Candidate for
Council Member; City of El Cerrito

Biography

Janet Abelson, Mayor of the City of El Cerrito, has been instrumental in improving public safety, paving the streets of El Cerrito, and recreation services. She has special expertise in the areas of transportation, education, and the environment.

Mayor Abelson's public service is extensive. A partial list of service includes the following:

• Current member and past chair of League of California Cities Community Services Policy Committee
• Current member and past chair of League of California Cities Administrative Services Policy Committee
• Incoming President of the League of California Cities East Bay
• Current commissioner and past chair of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority
• Current chair of the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee
• Past member and chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Advisory Council and past member and chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Elderly and Disabled Advisory Committee
• Current member and past chair of the BART Accessibility Task Force
• Current chair of the BART Transit Security Advisory Committee
• Current Member and past chair of the AC Transit Accessibility Advisory Committee
• Member of the past San Pablo Avenue Rapid Bus Policy Committee which developed the 72R bus line and improvements She is particularly interested in the connection between transportation, land use, health and the environment.

Mayor Abelson, the mother of five children, plays a leadership role in education through her long involvement in parent groups. She currently serves as an officer on regional parent groups and has previously served on the parent group boards at Harding School, Portola Middle School and El Cerrito High School.

As chair of El Cerrito Earth Day for many years, Mayor Abelson led a project that includes over thirty work parties and a community celebration each Earth Day. Mayor Abelson also led in the creation of the City of El Cerrito's innovative Environmental Quality Committee.

Mayor Abelson has a BA in English and MBA in Management. She is retired from the University of California at Berkeley, where she developed computer systems for business applications.

She has received the following awards:

• 2006 14th Assembly District "Woman of the Year" by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock.

• 2002 Soroptimist International of the Americas "Women of Distinction" by Soroptimist International of El Cerrito

• 1998 California Transportation Foundation Citizen of the Year Award ("Tranny")

• 1997 Metropolitan Transportation Commission Doris W. Kahn Accessible Transportation Award

• 1991 Portola Middle School Parent of the Year + S.A.C. Chairperson

• 1986 Harding Elementary School PTA Honorary Service Award

• 1985 University of California at Berkeley Special Performance Award

Public safety. We have more police officers on the street and our school resource officer program makes our schools safer. There are now paramedics in all fire stations.

Youth services. Our after-school and other programs for children are greatly expanded. Our playgrounds, swim center, and playing fields are renovated and we offer dozens of new recreation programs for all ages.

Street maintenance. Most of our streets are newly paved. Our pavement ranking has gone from the bottom to the top five in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Pablo Avenue. The irrigation and landscaping on the median strip has been replaced and water usage has been greatly reduced. Energy-efficient LED streetlights have been installed to improve the appearance, increase shopper appeal, and reduce the maintenance costs of our commercial corridor. Major sidewalk enhancements include benches, bike racks, and landscaping improvements.

Facilities. We opened the new City Hall, the new recycling center, and the Bruce King Memorial Dog Park. We reopened the Cerrito Theater, and upgraded the Community Center. Mayor Abelson is proud of our success in obtaining federal, state, and regional grants to fund a number of these projects, including many San Pablo Avenue improvements, a climate action plan, bike and pedestrian improvements, hundreds of street trees, as well as additional street repaving.