‘She stands for what I stand for’: Voters in Kamala Harris’ hometown of Berkeley wait for results with pride and fear

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Didrik Kjaer, a foreign correspondent for the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, films a video outside Kamal’s childhood in West Berkeley home on Tuesday morning. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local

As a steady stream of voters flowed through polling places across deep blue Berkeley Tuesday, the mood was upbeat but tinged with fear as one of the closest races in history began to unfold — the election between Berkeley-raised Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

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Because the race is so close, the result may come down to a few thousand votes in a handful of states. For this reason, it’s possible that, as was the case in the 2020 Biden-Trump election, it could be days before the winner is confirmed.

No matter what the national outcome, Harris’ support in her hometown is in little doubt. In 2020, 93% of the vote in the city went to the Biden-Harris ticket, among the highest margins in the nation.

Regardless of how —– or how soon —- the election is decided, Harris’s strong connection to the East Bay is undeniable.

Born in an Oakland hospital, she lived in Berkeley as a baby and again from ages 5 to 12. It was here that she learned ballet from Madame Bovie, a world-famous ballerina; frequented the Rainbow Sign, a Black cultural center that would help shape her political imagination; attended the private Berkwood School for kindergarten, where she got stitches defending a friend from a neighborhood bully; and bussed to first grade at Thousand Oaks Elementary School during the early years of Berkeley’s integration program.

“I waited two years to apply for citizenship because I did not want Trump’s name on my certificate,” said Edna Eileen after casting her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday morning. Eileen asked Berkeleyside not to include her full face in the photograph. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local

Berkeley polling places were busy Tuesday. James Mensing, vote center captain at Willard Middle School on Stuart Street, said, “We’ve had a steady stream of people today. People are in a good mood.”

Around the city Tuesday, not surprisingly, the landscape was dotted with Harris campaign signs, and journalists from the New York Times and international media outlets showed up outside Harris’ former home at 1227 Bancroft Way.

“She reflects the values of this area,” said Enrique Sanchez, who voted for Harris at the polling place at 2112 Browning St., just two blocks from Harris’ Bancroft Way home.

Finishing Sanchez’s sentence, “The things that made us want to live in Berkeley – diversity, acceptance,” added Chloe Hanna, who was there with Sanchez and their daughter Clara, 6.

Edna Eileen said, “I was born and raised in Asia. I’m an immigrant, and she is a second-generation immigrant. I feel great that I voted for her. She stands for what I stand for as a woman.”

Christian Barrera casts his vote for Kamala Harris at the Ed Roberts Campus voting center on election day. “I wanted to do it in person, I am very hopeful for a Kamala win,” Barrera said. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local

Not everyone was a supporter. “I voted for RFK,” said Dana Ullman. “Our governmental agencies are captured by big pharma and Big Ag and sadly so is the Democratic Party.” Ullman characterized his vote as a protest vote: “If I were in a contested state, I would vote for Harris.”

A number of voters expressed concerns about how Trump might respond to a Harris win.

“I like democracy,” said Bryan Vale. “Trump tried to overthrow the vote last time. I would prefer my kids to grow up in a democracy rather than a dictatorship.”

Carole Porter, Harris’ childhood friend from elementary school in Berkeley, was preparing to spend the evening glued to the TV watching the election returns.

“I know she will win. She always lands on her feet,” Porter said from her home in Richmond.

“Our country will be so much better to have her leading at this critical tipping point. This is an opportunity again for us to see each other as people who have so much more in common than we have different,” Porter said.

Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani said, “It gives me goosebumps to think of Kamala Harris taking the oath of office as our next president. Her candidacy fills millions of us, especially Black Americans, with hope.”

She added, “I hope that young people, especially our Black and brown daughters, see themselves in Kamala and know they should never ever give up on their dreams.”