Election 2014
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.
The phone rang shortly after 6:30 p.m. It was a Monday night in August and Sam Singer was still at his office in downtown San Francisco, writing and brainstorming strategies for clients. He picked up. The call was from the Chevron refinery in Richmond. They were, they said, “having an issue.”
In February, a slick new website showed up on Richmond’s media scene. Dubbed “Radio Free Richmond,” it promised to offer its readers “independent Richmond news, without fear or favor.” But behind Radio Free Richmond’s veneer of independence, a group of Chevron’s campaign consultants act as the website’s administrators.
West Contra Costa Unified School board candidates share last comments before Nov. 4th elections.
Political Action Committees (PACs) advocating for charter schools have spent more than $350,000 to date in the West Contra Costa County school board race, prompting protests from parents concerned that charter schools siphon funding away from public schools.
With the municipal election happening in less than a week, we’ve reached out to the councilmembers and asked them where they stand on a number of issues.
As of Oct. 24, the National Association of Realtors Fund has reported spending $37,800 supporting Booze, $26,700 supporting Rogers, $26,700 supporting Bates and $26,700 supporting Powers. The expenditure covers the cost of polling, voter list, mailers, telephone calls and online ads.
The ads take aim at current Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, councilmember Jovanka Beckles, and Eduardo Martinez, all running for seats on the City Council. The three candidates are running as a slate through the Richmond Progressive Alliance, and are critical of Chevron’s role in Richmond.