Like me, most high schoolers have a general idea of what a mayor does, but we also couldn’t explain what goes into the job on a day to day basis. So, I interviewed newly the reelected Berkley Mayor, Bridget Dean, to learn what it means to be Berkley’s mayor. I learned that being the job comes with a handful of exciting perks, along with many responsibilities.
The city of Berkley is set up with a city manager form of government, meaning that it isn’t just the mayor in charge. Instead, Dean works with several other people. She and her council members work together at meetings and keep things running smoothly. Dean explains it as, “You combine the strong leadership of elected officials with solid management experience from an appointed city manager. The city council hires this city manager, and he has seven bosses.” Though Dean works with the city council, she does have some responsibilities of her own, including representing Berkley to other communities by attending monthly meetings with the South Oakland Mayors Association, she also attends ribbon cuttings, and every issue no matter how small, is brought to her attention.
Dean has had a role in the Berkley community for a long time; she was a business owner for 19 years, served on the Berkley Chamber of Commerce, and was on the executive board of Berkley’s Downtown Development Committee. Dean has always been very active in helping the community, and she considers her role as mayor as an “extension of her service to the community”.
Dean considers the best thing about being the mayor is leading the city she loves and helping make it a better place to live. She loves Berkley and is honored to have the opportunity to make it an amazing place to live. Being mayor comes with a few unique perks, for example, she can legally perform a marriage ceremony. She says, “It’s a very sweet part of being the mayor, I am able to take part in a monumental and probably the happiest occasion in somebody’s life.” The other thing she really enjoys is getting to hand Santa the key to the city at the end of the holiday parade.
Though the job as mayor has a lot of amazing things, it also comes with a few challenges. The biggest one is making sure everyone’s voice is heard and since there are only a few members on city council it can be hard to make sure all of the residents are listened to. Another challenge is making sure wise decisions are being made. Everyone has their own opinion on what is considered a wise decision, so it can get overwhelming at times. However, Dean has a great system set up in her council members, who work together to help with these challenges.
Dean finds inspiration in the next generation, as she explains, “I’m inspired by the energy and ideas I see in young people. I’m inspired when I look at our youth and what they are doing, because they’re the future.” Dean is not only inspired by younger people, but she can be inspired by anyone. “Everyone has their own unique sets of ideas, I think it is important to surround yourself with people of all different ages and experiences.” Dean also explained that we as a community have a responsibility to make the world a better place, saying “I think everyone has a call to service, even high school students. There are many ways you can make your community better. There are student representative roles on many of our boards and many of them are always looking for volunteers.” She encourages students to do what they can to make Berkley even better!
As Dean prepares for her next four years as the Mayor of Berkley, she strives to make Berkley one of the most desirable places to live. She would also like to strongly encourage anyone who is interested to become more involved in the community!
