Berkeley City Council: Initial returns show Mark Humbert leading, Rashi Kesarwani and Elisa Mikiten tied

BERKELEY — As early election results roll in, only one candidate is clearly leading the pack out of the gate in the bid for the Berkeley City Council.

Mark Humbert appeared to be coasting to victory in the open District 8 race to represent much of southeast Berkeley, including UC Berkeley’s Clark Kerr campus.

If initial reports hold steady, the attorney and veteran city commissioner will fill current Councilmember Lori Droste’s shoes, after she decided not to run for a third term. After 15% of the votes were tallied Tuesday evening, a sizable gap separated Humbert from the other candidates for District 8 — nonprofit founder Peter Bruce DuMont, rent board commissioner Mari Mendonca and Jay Wu, an insurance agent.

Incumbent Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani and Elisa Mikiten, an architect and planning commissioner, are neck and neck for the District 1 seat, which represents northwest Berkeley’s residential neighborhoods, transit stations, commercial corridors and marina.

Tamar Michai Freeman, a holistic health and disability advocate, is currently trailing in last place.

With 15% of the vote counted Tuesday evening, initial voting tallies suggest that Berkeley residents have rallied behind tacking on extra costs for property owners of habitable units that sit empty for more than half a year, but may be more wary of supporting increased annual property taxes for citywide developments.

Measure L — a $650 million general obligation bond to raise funding for housing, infrastructure and climate projects — has earned around 55% of voters’ support. At least two-thirds of electors need to voting for the proposal for it to pass.

Over the 48-month life of the bond, the median increase to homeowners’ property taxes would be $40.91 for every $100,000 of a home’s assessed value, according to city documents.

So far, nearly 61% of voters have vouched for Measure M, which is a tax between $3,000 and $6,000 for vacant homes not being rented out by large corporate landlords. Exemptions would be carved out for housing units controlled by nonprofits, local government agencies, small property owners who live on-site, or families that do not own more than one single-family house and a single accessory dwelling unit.

If the measure passes with a simple majority of residents voting “yes,” about 700 units would be subject to the tax in its first year — beginning in January 2024 — while upward of 1,000 units would be hit within two years.

Measure N, a non-binding question asking for voters’ approval to build up to 3,000 units of affordable housing, has earned 70% of vote.