Berkeley Chief of Police Douglas Hambleton Twenty-nine-year Berkeley Police Department veteran Douglas Hambleton (Andres Castro Arms, Cloyne, Wolf House, Northside: 1971-76) was appointed as the City of Berkeley’s new police chief in March of this year. His perspective on and history with the co-ops is certainly unique.

Doug moved into 2310 Prospect, one of five sororities/fraternities turned co-ops, when it opened in 1971. Soon after moving in, he came up with the idea to name the house “Andres Castro Arms” to honor longtime central kitchen chef Andres Castro, who was quite sick at the time. Castro survived and the house named in his honor lives on.

Doug went on to be the maintenance crew foreman under Gordon Greene (Oxford, Andres Castro Arms, Northside: 1967-75). He helped replace the sewer and floors at Barrington, put a new roof on at Ridge (off which he came dreadfully close to falling), built the garbage enclosure outside of Sherman, replaced the Davis House back porch, built back decks and stairwells at Northside, installed gas heat and re-plumbed Wolf House and installed lighting at Rochdale.

Both his brother, Jeff Hambleton (Cloyne, Rochdale 1968-73), now a doctor in Monroe, Washington, and his sister Kit (Hambleton) DeGear (Hoyt, Rochdale 1973-78), now a preschool teacher in Pleasant Hill, lived in the co-ops. All three served on the Board and held the position of Central Kitchen Workshift Coordinator at various times. Jeff was on the design team during the construction of Rochdale and was one of the first residents when it opened in 1971.

Doug began working for police department despite a more lucrative position in the co-ops. “I was making $5.15 an hour plus full benefits on the maintenance crew staff when I decided to start as a police trainee for no benefits and $3.25 an hour. Not a good financial move in the short term, but I knew it would lead to the career I wanted.”

After being named Chief, Doug spoke at a town all meeting the USCA organized in May to obtain input from the community about co-ops in the community. Somewhat ironically, he maintained that “if the Castro I lived in had been in the same type of residential neighborhood as was the former le Chateau Co-op, it would have had the same problems. Castro was THE party house. The central level would give us money to host parties for everyone in the co-ops.”

Doug recalls another ironic story in the 1990s when speaking before the Police Review Commission about the success of implementing a stronger response and fine penalties for noise violations. “Eric Shea (Andres Castro Arms, 1972) was on the commission. He knew – and I knew – how our old parties would have been subject to this same ordinance we were trying to implement.”

“Eric and Armando Rodrigo Gordillo (Andres Castro Arms, 1972) were some of the first members of the UC gay/lesbian association. Because of their connection, we hosted what we believed to be the one of the first openly gay/lesbian parties at UC in1972. Tame by today’s standards, but a very outrageous event by the standards of the time.” He adds, “I would not have gotten through Cal nor received such an education without the co-ops.”