Editing Berkeley, California (section)

==Government==
{{See also|List of mayors of Berkeley|Government of Alameda County, California}}
[[File:Jesse-arreguin-speaking.jpg|thumb|Mayor Jesse Arreguín and other elected officials and staffers on the steps of City Hall]]
Berkeley has a [[council–manager government]].<ref name=structure /> The mayor is elected at-large for a four-year term and is the ceremonial head of the city and the chair of the city council. The Berkeley City Council is composed of the mayor and eight council members elected by district who each serve four-year terms. Districts 2, 3, 5 and 6 hold their elections in years divisible by four while Districts 1, 4, 7 and 8 hold theirs in even-numbered years not divisible by four. The city council appoints a city manager, who is the chief executive of the city. Additionally, the city voters directly elect an independent city auditor, [[Berkeley Unified School District|school board]], and rent stabilization board. Most city officials, including council members, are elected using [[instant-runoff voting]] since November 2010. 
[[File:Berkeley Post Office.jpg|thumb|left|The historic [[United States Post Office (Berkeley, California)|Berkeley Main Post Office]], built 1914–15]]
[[Kriss Worthington]], elected in 1996 to represent District 7, became the first openly [[LGBT]] man elected to the Berkeley City Council. [[Lori Droste]], elected in 2014 to represent District 8, became the first openly [[LGBT]] woman elected to the Berkeley City Council. [[Terry Taplin]], elected in 2020 to represent District 2, became the first openly [[LGBT]] [[person of color]] elected to the Berkeley City Council.

In 1973, Ying Lee became the first [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] city councilmember in Berkeley.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelley |first=Sara Rounsaville and Max |date=November 3, 2022 |title=Remembering Ying Lee, WWII refugee who became Berkeley's first Asian American councilmember |url=http://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/11/03/ying-lee-obituary-first-asian-american-on-berkeley-city-council |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=Berkeleyside |language=en-US}}</ref> Jenny Wong, elected in 2018, is the first Asian American City Auditor in Berkeley.

In 2014, the City of Berkeley passed a redistricting measure on the ballot<ref>{{cite web| url=https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2013-10-27/berkeley-city-councils-historic-offer-take-seat-cal| title=Berkeley City Council's historic offer: Take a seat, Cal| date=August 22, 2013| access-date=December 17, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217111101/https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2013-10-27/berkeley-city-councils-historic-offer-take-seat-cal| archive-date=December 17, 2018| url-status=dead}}</ref> to create the nation's first student supermajority district in District 7, which in 2018 elected [[Rigel Robinson]], a 22-year-old [[UC Berkeley]] graduate and the youngest Councilmember in the city's history.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Orenstein |first=Natalie |date=December 7, 2018 |title=All the Berkeley election results: Finalized counts confirm month-long leads |url=http://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/12/07/all-the-berkeley-election-results-finalized-counts-confirm-month-long-leads |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=Berkeleyside |language=en-US}}</ref> While much of UC Berkeley's student housing is located in District 7, large dormitories also exist in Districts 6 and 8. Districts 4 and 7 are majority-student.

[[Nancy Skinner (California politician)|Nancy Skinner]] became the first student to serve on the City Council, elected in 1984 as a graduate student. [[Rigel Robinson]], who was elected in 2018, became the second student to serve on the City Council as he completed his master's degree while in office.

[[Adena Ishii]] became the first woman of color to be elected Mayor of Berkeley in November 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Savidge |first=Nico |date=2024-11-23 |title=How political outsider Adena Ishii upended the Berkeley mayor’s race |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/11/22/adena-ishii-berkeley-mayor-how-she-won |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Berkeleyside |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=savidge>{{Cite news|last=Savidge |first=Nico |date=2024-12-06|title=New Mayor Adena Ishii pledges to make Berkeley a progressive beacon|url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/12/06/adena-ishii-berkeley-mayor-inauguration |website=Berkeleyside}}</ref>

The city's Public Health Division is one of four municipally-operated public health agencies in California (the other three being [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]], and [[Vernon, California|Vernon]]). Though it is part of the city government, it qualifies for the same state funds as a county public health department.<ref>{{cite news|title=Berkeley is unusual in having its own public health division. How does that work during a pandemic?|first=Sara|last=Kassabian|work=[[Berkeleyside]]|date=April 15, 2020|access-date=May 9, 2020|url=https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/04/15/berkeley-is-unusual-in-having-its-own-public-health-division-how-does-that-work-during-a-pandemic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429124536/https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/04/15/berkeley-is-unusual-in-having-its-own-public-health-division-how-does-that-work-during-a-pandemic|archive-date=April 29, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Berkeley is also part of [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]], for which the [[Government of Alameda County, California|Government of Alameda County]] is defined and authorized under the [[California Constitution]], [[California law]], and the Charter of the County of Alameda.<ref>California Government Code § 23004</ref> The county government provides countywide services, such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, and social services. The county's health department does not cover the city. The county government is primarily composed of the elected five-member [[Alameda County Board of Supervisors|Board of Supervisors]], other elected offices including the [[Alameda County Sheriff's Department|Sheriff]]/Coroner, the [[Alameda County District Attorney|District Attorney]], [[Alameda County Assessor|Assessor]], [[Alameda County Auditor-Controller/County Clerk/Recorder|Auditor-Controller/County Clerk/Recorder]], and [[Alameda County Treasurer/Tax Collector|Treasurer/Tax Collector]], and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the County Administrator.

In addition to the [[Berkeley Unified School District]] (which is coterminous with the city), Berkeley is also part of the [[Bay Area Rapid Transit District|Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)]], the [[AC Transit|Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit)]], the [[East Bay Regional Park District]], the [[East Bay Municipal Utility District]], and the [[Peralta Community College District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acgov.org/ms/addresslookup/Default.aspx|title=District Lookup Search|last=Alameda County|website=Acgov.org|access-date=February 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209125625/http://www.acgov.org/ms/addresslookup/Default.aspx|archive-date=February 9, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>