“It’s good for the fish in which we eat and it’s good for the children who are exposed to BPE’s in the plastic,” said Bartlett.

“We hope to build a space that is one-of-a-kind, reinvigorated, and forward-looking,” said Councilman Ben Bartlett, who has been one of the forces behind the effort to revamp the senior-services facility. “Our goal is not just to commemorate Judge Ramsey and his career in public service but also honor the contributions of our seniors to the resilience of our communities.”

Councilman Ben Bartlett hailed new Police Chief Andrew Greenwood, who assumed his position two weeks ago, for responding “rationally to an irrational set of actors.”

Councilman Ben Bartlett, who also was born and raised in town, recognized Greenwood as “another native son doing good by Berkeley.”

“You’re ethical warriors and you represent us quite well because that is the core of our mission in this city,” Councilman Ben Bartlett told staff.

“We need longer tables,” Bartlett says, “not higher walls.”

Working on Berkeley City Council has been a longtime dream for Ben Bartlett, who was born in South Berkeley in the 1970s.

“I kept coming back to the lack of housing, the lack of a place to lock a door at night,” Bartlett told the Express.

“This enthusiastic response to the administration’s plans for a border wall demonstrates a dangerous normalization of President Trump’s agenda,” Bartlett’s office said in a news release March 15. 

“This proposed wall is divisive … it’s counterproductive to our economic well-being and morally destructive,” Bartlett said. “We need longer tables, not higher walls.”