Election 2022
Editor’s note: After a tie, a tiebreaker and a recount, Cesar Zepeda won the District 2 City Council seat over Andrew Butt, becoming the first openly gay man elected to Richmond City Council. He will represent District 2, which includes Point Richmond and the Chevron refinery. Zepeda spoke to Richmond Pulse before the recount about public safety, housing and community-building. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Richmond Pulse: Having won in such a dramatic fashion, what will you do…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: With the Richmond Progressive Alliance gaining a super-majority on City Council, what do you think the future holds for Richmond? “Although it is a RPA majority, they are still individuals. I don’t want to do to them what a lot of people have done to the African American and Latino community, box…
Eduardo Martinez became the first elected Latino mayor of Richmond on Tuesday, inching past runner-up Shawn Dunning by fewer than a thousand votes in the city’s mayoral election. Martinez, a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, has been a City Council member for nearly eight years. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, with the night’s final unofficial results freshly posted, Martinez said he felt great. “There’s a lot of work to be done over the next few years and…
Richmond voters approved Measure P Tuesday, voting to tighten rent control for tenants. Under the measure, tenants living in controlled units will experience no more than a 3% increase in their rent and landlords will not be able to raise rents to 100% of inflation, which is the percentage increase in the consumer price index — currently, 5.2%. The measure won with 56% of the vote. Another measure in Contra Costa County — Measure N, in Hercules, also won by…
A man in a baseball cap repeatedly slams his balled up fist against a large, red button. He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans, pulls out a thick wad of $20 bills, and feeds the electronic bingo machine in between his frustration-filled hits. Next to him, a middle-aged woman in a bejeweled T-shirt and pink hoodie raises her arms in the air with pure joy, excitedly stamping her feet. Her machine dings and flashes bright, colorful lights, like…
On Tuesday, Richmond will vote for a new mayor. The four candidates in the running are Vice Mayor Eduardo Martinez, filmmaker Mark Wassberg, City Council member Nat Bates and independent consultant Shawn Dunning. Maybe you have a favorite. Maybe you’ve already cast your vote. But could it be that your views on some specific issues align with a candidate you did not expect? Play this game to see which of the four candidates you are most like based on your…
On Tuesday, Hercules voters will decide whether to extend Measure N, a utilities tax that has been funding essential city services for the past 18 years. The 8% tax creates revenue of roughly $3.6 million per year and assures financial stability. This allows for more funding of neighborhood police patrols, water quality, community services, parks and recreation, and for attracting local businesses, as the official website for the measure states. The City Council unanimously voted to put the measure on…
On Tuesday, Richmond voters will choose a new mayor, as two-term Mayor Tom Butt leaves office. Richmond Confidential gave the four candidates — Nathaniel Bates, Shawn Dunning, Eduardo Martinez and Mark Wassberg — a chance in this video to make one more pitch to voters.
Richmond Confidential posed the same questions to mayoral candidates Nathaniel Bates, Shawn Dunning, Eduardo Martinez and Mark Wassberg. Their answers are being presented verbatim, in the order they were received, with light editing, where necessary, for brevity. Today’s Q&A is with Eduardo Martinez. Where are you from, and how many years have you lived in Richmond? I am a second generation Mexican-American born in Dumas, Texas. I moved to the Bay Area in the ’70s and moved to Richmond in 1993 with my…