Meet the five candidates for Richmond mayor on Wednesday
on April 21, 2026
For the first time, Richmond voters will get to whittle down the ballot in a primary election, which will be held on Tuesday, June 2.
Voters will choose a mayor, and City Council members in districts 2, 3 and 4. To help voters make up their minds, Richmond Confidential is teaming up with Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College to host three candidate forums, offering opportunities for the public to question those running for office. El Tímpano has been working with us to collect questions from residents.
The first of the three forums will feature the mayoral candidates: incumbent Eduardo Martinez, Councilmember Claudia Jiménez, human resources director Ahmad J. Anderson, policy analyst Demnlus Johnson III and filmmaker Mark Wassberg. It will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, at CoBiz Richmond, 1503 Macdonald Ave. An RSVP is requested if you plan to attend.
The primary election came about through a 2024 ballot measure backed by 58% of Richmond voters. Unlike in previous years, when voters had to choose among a large field of candidates for each office in the general election, this year they will make those choices early. In November, no more than two candidates will compete for each seat, guaranteeing that no one gets elected unless they have received more than half the votes. If a candidate manages to do that in the primary election, they automatically will win.
We are not hosting a forum in District 2, because incumbent Cesar Zepeda is running unopposed.
The District 3 forum — featuring incumbent Doria Robinson and Brandon Evans, a district representative for Contra Costa County Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston — will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, at Easter Hill United Methodist Church, 3911 Cutting Blvd.
The District 4 forum — featuring incumbent Solheila Bana, pharmacy technician Keycha Gallon, and small business owner Jamin Pursell — will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, at the De Anza High School library, 5000 Valley View Road.
UC Berkeley students will live-stream the forums on YouTube, which you can access through this link, or by pulling up the Richmond Confidential homepage. The events are free and open to the public.
In the mood for dinner and an opera? A Richmond restaurant has you covered on first Fridays.
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Richmond Confidential
Richmond Confidential is an online news service produced by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism for, and about, the people of Richmond, California. Our goal is to produce professional and engaging journalism that is useful for the citizens of the city.
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