Elections

Community learns election-district mapping in workshop by city, demographer

Richmond’s city clerk and a demographics consultant hosted a second workshop at the City Council chamber on Monday to guide community members through the process of drawing up districting maps for Richmond, which the City Council will consider during the city’s expected transition from at-large to district-based council elections in January 2020.

Richmond’s former prisoners get out the vote

This year, California had the largest number of people registered to vote in the state’s history, with nearly 20 million ready to hit today’s polls. Formerly incarcerated people in Richmond, some of whom are voting for the first time, helped the state reach that record. In the lead up to the election, organizations across the city worked to educate formerly incarcerated people and their families about their right to vote. Laws vary across the country on voting rights for those…

Watch our Coffee With A Candidate video profiles: Wicks and Beckles fight for Assembly District 15

Democrats Buffy Wicks and Jovanka Beckles are running a tight race to represent California’s Assembly District 15, which includes Richmond, Berkeley and North Oakland. While Wicks won the majority of votes in the June primary, and Beckles barely squeaked by, the two are now neck and neck a week ahead of election day. Buffy Wicks, a former Obama staffer, touts her connections to high-level politicians like Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris and her multi-decade organizing experience. Jovanka Beckles, a Richmond…

The breakdown: three local ballot measures explained

Two city-level measures on the ballot in Richmond propose to raise taxes for programs to support kids, the homeless and affordable housing. A third measure would tax marijuana cultivators to raise money for the county’s general use. Election day is Tuesday, November 6, 2018. To help you make an informed decision at the voting booth, we’re explaining the three ballot measures in this story. (Click here to check if you’re registered to vote.) Below is an overview of Measure H,…

‘Excellence without excuses’: Demnlus Johnson is a story of Richmond’s resilience

It’s Wednesday morning, and Demnlus Johnson III works diligently in his office. The sounds of footsteps echo in the hall as students, teachers and staff make their way to where they need to be before the morning bell rings. After finishing up emails, securing a new gym floor covering, and methodically searching for students’ schedules, Johnson stands up and buttons his brown tweed suit. It’s time to hand-deliver 30 applications for the Rising Scholars program, an initiative that helps young…

Around the Way: Is California ready for Gayle McLaughlin?

Instead of attending extravagant fundraisers, setting up political action committees or courting corporate donors, Gayle McLaughlin spends her days driving around California and speaking to small groups of people who want to bring back progressive politics. McLaughlin will be running as a third-party independent candidate in the race for California’s lieutenant governor next year. From small beginnings as a co-founder of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, she was elected to Richmond’s city council on a corporate-free platform. She served two terms…

Student canvassers helped elect charter friendly school board

SFER AN and its parent organization, Students for Education Reform (SFER), present themselves as student-run, grassroots groups that advocate for change and improvement in local public education systems. But leaders in both organizations have charter school connections that appear to influence the groups’ activities, from educating eligible voters to endorsing candidates.