Tom Bates Tom Bates has served as Vice-President of Citizens for East Shore Parks. Tom was elected Mayor of Berkeley in 2002, and has focused tremendous effort and resources into making Berkeley a model city for environmental sustainability. Berkeley was recently named the third ‘most sustainable’ city in the United States in a study by a major environmental organization. Before becoming mayor, Bates served four years as an Alameda County Supervisor and two decades as a California legislator representing Berkeley. His record in the State Legislature includes authoring more than 220 bills that became law, including legislation to create the Eastshore State Park, to provide state funding for urban creeks, and to require regional transportation plans to include the use of bicycles. Bates is a native Californian and graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.