Richmond mayoral candidates spar over approach to public safety 

Richmond mayoral candidates Ahmad Anderson and Claudia Jiménez offered competing approaches to public safety at a forum Thursday night, with Anderson emphasizing police staffing and Jiménez calling for broader investment in community services.

A couple hundred people attended the forum at Richmond Memorial Auditorium, and a few hundred more watched the livestream on YouTube. It was co-hosted by Richmond Confidential, Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College. Richmondside editor-in-chief Kari Hulac and city reporter Joel Umanzor moderated the forum, which included questions from the audience.

Anderson, a retired human resources director whose late parents both served as Richmond mayor, argued that Richmond needs to ensure the Police Department has enough staffing and resources to respond to public safety concerns. He questioned how officers can respond effectively if staffing is a challenge and the department is lacking other resources.

“Make sure we have the proper equipment to respond as well, and you’ll have better response time,” Anderson said.

Jiménez, who is in her second term on the City Council, pushed back on Anderson’s focus on staffing, saying Richmond Police Chief Timothy Simmons recently told her he was pleased with what was happening in the department and with recent hiring.

“The hiring is more than what we have people leaving,” Jiménez said. 

Jiménez said the city should take a broader approach to public safety.

“I think it’s about having an approach that really serves the community and stop talking about doing for just one department when that is not the real answer,” Jiménez said. “The real answer is that we create more youth jobs, we create more opportunities, we can clean the streets, we can create more parks, because that is what is making these communities safer.”

A Richmond resident asked Anderson if he supported spending money on policing instead of the other services the community needs.

Anderson, who is endorsed by the Richmond Police Officers Association, said “reimagining” public safety should not mean defunding police or reallocating police resources. “It is the impact it has and the services that’s provided,” he said. 

Anderson went on to describe what he expects the Police Department to provide: accountability, quick response times and holding people who commit crimes accountable. 

He connected public safety to economic development, saying residents need to feel safe for the city’s downtown to thrive. 

“Public safety is the engine towards economic development,” Anderson said. “If people don’t feel protected, respected and safe, then they’re not going to shop, or better yet, come downtown.”

A city charter amendment was proposed in May to require a minimum 187 sworn police officers and establish a public safety fund that would receive at least 25% of general fund revenue in its first year, 40% in its second and 50% beginning in its third. Information on the city’s website says the proposal as intended for a future election; it is not on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Jiménez said officer numbers alone do not determine whether Richmond is becoming safer.

“I have been at this six years, and we haven’t been able to fill the positions that we budget every year,” Jiménez said. “But we have been able to make this community safer because we invest in things that people care about and need.”

She pointed to the city’s declining homicide rate as evidence of progress. City crime stats show Richmond recorded six homicides in 2025, a historic low. 

“Last year we closed with the lowest homicide rate in the history of Richmond, and this hasn’t been just with one department,”Jiménez said. “It has been the collaboration of many things and many programs.

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At El Cerrito candidates’ forum, six vying for City Council talk about the budget, renovations and safe streets