John Fricke Won’t Seek Second Term


The Bad News: Fricke Will Not Seek Re-election to City Council

The Good News: New Park, New Cafe, and New Berkeley Bowl Open

(Email message sent to residents by John Fricke on July 1, 2009)

Dear Emeryville neighbors,

The play structure at the new park at 61st and Doyle streets is open! (The newly-planted grass will need additional time to get established before the central grassy area of the park opens as well.)

There is a new café on 65th Street at Vallejo called Bailey’s on 65th. It is open for breakfast and lunch on weekdays. I had a great lunch there today with Jim Martin. Here are some reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/baileys-on-65th-emeryville

The new Berkeley Bowl opened a few weeks ago. It is at Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue, near Orchard Supply and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley. Unfortunately, Berkeley’s connection to Emeryville’s greenway seems to be years from realization.

My city council term is ending this fall, and I will not be running for re-election.

Four years ago, I ran on a platform of improving access for pedestrians, bicycles, and public transit users. When I was sworn in, I called for a new model of growth in Emeryville. A model of growth that ‘emphasizes quality of life as well as economic vitality, that emphasizes pedestrian and bicycle access as well as reduced vehicle congestion, and that emphasizes fulfilling our community needs as well as providing a place for regional retail activity.’ In four years’ time, I can point to a limited number of results: the bike lane on Adeline Street, the lane reductions on the 40th Street Bridge, and the park that is soon to open. I look forward to continuing to work on a number of ongoing efforts until my term ends in November.

Best,

John

John Fricke
jfricke@JohnFricke.com
www.JohnFricke.com

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5 Responses to John Fricke Won’t Seek Second Term

  1. Tralee Johnson says:

    Originally I was in favor of Emeryville's development. However, after the 'umpteenth' set of condos went in, I had a change of heart.

    With John's help, some of us wanted to make Emeryville a homey, pedestrian/bike friendly, community oriented, model 'town' with a center and a heart and a visionary orientation. The city now belongs to the developers. This is probably why the city of Berkeley (wisely) rejected the idea of commercializing their town before Emeryville jumped at the chance. Perhaps the city council of Berkeley were the true visionaries — not Emeryville's.

    Sometimes visionaries are shunned until people start to think about their ideas years later — hopefully, we won't have commercialized Emeryville into a mini-San Francisco before waking up to what we have done.

    I'm sorry John is leaving and admire his determination to stay as long as he did. I hope he can change his mind.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Something tells me since John Fricke isn't seeking re-election, this is gunna be a nasty fight for his seat. Those who though it was bad last time…get ready for the poop to REALLY hit the fan. How much money is Dick Kassis going to take from developers? He's gunna run as a slate with a Nora approved candidate…

  3. Anonymous says:

    It's really sad… I remember Ruth Atkin and Ken Bukowski both endorsed John's election. Right after John was elected, they both made sharp right turns and joined up with Nora Davis and Dick Kassis. The Emeryville progressive majority lasted about one week. Was it all an illusion?

  4. Anonymous says:

    best news for emeryville in years!

  5. Anonymous says:

    I agree with this guy! This is great news. Now maybe finally the council can get down to business of giving away the store without that damnable Fricke telling everybody about it. Finally back to the darkness. It's better if the residents don't know what's going on. Now if we can only get rid of the Secret News!

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