TessaRudnick #OhloneGreenway #SeniorCenter #ElCerritoRoads #AccountabilityNow
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 
Since EC city government seems to be a Good Ol’ Boys club with zero accountability, she will likely use her position for personal political gain and to advocate for silencing opposition views both in EC and in other cities (like she’s done in Marin https://marincountyconfidential.substack.com/p/from-mintzer-on-the-hush-hush-the), not to mention cozying up to the police to make sure they get brand new state-of-the-art surveillance tech, more building purchases to use as glorified parking lots, and who knows, maybe even some castoff military equipment so they can track the undesirables.
And given how Karen Pinkos has run the place, under Tessa’s “leadership” we’ll likely have a few more “Oh shut the f*** up”s toward the public and other public servants to entertain us. Are we not entertained?!
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