District 5 residents pepper City Council candidates with questions about safety, Chevron and the environment
on October 10, 2024
District 5 City Council candidates fielded questions Tuesday night on issues ranging from police funding and environmental concerns to plans for diversifying city revenue and reducing reliance on Chevron, Richmond’s largest employer.
The chairs in Richmond’s Eastern Hall Methodist Church were just over half full, with about 40 community members, organizers, and journalists. Another 30 people joined the discussion virtually. The forum was co-hosted by Richmond Confidential, Richmondside, The Contra Costa Pulse, and El Tímpano, and was moderated by Richmondside Editor-in-Chief Kari Hulac.
Among the three City Council races in the Nov. 5 election, District 5 if the only one that is guaranteed to go to a newcomer. Incumbent Gayle McLaughlin, a former two-term mayor who served another eight years as a council member, is not running for reelection. Candidates Ahmad Anderson, a nonprofit director, and Sue Wilson, a community nonprofit adviser, have never held elected office, but both have deep roots in Richmond politics.
The area they are vying to represent varies sharply in income, with residents in some parts earning an average annual income of $144,385, while more than a third of the district’s population makes less than $50,000, according to the U.S. Census data for the three census tracts included in District 5. Of the roughly 20,000 residents, 29% are white, 25% are Black, 23% are Latino, and 14% are Asian.
The issue of policing and public safety dominated the forum, with concerns raised about sideshows, speeding on Carlson Boulevard, illegal dumping, and abandoned vehicles. Both candidates described public safety as key to improving Richmond’s image and driving economic growth. While broadly aligned on goals, they differed on methods to achieve them.
“Defunding the police is a non-conversation for me,” Anderson said, in response to the first question of the night, posed by resident Michael Fitzhugh. Public safety has been central to Anderson’s campaign, and he raised concern over funding cuts to the city’s police budget, which currently hovers around 35% of Richmond’s annual expenditures.
Since 2021, Richmond has reallocated a portion of police funds toward alternative public safety programs like the Office of Neighborhood Safety and the now-disbanded Community Crisis Response Program Task Force. Anderson argued that cuts to police funding have contributed to higher crime rates, which often “have hit the most impacted communities and underrepresented people of color.”
He linked public safety to the city’s ability to attract small business investment, which has been a struggle for Richmond.
“When you bring in additional businesses, they want to know, ‘Are our family members going to be safe? Are our workers going to be safe?’” he said.
When pressed, Wilson, on the other hand, did not pledge to support the police.
“My view on public safety and reducing crime is holistic,” she said, noting that while police play a role, she supports prioritizing city resources like the Office of Neighborhood Safety and putting “attention and resources into more varied plans to reduce crime and improve public safety.”
A member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, which has a majority on City Council, Wilson tried to dispel what she called a “pernicious rumor” that the city had defunded the Police Department under RPA leadership. She said a $3 million cut to the $65 million police budget three years ago hardly qualified as defunding.
While she sees police as part of the solution, she said adding to the department is expensive — with salary, overtime and benefits costing the city $375,000 per officer.
“The simple fact is, no city can afford anymore to have enough police officers to provide all the things that we need as a city to stay safe,” she said.
The discussion also focused on the city’s heavy reliance on Chevron, which accounts for a significant portion of Richmond’s tax revenue but has long been blamed for the area’s air pollution.
“Chevron, as our largest, by far, contributor to our revenue stream is problematic and unsustainable, particularly because I believe fossil fuels are not sustainable and are problematic,” Wilson said.
Anderson said that banking on Chevron is not financially responsible and that bringing in new business will increase city revenue through taxes. The additional funds could provide services and staffing, allowing the city to build homes, provide more health services, crisis management and more.
“That’s what makes your city sparkle,” he said.
Anderson compared the city’s reliance on Chevron to Indiana Jones’ decision to replace the skull with a sandbag in the “Temple of Doom.”
“He smiled for just a second before the temple started crumbling,” Anderson said.
His most salient remarks on the environment came when he highlighted the historical inequities of Richmond city policies.
“It became more of a concern when folks who were living in more affluent communities were being impacted as well,” Anderson said.
At all three of the City Council forums hosted by the media organizations, candidates talked about how to spend the $550 million it will receive over a 10-year period, beginning in 2025. The city negotiated the amount with the oil giant, which agreed on the condition that Richmond drop a proposed refinery tax that would have been put to voters on the November ballot.
Wilson suggested the city use some of the money on a marketing campaign to attract newcomers.
“In order to entice new small and medium businesses to come to Richmond, I think we have to address a serious PR problem that we have as a city,” she said.
While Chevron provides substantial revenue to the city, it also pollutes the air with greenhouse gasses. One audience member asked the candidates about any connection between Richmond’s relatively high asthma rate and Chevron.
Wilson cited a report that said Chevron is responsible for 67% of a particulate material that causes asthma and that the highest level of that harmful material is in District 5’s Marina Bay neighborhood.
“We need to have higher emission standards on Chevron,” she said.
Anderson, who has suffered from asthma all his life, said high asthma rates are another reason for Richmond to reduce its reliance on Chevron.
“It’s one thing to take on Chevron, get more money from Chevron, but we need to move Chevron along,” he said.
While the candidates agreed on much, there was a point of contention when resident Joe Puleo asked Anderson: “Why do you support putting 10,000 people on a toxic waste dump?”
The question referred to a City Council-approved plan to build 4,000 housing units on a site once used by Zeneca, now pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. The soil is contaminated with arsenic, uranium, mercury, DDT and other toxins. A recent study by the Department of Toxic Substance Control raised concerns about future sea level rise exposing these toxins.
“I’ve never supported it,” Anderson said.
Wilson rebutted his statement. “On Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2020, you spoke in favor of the City Council adopting the cap and build plan for the AstraZeneca site,” she said.
Anderson said the comment was taken out of context, and that if asked about the proposed development today, he would not support it because of the extent of the contamination.
Anderson, who has lived in Richmond for more than 60 years, has a rich political legacy. His parents — the Rev. Booker T. Anderson and Irma Anderson — both served as Richmond mayors. He ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1985 and 2020. He has received more than $41,000 in contributions and loans to his campaign, primarily from individuals, including himself, as well as from trade unions. He is endorsed by the Contra Costa County Democratic Party.
His platform is rooted in bolstering public safety through increased police funding and driving economic development by attracting new business.
“Come alive in District 5,” was Anderson’s tagline, which he echoed throughout the meeting.
Wilson, a Richmond resident for 18 years, is backed by the RPA and is endorsed by McLaughlin and Mayor Eduardo Martinez. She has received more than $27,000 in contributions to her campaign, primarily from individuals as well as a few unions. As a first-time candidate, she is focused on cleaning up pollutants, taxing large corporations and housing protections.
District 5 includes the Richmond Annex and Panhandle, Marina Bay, as well as southern areas including South Side, Eastshore, Laurel Park, and Cortez.
(All photos by Kelly Sullivan)
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