Dave Schoenthal, City Council Candidate

On a night where every speaker had just 7 minutes to present themselves to the audience, Dave Schoenthal did something different. While other city council candidates rushed through their time, he turned the attention to the audience and began asking them what they think Richmond needs.

“This is about them,” he said in an interview. “This is about the people in the audience out there. What do they want to have done?”

Schoenthal carries himself with a contagious, easy-going attitude. He never fails to crack a joke at candidate forums, despite the seriousness of the election. Although he has lived in Richmond for 18 years, his ex-pro surfer attitude is still present in his campaign catch phrase, “Ride the wave with Dave.”

Schoenthal has a strong foot in the business world. He was a senior sales executive for Dow Jones and an account executive at Salesforce. He is currently a digital advertising consultant with The Light Digital, a Bay Area marketing agency. He’s also a sales director for LegalShield, a company that sells access to legal services.

“I bring to the table something that is pretty unique compared to the other

candidates,” Schoenthal said. “The abilities of having dealt with the business world and the nonprofit world. I can straddle all that — I can bring them together.”

He also serves on the Point Richmond Business Association, and for the past 8 years has been the chairperson for “Picnic in the Point”, an annual community fundraising event that has raised over $100,000 for local nonprofits. Schoenthal is also on the Richmond Chamber of Commerce board of directors, the Richmond chamber’s economic development commission and the Richmond Homeless Task Force.

Uche Uwahemu, a regional director for the California Democratic Party African Caucus, said of Dave: “For many years now I’ve been observing him work tirelessly to support things in our community.”

Schoenthal said a major problem in politics is the lack of opportunities for citizens to be heard. To address this challenge, he holds workshops in Richmond, where community members can come together and discuss topics like illegal dumping and economic development.

“Government should work. It should be hearing people and valuing their insights,” he says.