Candidate Profiles

Eduardo Martinez surprised everyone by winning a seat on Richmond’s City Council in 2014.   His successful campaign was fueled by small donations and grassroots door knocking. It was his third time running for the Richmond City Council after having lost in 2010 and 2012.  This year, Martinez hopes to repeat his victory as he…

Michael Gonzales was born in San Francisco but has been a Richmond resident for the past 20 years. He’s a man of many hats: a father of four and grandfather of one, a teacher, a pastor, a counselor and a consultant. After being recruited to run for school board three years ago by local teachers…

Carlos Taboada is not a new face in West Contra Costa school board races. A teacher in the district for 21 years, Taboada first ran three years ago and is very vocal about his views as a critical eye of charter schools in the area. “I think we are in a very crucial moment in…

Vanessa Calloway wants the state of California to change its laws and give power to school boards to decide if their districts need charter schools. There are currently 14 charter schools in the West Contra Costa County Unified School District, 11 of which are in Richmond. The decision to allow the charter schools to open…

Community organizer Anthony Caro wants the district to adopt a tough new requirement for students to graduate high school. They must have a letter of acceptance from a college or trade school, or have a job lined up. Otherwise, they must join the military. The West Contra Costa County Unified School District needs to model…

Tiffany Grimsley has been thinking about running for a West Contra Costa school board seat for about two years. She lives in Hercules now, but grew up in El Cerrito, graduating high school there. Two of her three children have attended West Contra Costa Unified School District schools—her middle child is a recent graduate of…

When Patricio Dujan’s daughter arrived to her first day of fifth grade at Washington Elementary School in Richmond last August, the father of two was stunned to realize his eldest child would be starting the school year with a substitute teacher. “Not even a long-term substitute, just a substitute,” Dujan said. Dujan, 45, has worked…

Eleanor Thompson brings over 50 years of experience working for the city of Richmond to her campaign election to the Richmond City Council. Originally from Arizona, Thompson, 70, has lived in Richmond since 1967. She is the founder and executive director of Social Progress, Inc., a nonprofit organization where youth of the Iron Triangle neighborhood…

Jim Rogers is one of several candidates running for Richmond City Council who has served previously. Before serving on the council from 2002 to 2014, he served as a Contra Costa County supervisor in the mid to late 90s. In 2014, Rogers helped negotiate a deal with Chevron that includes a program known as “the…

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.…

Diego Garcia’s slicked back hair and tattoos help give away the fact that his background is different than a typical political candidate’s. The 40-year Richmond resident first joined a neighborhood gang when he was just 9 years old. At 17, he was shot and nearly died. Garcia explains that according to the statistics, he shouldn’t…

Vinay Pimple was born in Mumbai, India, but moved to New Jersey in 1993 to pursue a PhD in English Literature with a focus on women’s studies at Rutgers. He moved to Richmond in 2010. Pimple, 50, was appointed to Richmond City Council in 2015, soon after receiving his U.S. citizenship, to fill a vacancy…

Melvin Willis is Richmond’s current vice mayor and is running against incumbent Tom Butt for the mayoral seat. Willis, 28, is a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance and a Richmond native who became the youngest councilmember in Richmond’s history when he was elected at the age of 26. From 2012 to 2014, he served…

Tom Butt, the current mayor of Richmond who’s running for a second shot at the position, is clearly proud of his first term. When asked what he could have done better during his time as mayor, he had a simple answer: “Nothing,” he said. Butt, 74, grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He graduated from UCLA…