UC Berkeley undergraduate wins city council seat in historic victory

Berkeley residents living in District 7 have a new city council representative in Cecilia Lunaparra, whose victory in an election of fewer than 500 votes was certified Friday.

BERKELEY — Berkeley residents living in District 7 have a new city council representative in Cecilia Lunaparra, whose victory in an election of fewer than 500 votes was certified Friday.

Lunaparra, a UC Berkeley undergraduate studying history and urban studies and just weeks away from graduation, will be sworn into office next week after defeating James Chang, chief of staff for Councilmember Ben Bartlett and a graduate student at the Haas School of Business.

Lunaparra, 23, will finish out the rest of former Councilmember Rigel Robinson’s term, ending in 2026. Robinson stepped down earlier this year, citing escalating harassment, burn out and a wish to focus on his family. His resignation led to the special election which ended last week.

She becomes the first undergraduate student and the first Latina on Berkeley City Council.

“I am honored to have been elected as the next City Councilmember for Berkeley’s District 7, which includes UC Berkeley’s campus,” Lunaparra wrote in a statement shared to her social media accounts. “As I complete my last few weeks as an undergraduate student here at Cal, my transition team and I are working hard to set up my City Council office so that we can begin to serve our constituents and represent the residents of Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood in City Hall.”

Her statement was written and shared from the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the steps of UC Berkeley’s Sproul Hall. A majority of Lunaparra’s statement focused on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and reiterated the student demonstrators’ demands for the university to call for a ceasefire, financially divest from companies Israel benefits from militarily, support Palestinian students and institute an academic boycott of Israel by ending study abroad programs.

The encampment and demonstration is a major issue in her new council district, which is primarily made up of UC Berkeley student constituents.

“Our community has a rich history of grassroots organizing and has shown up time and time again to demand liberation for all people,” Lunaparra wrote. “I am proud to be a part of this history, and I encourage the university to honor this legacy by listening to the voices of its student community and embracing out demands.”