Rob Arias

The race for two expiring Emeryville City Council seats officially began Monday, July 13, with the nomination period now open. Incumbents David Mourra and Kalimah Priforce have both publicly indicated they intend to seek second four-year terms, though no candidacy becomes official until nomination papers are filed with the City Clerk.

Emeryville officials and law enforcement are seeking new measures to combat a growing wave of cluster mailbox thefts at multi-family residential complexes. The crimes often involve stolen USPS “arrow” keys, which allow carriers to access multiple cluster mailboxes along a delivery route. While Emeryville maintains a relatively low violent crime rate, its concentration of large residential complexes creates a heightened vulnerability to bulk mail theft.

The July 7 Emeryville City Council meeting came in at a crisp 46 minutes with a relatively light agenda. With remote commenting enabled via zoom, Mayor Sukhdeep Kaur kicked off the meeting by reading a lengthy disclaimer warning remote speakers of committing abuses that the city has . “The City Council welcomes comments including criticism about the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the city or of the acts or omissions of the city council.