Rising costs, shrinking services, and weak fiscal oversight are signs of a city led by well-meaning advocates—not disciplined stewards.
El Cerrito residents are paying more but getting less. Service delivery has declined, costs have risen, and the city has repeatedly drawn on its reserves to balance its budget. The result: a community with stretched public services, deferred maintenance, and limited accountability.
Despite these clear warning signs, our City Council and oversight bodies have delivered little in the way of improved service outcomes or fiscal discipline. The city’s own history tells the story: three of the current council members (Lisa, Gabe, and Carolyn) sat on the dais when El Cerrito was placed on the California State Auditor’s High-Risk List for fiscal mismanagement. The same patterns continue today.
A Council Long on Passion, Short on Performance
- Mayor Carolyn Wysinger and Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Quinto are both deeply passionate about their communities. Their years of local politics are real and heartfelt. However, passion alone doesn’t address structural deficits, eliminate operational inefficiencies, or produce credible financial plans.
- Councilmembers Lisa Motoyama and Rebecca Saltzman bring significant experience in affordable housing and regional transportation. But their focus remains overwhelmingly on housing issues — often at the expense of broader service delivery, public safety, infrastructure maintenance, and fiscal stewardship. Rebecca’s record at BART underscores this concern. During her 12 years on the BART Board, she repeatedly voted to increase budgets even as ridership and service levels plummeted to a fraction of pre-pandemic usage, driving the agency toward a fiscal cliff that now threatens Bay Area transit as a whole. That pattern — expanding spending without a credible plan for sustainability — should concern El Cerrito residents.
- Councilmember William Ktsanes, elected in 2024, is the lone member consistently emphasizing fiscal responsibility and resident’s needs and priorities. His background in finance and public administration has brought a badly needed perspective to the dais — but he is outnumbered.
Oversight in Name Only
Where are the successful business people, engineers who could have oversight on procurements or people who have the appropriate backgrounds to build a healthy and sustainable city management team?
The city’s oversight structures — financial committees, advisory boards, and regional liaisons — have not meaningfully improved performance. Budget shortfalls are patched with temporary fixes, reserves are depleted, and service levels continue to erode. Residents experience it daily: slower response times, neglected facilities, and a growing sense that government is reactive rather than strategic. In short, many of them cling to the status quo, which has not been effective since the 2008 recession.
Time for New Leadership
El Cerrito cannot afford more years of the same. We need candidates who bring fiscal discipline, operational know-how, and a deep commitment to measurable outcomes — not just good intentions or single-issue platforms. Passion and housing policy matter, but they are not substitutes for sound governance.
The next election cycle presents residents with an opportunity to change course. It’s time to elect leaders who will safeguard public resources, demand accountability, and focus on delivering the reliable, efficient services our community deserves.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 