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Alfred Twu

@alfredtwu.com

17K followers 2.4K following 6.1K posts

Berkeley Rent Board Commissioner (@alfredtwu.net), California Democratic Party AAPI Caucus & CA Dem Renters Council Board, East Bay architect & commercial artist. Reblue/follow/like does not equal endorsement. art: http://alfredtwu.com

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Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · Nov 21

Thank you Berkeley for electing me to the Rent Stabilization Board and passing BB, the Tenant Protection & Right to Organize Act! Dominique & Xavier from the Right to Housing Slate were also elected.

@averyarbaugh.bsky.social- thank you for your work on our campaigns- we'll get you in next time! ❤️

Picture of Alfred wearing a straw hat, black floral dress with a large collar and bow, and pink blazer. Behind on the wall is a Chinese new year 福 (luck/fortune) decoration above two campaign signs. The top is a Vote Yes on BB for a Better Berkeley, Vote No on CC, Stop the Corporate Con sign. The sign also has a picture of a bee in front of a hexagon shaped house. Below it is a Dominique Walker, Xavier Johnson, Avery Arbaugh, Alfred Twu for Rent Board sign. There is trans flag in the background on the door in the back.

Text off to the side says "Thank You Berkeley!"
On the top left are the Measure BB results. 29,589 (56%) Yes, 22,245 (44%) No. On bottom right are the Rent Stabilization Board Commissioners - Berkeley results. It says Vote for no more than four (4). Vote counts:
Xavier Johnson, 26,950, 19.51%
Dominique Walker, 25,573, 18.51%
Andy Kelley, 23,354, 16.91%
Alfred Twu, 22,919, 16.59%
Avery Arbaugh, 19,822, 14.33%
Carole Marasovic, 19,543, 14.15%

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 5h

Updated the 2025 California Housing Legislation Highlights summary and illustration. Have a look at this year's results on housing bills! #CALeg
tinyurl.com/2025housingbills

2025 California Housing Legislation Highlights Bill Tracker

This is the summary for 2025. For past years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 Final update: October 13, 2025

Reposted by Alfred Twu

👁️🍄🪸 @bloomfilters.bsky.social · 10h

rest in power miss major. this is what it means to constantly be negotiating your existence!

The Transfeminine Review @thetransfemininereview.com · 11h

"You make the best of it all and hope you can help make it a little better for the gurl after you."

- Miss Major, 2023 💔

One of the things I hear with some younger trans people I know is they feel, "I'm gonna get this surgery, and I'm gonna learn that way of speaking, and I'm gonna be done." You're never done. If you're a straight, cisgender person, you're never done. Things are always happening that have the potential to change you. So all I am today is not who I'm gonna be tomorrow, because of the things that happened to me today and later tonight. People forget that. "Oh, after I transition, I'm gonna be through." Well, good luck with that. 'Cause if you're through, then it's time to leave, you know, and I don't wanna go anywhere yet.
I'm in my seventies. Why didn't I stop? Number one is community. My gurls. I've had moments of thinking about stopping, but I didn't. I made sure I would step back, reju- venate myself, and then got back out there, and that's how you make a way. Our stories are not all the same, but the destination is: to get some place where we have some peace and harmony, and we can be at ease with ourselves and the people around us. You make the best of it all and hope you can help make it a little better for the gurl after you.

Reposted by Alfred Twu

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

Last batch of legislation updates - of the 15 priority bills from the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus that made it to the Governor's desk, (lgbtqcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/legislative-...) 12 signed, 3 vetoed www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/13/g...

Details in thread. 1/

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

Currently, Paid Family Leave can only be used to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or domestic partner.

With SB590, starting July 2028, any designated person with "equivalent of a family relationship" is eligible - such as a cousin, chosen family, unmarried partners

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

Finally, the Governor also signed two bills to support LGBTQ families:
SB 450 - Strengthens law recognizing LGBTQ parents' parent-child relationship with their children.
SB 590 - Paid Family Leave for Chosen Families. (this one is a *big* deal, it expands it to both chosen & extended families!)

6/

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

A couple bills on education and housing were signed earlier this month:

AB678, a @votealexlee.bsky.social housing bill to gather data and create recommendations for LGBTQ homeless housing programs, was signed.

AB727, to add Trevor Project hotline to grade 7-12 student ID cards, was also signed. 5/

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

There were two bills to reduce hate:
AB449, to create a radio, online, and TV anti-hate ad campaign was vetoed, the reason provided was the funding for it wasn't included the state budget.

AB822, to extend a commission that assists state agencies on combating hate, was signed. 4/

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

Mixed bag on health access:

Signed:
AB1487 - Two-Spirit health grants
SB278, SB504 - Authorizes limited data sharing to improve access to HIV care

Vetoed:
AB554 - Expands access to PrEP
SB418 - Authorizes 12 month supply of hormones

Both vetoes' reason was the rising cost of health insurance 3/

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

Laws on medical records, name, and gender markers are strengthened, with the following 4 bills all signed.

AB82 - Medical data privacy
SB497 - Shield law for trans healthcare + data privacy
AB1084 - Shortens name/gender change court orders to 6 weeks.
SB59 - Seals name/gender change records.
2/

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 11h

Last batch of legislation updates - of the 15 priority bills from the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus that made it to the Governor's desk, (lgbtqcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/legislative-...) 12 signed, 3 vetoed www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/13/g...

Details in thread. 1/

Reposted by Alfred Twu

Seamless Bay Area @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social · 12h

Yay, SB63 signed into law, authorizing a regional transit funding measure for the SF Bay Area, essential to save and improve service for BART, Muni, AC Transit, Caltrain! Bill allows a signature-gathering effort that would passage with 50%+1 of the vote. www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/u...

Reposted by Alfred Twu

Rent Board Commissioner Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.net · 17h

Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day. 33 years ago, Berkeley was the first city to celebrate this day.

Learn more about the Ohlone and other Indigenous peoples - the Berkeley library has a webpage with articles, books, and more - www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/topics/Ohlon...

October 13, 2025
Indigenous Peoples' Day
Drawing of Berkeley skyline with yellows oranges and reds and clouds and sun in sky above
Berkeley Rent Board Commissioner Alfred Twu

Reposted by Alfred Twu

AC Transit @rideact.bsky.social · 20h

With rain in the forecast this week, here are a few quick reminders:

✅ Track your bus with ACT RealTime: actransit.org/rt and plan accordingly
✅ Don't forget an umbrella or raincoat.
✅ Hold onto railings
✅ Place wet umbrellas beneath the seats

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

Tomorrow, October 13 is the last day for California's governor to sign legislation. Many bills including most of this year's LGBTQ rights bills remain on his desk - ask him to sign at gov.ca.gov/contact and (916) 445-2841 (phone lines open at 9am)

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 7d

Among this year's LGBTQ rights state bills, the six California trans rights bills are:

Healthcare
AB1487
SB418

Privacy
AB82
AB1084
SB59
SB497
lgbtqcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/legislative-...

2025 Legislative and Budget Priorities | California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus

lgbtqcaucus.legislature.ca.gov

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

The bill language only mentions rail and bus, so it wouldnt

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

Looking more into it, looks like that the deadline was extended to 10/13 since the Legislature adjourned on 9/13. www.assembly.ca.gov/calendar

Calendar for October for California State Assembly. Popup for 10/13 says:
Monday, October 13
Deadlines
All Day

Last day for Governor to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature before Sept. 13 and in the Governor’s possession on or after Sept. 13 (Art. IV, Sec. 10(b)(1)).

**The originally published date of October 12, 2025, was updated to reflect the September 13 date of adjournment as provided by the California Constitution.

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

This is my first thought of what's going on also bsky.app/profile/blac...

Harry Underwood @blackgaynerd.com · 1d

Would be absolutely crazy if he actually let most of these civil rights bills become law without signature for Twitter cred.

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

Yeah I've been tracking these bills and it's kind of weird that there hasn't been any action one way or the other this late, with two hours left to go before unsigned/unvetoed bills become law. In past the gov has either signed or vetoed rather than let bills become law without his signature.

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

Great work! 🏘️👏

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 1d

Its a @caltrain.com !

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 2d

Congrats! 🎉🎉🎉❤️

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 2d

This would be a great episode to do. Almost all parking requirements for businesses are based on the indoor square feet of the business, for example, 1 parking space for every 300 square feet of store.

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 2d

This is an excellent ad from the Zohran campaign - connecting the past to the present, one issue to the greater fight, and adding onto supporting trans rights with plans for healthcare, housing, and other practical issues many face. Well done! ✅

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 2d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 2d

This one's a modern bus running a regular route with a bus wrap, I imagine the movie would have used one of the actual vintage bus, which AC has several of.

Reposted by Alfred Twu

City of Berkeley @berkeleyca.gov · 3d

Berkeley parents know: a bounce house + picnic table + playground = instant birthday magic. 🎂

Reserve a park spot for your next event → berkeleyca.gov/city-...

Community message: berkeleyca.gov/commu...

Picnic Area Rentals | City of Berkeley

Reserve a picnic area and bounce house site in a Berkeley park for your next birthday, barbecue, or community gathering. Host your next event at a picnic area in one of Berkeley’s beautiful parks.