Library Ballot Measure

Greg Lyman (right) talks about a new library on April 26.

Strategy to Pass Library Funding with Just Over 50% of Votes

Leaders who want city taxpayers to fund a new library within the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) at the Plaza BART station have a new campaign strategy.

If their strategy works, they could win city funding in 2026 with only a one-vote majority.

How could they get past the need to get approval from two-thirds of voters for a special tax?

That could be done by collecting enough signatures to qualify their library funding measure as a citizens’ initiative. If the group succeeds and the measure qualifies, approval of a Citizen Ballot Initiative would only require 50 percent of voters plus one vote.

June 2, 2026 Ballot

The Committee for a Plaza Station Library will try to bring the library funding question to the June 2, 2026 ballot as a Citizens Ballot Initiative, according to its April 2025 newsletter.

Previous library funding initiatives were for special taxes placed on the ballot by the City Council. They would have required a two-thirds majority to pass.

“A Smart Strategy”

The chair of the Committee for a Plaza Station Library, Greg Lyman, staffed a booth April 26 at the Go Green Mobility Fair and chatted with people there about a proposed library in the Plaza BART TOD.

Council member William Ktsanes, who talked with Lyman at the library booth, said he heard about the latest financing plan April 26 at the mobility fair.

“That’s a smart strategy, Ktsanes said. “Two-thirds of voters will be difficult to get and obviously 50 percent plus one is much easier.”

Enough Signatures Needed to Qualify

It would take work and time to gather enough signatures to place an initiative on the June 2026 ballot.

The Committee for a Plaza Station Library would need to collect valid signatures from 10 percent of registered voters (about 2,200 voters) in order to qualify a Citizen Ballot Initiative.

Strategy Meeting May 7

The committee will hold a meeting on Wednesday, May 7, where people can hear about the campaign strategy and ballot measure. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Veterans’ Hall, 6401 Stockton Avenue.

According to its April 2025 newsletter, the Committee for a Plaza Station Library plans to prepare the ballot measure language and publish it on its website on May 6, 2025. (The website address is https://c4psl.org>.)

Initiative Timeline

Ballot initiatives must be submitted one year before the planned vote, according to the newsletter. The committee’s ballot language will be turned in soon to the city. The city attorney will then prepare a title and summary, and a required notice of intent, title, and summary will be published in a local newspaper.

Soon after that, signature gathering will begin.

The group will have 180 days to collect the signatures of 10 percent of registered voters.

Plaza Station Library supporters hope to have petitions printed in June. They hope to have them available for signature gathering on the 4th of July and at National Night Out events later in the summer.

Volunteers Wanted

“Although signature gatherers must be 18 years old, they do not need to be El Cerrito residents,” the newsletter says. “We will provide training sessions to teach everyone who is interested in collecting signatures how to approach people and ask, respectfully, for their signature.”

“Starting in July, we will need many volunteers collecting signatures on petitions,” the newsletter continues.

“With 100 volunteers, each collecting 20 signatures, we will approach our target of 2,200 signatures.”

Cost and Other Details To Come

Details of the measure, including cost, were not available on April 26.