City Council
A council seat opened up when former Councilmember Tom Butt was sworn in as mayor earlier this year. By last Tuesday, 18 applicants had submitted statements to fill the vacancy. The council now must appoint one of them, and they may do so as soon as Tuesday night. Richmond Confidential asked all the councilmembers, including Mayor Butt, to share their thoughts by email on the large number of candidates who applied, what criteria they would use to make the appointment,…
Before the Tuesday night deadline, 18 candidates from diverse backgrounds filed applications to fill the empty seat. The council majority will only choose one of them.
Outgoing Richmond City Councilman Courtland “Corky” Booze has reached a settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought against him by the city for failure to clean up a property he has maintained for several decades, and which the city considers a junkyard.
Chevron-funded spending committees backed several losing candidates – to the tune of $3.1 million – on Election Day. Those who were defeated are now left to wonder what happened and whether Chevron’s money may have hurt rather than helped.
Three minutes past midnight, Eduardo Martinez walks out of the Richmond Progressive Alliance office. He turns around and stares back in. Still no final result. He waves goodnight to his supporters. It’s Martinez’s third time running for the Richmond City Council.
A long and tense day brought an end to an election that looks set to bring a David v Goliath story.
City Councilman Tom Butt defeated his opponent Nat Bates, winning Richmond’s mayoral contest today and dealing a blow to local oil giant Chevron, which allocated over $3 million to political spending.
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.