Jael Myrick takes his seat, becomes a part of City Council antics

City Council Dias

The addition of new city councilmember Jael Myrick didn’t stop the council from falling back on its old argumentative habits during Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The council passed most items unanimously or with just one vote against—but the majority of the time was spent debating procedures about when a councilmember can make a motion…

Read More

Applicants for open Richmond City Council seat will speak Monday

City Council Dias

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

Limit on campaign contributions may be increasing the spending of outside groups

The City Council’s attempt earlier this year to limit campaign contributions to council candidates seems to be working, last Thursday’s campaign finance deadline shows. But the limits might also be increasing the spending of outside groups on the election. Under the ordinance passed this summer, candidates must not accept more than $40,000 in campaign contributions…

Read More

City Council Election 2012: Bea Roberson

There’s one outcome for the City Council election that Bea Roberson says she can’t let happen, and it’s the reason the first-time candidate decided to put her name on the ballot to begin with. “We cannot let the [Richmond Progressive Alliance] win again,” Roberson said, standing near the dais in the city chambers after a…

Read More

Council divided over alleged attack on Booze

Corky Booze speaking from the council dais

With exactly three weeks until the upcoming election, Richmond’s key political players were out in full swing and the council’s division on full display at Tuesday night’s meeting. The main source of tension for the evening was a recent fight between Corky Booze and Richmond Progressive Alliance member David Moore. The much-disputed incident between the…

Read More

Chevron backs Moving Forward coalition

The Chevron-funded campaign committee Moving Forward spent more than $100,000 in support of council candidates Gary Bell, Nat Bates and Bea Roberson between Aug. 9 and Sept. 28, campaign disclosures filed with the City Clerk show. Moving Forward’s money comes solely from a $1.2 million contribution from Chevron.

Read More

City Council candidates meet for candidate forum

Richmond Senior Center

For the first time this election season, all of the City Council candidates gathered for a public debate on Wednesday night. The debate, which was attended by roughly 80 people, gave many residents the opportunity to see the candidates up close and personal for the first time.

Read More

City Council swings into election season

Richmond City Council members

At its first public meeting since the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire and a Measure N—referred to as the “soda tax”—lawsuit filed against the city, Tuesday night’s hotly anticipated City Council meeting painted for the Richmond community a clear portrait of its pending election season. “Trends are already beginning to form,” said Councilmember Tom Butt…

Read More

Campaign flyer flawed

Bea Roberson Richmond City Council candidate

Seven members of the community listed in a campaign flyer for City Council candidate Bea Roberson as supporting Roberson said last week that they had not explicitly endorsed the candidate. Roberson said she had done her best and, if the information was wrong, “It was not done with malice.” Roberson has been a resident of…

Read More