From the very beginning, the El Cerrito library project hasn’t been about books, learning, or community need. It’s been about speculative development and the City Manager’s résumé.
The proposed library—nestled into the ground floor of a six-story apartment complex across from BART—isn’t being driven by the needs of residents. It’s being designed to impress the City Manager’s peers in the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), the same national network to whom she awards contracts, takes speaking engagements, and travels the world with—often on the public dime.
This isn’t policy. It’s politics.
And it’s personal.
Residents have never asked for a library crammed into a condo beneath private housing, exposed to transit-related crime, or constructed with commercial-grade materials that degrade long before their time. The City refuses to release polling results on the project, likely because the numbers confirm what many already know: El Cerrito doesn’t want this. But rather than respect public sentiment, the City is pushing ahead—driven by ego and ambition, not data or demand.
This library isn’t about serving the public. It’s about serving one career.
It’s about a legacy project for the City Manager, who sees this as her signature accomplishment. A showpiece. Something to showcase at the next ICMA conference.
But at what cost?
100% of the cost will fall on parcel taxpayers. The library will be embedded in a building El Cerrito does not fully control. The City is ignoring more sustainable financing tools, like the Municipal Finance Authority, in favor of new taxes. And El Cerrito’s CalPERS unfunded liability continues to grow, likely to top $120 million soon.
This project is the local government equivalent of a stereo company betting on cassette tapes when CDs have already taken over. It’s outdated, out of touch, and entirely ego-driven.
We don’t need a résumé builder.
We need responsible leadership.
We need public servants who listen, not legacy-seekers who bulldoze.
The City’s credibility is already in question. Refusing to release polling data, ignoring the public’s concerns, and pushing a vanity project only further erodes trust.
If the City Manager wants a project to impress her colleagues, let it be one that solves real problems, aligns with resident priorities, and respects the financial burdens already shouldered by homeowners. A true legacy isn’t built in concrete and glass—it’s built in community trust.
It’s time to hit pause on the ego, and listen to El Cerrito.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 