Berkeley City Councilmember Rigel Robinson resigned his seat in a statement Tuesday, a decision he attributed to escalating harassment, burn out from perpetual stress and a desire to prioritize his family.
While the announcement from one of the East Bay’s youngest politicos came as a shock for many in the region, the decision is one the 27-year-old had been “wrestling with for a long time,” especially as tensions have flared around the controversial student housing project underway at People’s Park.
He will step down as the representative for District 7, which encompasses the UC Berkeley campus, Telegraph Avenue commercial district, and Southside neighborhood, on Friday – roughly five years after he became the youngest person to be elected to the Berkeley City Council in 2018 at the age of 22. His departure was timed to arrive before the City Council resumes its legislative session on Jan. 16.
While serving the community was the “greatest honor of (his) life,” Robinson wrote that the toll of being in public office proved too much. In an op-ed penned for Berkeleyside, a local news outlet, the outgoing councilmember said he could no longer tolerate various forms of harassment, stalking and threats.
“I am burnt out. My tank is empty,” Robinson wrote. “I have been in a perpetual state of stress and exhaustion for as long as I can remember. It is not sustainable or healthy, and I need to make a significant lifestyle change.”
According to the city’s charter, an interim councilmember can not be appointed to the office. Instead, a special, one-off election will be held to fill Robinson’s vacated District 7 seat through the end of the term in 2026. This will occur sometime between the upcoming March primary and the November general election, per charter rules.
Robinson is also pulling the plug on his mayoral run, which he announced a year after running for re-election to the council unopposed in 2022.
Robinson could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday, but he told a Berkeleyside reporter that he contacted police and considered seeking restraining orders after being “followed and told to kill himself, and that concerning messages were taped to the door of his home and mailed to him.” He said that those incidents “often” stemmed from his support for UC Berkeley’s proposed housing project for People’s Park.
“Generally, I have accepted this as simply being part of the job,” Robinson wrote. “But when these behaviors affect my loved ones, I have to draw the line. It’s time for me to prioritize my well-being and my family.”
On Tuesday, he also praised city leadership and staff for many initiatives and accomplishments during his tenure, such rezoning the Southside neighborhood to support denser housing development, breaking ground on new bike and bus lanes in a “complete Streets” project, developing a vision for a car-free plaza on Telegraph Avenue and supporting UC Berkeley’s push to build housing at People’s Park.
Following Robinson’s announcement, several of his colleagues and fellow elected officials shared their support and well wishes.
On social media, Berkeley Councilmember Terry Taplin admired Robinson’s “tireless advocacy for safe streets, affordable housing and community safety,” adding that “the harassment and abuse public servants face is real. This toxicity should never be normalized.”
Former Berkeley Councilmember Lori Droste lauded Robinson for being smart, kind and genuine while serving on the council.
“From staffers to elected colleagues, you’ll find a chorus of people who love him,” Droste posted on X. “He is so skilled at his job and has accomplished so much. We should be grateful for the time he served.”
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín also chimed in: “We need more people like Rigel in public office, especially these days with our democratic values under attack.”