El Cerrito boosters often go out of their way to get posts removed from NEXTDOOR when they don’t like what residents are saying. Sometimes the complaint is that a post is spam. Sometimes it is framed as shaming. Sometimes it is simply mass-reporting viewpoints they disagree with. But the pattern feels familiar: if they cannot answer criticism, they try to erase it.
Recently, a resident reposted a message that had reportedly been marked as spam because they believed it contained information the community needed to see. The post centered on Measure C and argued that voters are being asked to approve a long-term tax commitment without receiving clear, direct answers to basic questions.
The resident’s message raised six major concerns.
1. You’re Being Asked to Pay Forever
The poster argued that something was wrong the moment city officials began discussing “legally defensible interpretations” of the petition language instead of plainly explaining what voters were approving. To many residents, legal phrasing does not build trust. It raises doubts.
2. The Cost Keeps Changing
According to the post, residents were previously told a Plaza Station library could cost about $21 million and save $10 million compared with a standalone project. But after signatures were certified, the estimate reportedly jumped to $37 million while acknowledging that a remodel of the existing library costs just $10 million
That leaves a reasonable question: what changed, and why were residents not told sooner?
3. Is the Current Library Too Small or Adequate?
For years, some residents were told the current library site was too small to meet community needs. Now, discussions have suggested it may be workable after all.
If both statements have been made, voters deserve clarity. Which is true?
4. What Happens After Ten Years of Operating Costs?
The post claimed the city says operating expenses would be covered for ten years. If accurate, the obvious follow-up is simple:
What happens in year eleven?
A project plan should not stop where the harder questions begin.
5. The Senior Exemption May Exist More on Paper Than in Practice
The resident also challenged claims about a low-income senior exemption, asserting that despite similar measures in the past, no residents have successfully qualified.
If exemptions are being used as a selling point, the public deserves transparent data on how often they have actually worked.
6. Parking and Long-Term Taxes
The post also raised concerns that the proposed library concept has no dedicated parking plan and that tax collection would begin years before construction is completed.
That means residents could start paying long before seeing results.
The Bigger Issue: Why Silence Critics?
Even those who support Measure C should be concerned when criticism is removed instead of answered.
Healthy communities debate.
Confident leaders explain.
Strong measures survive scrutiny.
But when dissent is flagged, hidden, or shouted down, it sends the opposite message: that the case for the measure may be weaker than advertised.
El Cerrito Residents Deserve Better
Whether someone supports Measure C or opposes it, voters deserve facts, timelines, financial transparency, and honest answers.
Trying to delete criticism from NEXTDOOR does not solve unanswered questions.
It only creates one more.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 