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…

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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…

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Henry Clark and three decades of environmental justice

Henry Clark Occupy Chevron rally

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin first saw Henry Clark, as so many have, at the gates of Richmond’s Chevron oil refinery. It was a blustery day in June 2003 and Clark was calling for environmental accountability from the oil company – as he has for many years – in front of an impassioned crowd of community…

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City Council Election 2012: Eleanor Thompson

Eleanor Thompson is known in the Iron Triangle neighborhood as an advocate for youth and their safety. What’s less known is that she is motivated to work for the young people of Richmond by her own childhood experience. Thompson was born in Arkansas but moved to Arizona when she was six. By the time she…

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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.

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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…

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A first look at the November City Council candidates

Eleven people successfully filed and qualified to be on the Nov. 6 ballot for the City Council. Nine out of the eleven candidates also submitted statements of qualifications by the Aug. 15 deadline. These statements are limited to 200 words, and they are an opportunity for candidates to provide personal information and also write why…

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