Government
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Ada Recinos, 26, recently became the youngest city councilmember in Richmond’s history. She has faced doubt due to her age and perceived lack of policy knowledge, but is ready to leave her mark on the position.
Opponents – and even supporters – of Tom Butt say Richmond’s mayor is guilty of what one critic described as a “flagrant abuse of power” and a council member called “highly inappropriate” actions. Emails between the mayor and residents indicate that many in the community were alarmed when the mayor used his regular “e-forum” to doxx political adversaries, sharing their home addresses and accusing them of violating Richmond’s rent control ordinance.
Twenty out of Richmond’s 25 city-based commissions and committees currently have empty seats, resulting in an approximately 30 percent vacancy rate. For these committees, this means more work and fewer opportunities to engage the public.
The Transient Occupancy Tax, typically paid by hotels, motels and tourists homes, may soon impact unincorporated areas like El Sobrante, Kensington and North Richmond, where there are no existing restrictions on short-term rentals, or the rules are not enforced.
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…
The Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded former Richmond Confidential reporter Reis Thebault the 2017 Excellence In Journalism Award. The accolade, announced this week, was for his investigations into the “fraud, corruption and legal woes” of the city’s medical marijuana industry. As a health, science and environmental reporter, Thebault’s stories focused on pay-to-play schemes, illicit messages sent by an Richmond Police Department officer, and hidden sales at marijuana dispensaries in the city. Thebault credits the help…
Richmond City Council voted Tuesday to start the process of annexing North Richmond after 60 years of being unincorporated. However, questions still remain about what North Richmond residents truly want.
The state housing bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 29 have created optimism in Contra Costa County, but affordable-housing advocates see them as just the start of a long process.