Big Gains for Housing, Tenant Power This was a year unlike any other for the East Bay. UC Berkeley’s closure turned the once crowded Southside into a proverbial ghost town. Berkeley and Oakland restaurants, bars and other small businesses suffered mightily from the loss of over 30,000 absent residents—on top of COVID restrictions But both cities moved in a positive political direction in 2020. The Berkeley City Council’s longstanding anti-housing agenda—which I have criticized both in a book and in many articles—was completely transformed. And Oakland continued moving in a progressive direction. Here’s our review of the 2020 politics for both cities.