Government
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…
In January, Mayor Tom Butt will leave office, and a majority of the Design Review Board may follow him. The City Council rejected Butt’s proposed appointments of two new members to the DRB in a 3-3-1 vote at the Nov. 15 meeting. Vice Mayor Eduardo Martinez and council members Claudia Jimenez and Gayle McLaughlin voted against the appointments. Council member Melvin Willis abstained. “I’ll tell you a little secret,” Butt told the council. “We’re not going to have a quorum…
A room filled with veterans, reservists, family members and public officials went quiet Tuesday as Brig. Gen. Bart Gilbert stepped up to the podium in the Contra Costa County board chambers. Although he is long retired from active duty, his uniform still fits. Gilbert was this year’s keynote speaker at the county’s annual Veterans Day ceremony, held a few days before the official holiday, which is Friday. Joining the army when he was 17, Gilbert is a combat veteran of…
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.
At the Main Library in Richmond, time seems to stand still. The two-story building’s glass façade — said to be the first of its kind for a public library in the United States — allows the sunlight to filter in but keeps the hustle and bustle of city life out. With time-worn floor tiles and antiquated ceiling lights, the library makes very clear that it’s been around for a long time — actually, since Harry Truman was president. Romanticization of…
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…