Updated 11/05/2020: This article has been updated to reflect Alameda County election results released as of 5 p.m. Nov. 5.

Incumbent Ben Bartlett is projected to keep his seat as the District 3 Berkeley City Council member, with 68.76% of the vote as of press time.

At the heart of South Berkeley, District 3 spans from Sacramento Street to Ellsworth Street and Dwight Way, and it is home to the Ashby BART station and several schools. During the campaign, the three District 3 candidates focused on homelessness, affordable housing, re-imagining public safety and green infrastructure. 

“The results are very encouraging,” Barlett said. “I have to keep working — the pressing issues of the city have not stopped while votes are getting counted.”

Bartlett stated during his campaign that he would continue building affordable housing at the Ashby BART station and the Adeline Corridor, implement a local Green New Deal to create green infrastructure and re-imagine public safety through the George Floyd Community Safety Act — legislation passed in the summer that would reallocate police funding to community health care workers. 

Candidate Deborah Matthews has gained 24.98% of the vote, behind Bartlett by 43.34% as of press time. Her platforms included a nine-point plan to create affordable housing, which includes undoing racism with reforms and providing free internet to South and West Berkeley residents, and increased climate action geared toward the city’s businesses. 

Orlando Martinez, who has 5.83% of the vote as of press time, campaigned to “build a better Berkeley,” according to his campaign website, with platforms including increasing affordable housing to reduce homelessness, creating safety awareness programs and “ensuring tax equity for all.”

Martinez hoped to bring a different perspective to the City Council with his background in construction, management and engineering, according to his website.

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