Election 2012

California Realtors Associations campaign against eminent domain plan

Richmond’s plan to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain has come under sharp criticism. Opponents claim that the plan could depress property values, and end up costing the city millions of dollars in lost revenues and legal fees. The West Contra Costa Association of Realtors (WCCAR), which is receiving financial backing from the California Realtors Association, is the latest to join the fray. In mid-August, WCCAR began the campaign, “Stop Investor Greed,” which is trying to create opposition to the…

Applicants for open Richmond City Council seat will speak Monday

Twelve people have submitted their names for consideration by the Richmond City Council to fill the vacant seat left open when councilmember-elect Gary Bell—who is in a coma after suffering a bacterial sinus infections—was unable to be sworn in earlier this month. Among the twelve are former councilmembers, unsuccessful candidates from November’s race and a handful of new-to-the-scene political hopefuls. On Monday, February 4, the public and the council will have a chance to hear from each of the applicants…

Richmond City Council welcomes back Nat Bates, Tom Butt with swearing-in ceremony

Political differences were—mostly—set aside Tuesday night during the celebratory swearing-in of re-elected city council members Nat Bates and Tom Butt. But beneath the congratulatory speeches for Bates and Butt, and the appreciative acknowledgments of outgoing councilmember Jeff Ritterman, were concerns for councilmember-elect Gary Bell and worries about the council’s potential make-up now that Bell’s seat is formally vacant. Bell was hospitalized in early November and underwent two neurosurgeries for complications caused by a bacterial sinus infection, his family wrote in a…

Election recap: Voters seek familiar faces

When the official returns came in on Wednesday morning, Richmond voters had decided that after the most expensive campaign in city history, what they wanted was familiar faces. Incumbents Nat Bates and Tom Butt were re-elected to the City Council, and Gary Bell, who will return to the dais after an eight-year hiatus, will take the seat vacated by retiring Councilmember Jeff Ritterman. The city’s proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, Measure N, was defeated. Money was a major talking point…

Nutiva CEO announces next step in campaign for GMO-free world

On the day after the election, as folks were picking themselves up after a night spent celebrating or grieving, Nutiva CEO John Roulac, a major financial supporter of the failed genetically-modified-food-labeling Prop. 37, was putting his best GMO-free foot forward. “Obviously, I would have loved to have won, but 47 percent is respectable and demonstrates that 47 percent of Californians want the right to know what’s in their food,” Roulac said, referring to the 4.3 million Californians who voted yes…

County votes with state on most Props, differs on death penalty

Contra Costa voters generally sided with the rest of California Tuesday night, voting in favor of successful measures to harshen penalties against human traffickers and soften the Three Strikes law, while rejecting a genetically engineered food labeling bill and a proposition that would limit campaign contributions from unions and corporations.

Election 2012: Education wins big

West County voters came out strong for education Tuesday — both on a local and state level. Measure E, Measure G and Prop 30 passed. Todd Groves and Randy Enos will join the West Contra Costa School Board.

Richmond residents vote down Measure N

Measure N was defeated in Tuesday’s election with an overwhelming two-thirds of voters saying no to the one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Of the roughly 25,000 votes cast, more than 16,000 went against the measure. Championed by the Richmond Progressive Alliance, the proposed tax attracted national media attention, and drew the ire of local pro-business groups and the national soda industry, which spent more than $2.6 million to defeat the measure. A victory would have made Richmond the first city…