Election 2014

The teens behind the Uche Uwahemu campaign

Uche Uwahemu, a newcomer to Richmond politics, has built a grassroots campaign that relies on youth campaign workers and small donations from friends and fellow Nigerian émigrés to counter the name recognition of Tom Butt and Nat Bates.

Mayoral profile: Mike Parker

If elected, the 73-year-old Mike Parker said he will focus on education, affordable housing and job training.

“I believe the school system has failed both the teachers and the parents in Richmond,” said Parker. “People don’t have confidence in it.”

Mayoral profile: Uche Uwahemu

Uche Uwahemu—trained in law and business, and shaped by a decade of nonprofit work—speaks earnestly about the future of Richmond. At 41, he is the youngest of Richmond’s four mayoral candidates. Wearing a gray pinstripe suit with a lavender tie, Uwahemu sat in the Café Pascal last week and shared his thoughts on solving the toughest issues facing the city.

Mayoral profile: Nat Bates

It was decades ago, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, when Richmond mayoral candidate Nat Bates received a call from his buddy, the late then Richmond Councilman George Livingston, to spur his interest in public service. He was then working for the Alameda County Probation Department, and a career in politics was the farthest thing from his mind. But he knew Richmond, and had spent the majority of his life here. Many remembered his run excelling in both…