Councilmember Brent Blackaby

08/06/2026

What a wonderful evening celebrating National Night Out across District 6!

We had the opportunity to visit with neighborhood gatherings, connect with residents, and spend time with the incredible community members who make Berkeley a special place.

Thank you to everyone who organized, volunteered, and welcomed us into your neighborhoods.

Events like National Night Out remind us that strong communities are built through connection and looking out for one another. We're grateful for every conversation and everyone working to make District 6 a safer, more connected place to call home.

Thank you for having us, we're already looking forward to next year!

06/22/2026

Thanks to the amazing City of Berkeley Parks & Rec staff for another wonderful Tuolumne Family Camp over Father’s Day weekend. It’s quickly become a summer highlight for our household. Already looking forward to next year!

06/11/2026

Now is the time to prepare for fire weather 🔥

This NEW evacuation plan toolkit shown here was developed by Berkeley’s Office of Emergency Services to help households prepare before an emergency occurs.

Fill it out on your own, with family and friends, or alongside your neighbors.

To fill out the form, visit the link below!

https://tinyurl.com/Berkeleyfireevacuationtoolkit

06/09/2026

Calling All East Bay Landscaping Professionals! 🔥🌿

Interested in helping your clients create safer, more fire-resilient properties?

Join UC Cooperative Extension and partners for a FREE three-part virtual webinar series focused on fire-smart landscaping and defensible space in the East Bay.

📅 June 9 | 4:00–6:00 PM

Preparing the East Bay for Wildfire with Fire-Smart Landscaping

📅 June 16 | 4:00–5:30 PM

Networking Session for East Bay Fire-Smart Landscaping Professionals

📅 June 23 | 4:00–5:30 PM

Navigating East Bay Fire-Smart Landscaping Challenges

Whether you’re a landscaper, arborist, gardener, or other outdoor professional serving fire-prone communities, these sessions offer valuable insights, networking opportunities, and practical strategies.

🔗 Register for one or all sessions:

https://bit.ly/EastBayFireSmartWebinars

06/02/2026

Make sure to remember to vote today! Drop off your ballot — don’t mail it — to make sure it’s counted. Vote!!

05/23/2026

I want to be absolutely clear: I do not support closing Fire Station 4, and I will oppose any city budget proposal that closes Station 4.

Public safety in the Berkeley Hills is not optional. I’ve heard the concerns from residents loud and clear, and I will continue fighting to protect essential emergency services for our community.

Thank you to everyone who continues to stay engaged and speak up. Your voices matter.

05/17/2026

RSVP for this Thursday evening's District 6 wildfire safety Zoom webinar:

https://tinyurl.com/Community-Wildfire-Webinar

Join leaders from the Berkeley Fire Department, regional partners, your neighbors, and me to get the latest updates on wildfire preparedness in our community -- and get your questions answered.

📅 Thursday, May 21
⏰ 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Topics will include:

🔥 Evacuation information
🔥 Home hardening & wildfire safety resources
🔥 Updates from PG&E & East Bay Regional Parks
🔥 EMBER program updates
🔥 Fire Station 4 & City budget updates
🔥 Home insurance information
🔥 Community Q&A

Prepared communities are safer communities, so we hope you can join us.

RSVP here:
https://tinyurl.com/Community-Wildfire-Webinar

Join Councilmember Blackaby and members of the Berkeley Fire Department for a 60-minute presentation covering a wide range of fire safety topics, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A. Topics will include evacuation updates and emergency notifications, wildfire prevention efforts by PG&E and EBRPD, updates....

05/14/2026

🚨 District 6 Wildfire Safety Webinar 🚨

Join our office and the Berkeley Fire Department for an important community conversation on wildfire preparedness in Berkeley.

📅 Thursday, May 21
⏰ 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Topics will include:
🔥 Evacuation information
🔥 Home hardening & wildfire safety resources
🔥 Updates from PG&E & East Bay Regional Parks
🔥 EMBER program updates
🔥 Fire Station 4 & City budget updates
🔥 Home insurance information
🔥 Community Q&A

Prepared communities are safer communities, so we hope you can join us.

To register please use the link below:

https://tinyurl.com/Community-Wildfire-Webinar

Join Councilmember Blackaby and members of the Berkeley Fire Department for a 60-minute presentation covering a wide range of fire safety topics, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A. Topics will include evacuation updates and emergency notifications, wildfire prevention efforts by PG&E and EBRPD, updates....

05/13/2026

Thanks to Phillip Denny, the Big Ideas Contest, and the tremendous UC Berkeley students who shared the wildfire safety ideas they came up with in the recent Civic Innovation Challenge. I was inspired by their enthusiasm and fresh perspectives about how to keep up Berkeley’s momentum around wildfire resiliency and successfully engage with more neighbors on this important work. Thanks also to our Berkeley Fire Department and Office for Economic Development for their leadership.

05/09/2026

Thursday night, the City Council voted to ask the City Manager and Police Department to issue an RFP to evaluate more surveillance technology vendors before we move forward, while continuing our license plate reader program through the review period.

This technology is important for Berkeley. It has worked to help BPD make more than 83 arrests in 161 different cases, including home invasion robberies, stolen vehicles, and sexual assault cases right here in the Berkeley Hills. These are real victims who found justice because officers had these tools — and in some cases, crimes were stopped before more harm could occur.

But equally important is making sure that we get this decision right and build the public trust that we need in the technology our city uses.

I have full confidence in Chief Louis and the professionalism of our officers in uniform and the BPD staff. We should be equally sure that the tools that we license meet these same superior standards of performance.

I believe it’s more important to get it right than to get it fast.

If you have feedback, please let me know in the comments.

The City Council abandoned a $2 million proposal with Flock Safety for cameras, drones and software and will seek other bidders for the tech.