Economy
Richmond is one of the few major (100,000-plus population) Bay Area cities still electing its council and school board members on an at-large basis, a 100-year old system that’s been under attack throughout California and the country as minority-repressive.
Tom Butt looked tired. At 8:00 p.m. on Election Day he finally sat down, stein of beer in hand, to wait for the results. He had been on his feet all day. Twelve hours earlier, the mayoral candidate had arrived to the first polling place on an itinerary of five, to do last-minute outreach.
Measure U, the ballot item to increase the retail sales taxes to 9.5%, passed yesterday with 53.7% of the vote. Another key ballot item, Proposition 47, also passed. The statewide proposition to reduce six types of felony crimes to misdemeanors was approved with 65% of voters in favor.
Berkeley has become the first city in the country to pass a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in an effort to combat childhood obesity and diabetes, according to Josh Daniels, co-chair of the Yes on D campaign. As the polls closed Tuesday night, an energetic crowd, many of whom wore black t-shirts emblazoned with the words “Berkeley vs. Big Soda,” clapped and cheered within the Yes on D campaign headquarters on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.
As voters head to the polls, the nation’s eyes will be on Richmond as the city decides the future of its leadership. Not only are Richmonders electing a new mayor and new city council members, but they’re also passing judgement on the effects of unlimited political spending.
If recent history is any indication, the fate of Tuesday’s Richmond municipal elections is likely to rest the hands of about a tenth of its roughly 107,000 residents.
A week ago, a website came to Richmond residents’ attention. It urges voters to support Chevron’s slate of favored candidates: Nat Bates for mayor, and Donna Powers and Charles Ramsey for City Council. And it also touts Jim Rogers and Jael Myrick for City Council. People immediately wondered, are Rogers and Myrick now on Chevron’s team?
Up against Tom Butt and Nat Bates, two local politicians with a combined experience of 55 years, Uwahemu stands out as an outsider to Richmond’s politics. This is both a curse and a blessing. He presents Richmond a fresh candidate for mayor, yet has the challenge of facing two local stalwarts with widespread name recognition.
If you go to the website explosive-crude-by-rail.org and zoom in on Richmond, what you’ll find is disconcerting. According to the 1-3 mile buffer zone on the map, the entire city and its 107,000 residents are in danger if trains carrying crude oil explode.