Ruling for the Community

Board Rules Against Chevron Claims

 The Contra Costa County Assessment Appeals Board announced its decision today ruling against Chevron and in favor of the Community. For the most part the Board found that the Assessor's valuations for 2007,2008,2009 were reasonable and appropriate. The board found that the Assessor's office inadequately supported its assessment, but that Chevron had also failed to make its case. The Board made its own determination of value. Not only did the board not lower Chevron's property tax assessment, it actually raised it.

Taking all three years into consideration, Richmond and other cities in the county, the county, the school district and the state won't have to return approximately $100 million dollars to the immensely profitable oil company. We are entitled to an additional $25 million!  

One panel member suggested that, for all her hard work, the clerk of the panel, Carrie Del Bonta, should immediately apply for a raise. If the decision had gone Chevron's way, she might have been looking at a pay cut or a lay-off.

Richmond Progressive Alliance Statement on Chevron Property Tax Appeal Decision

Every once in awhile justice triumphs in a system that is heavily weighted in favor the rich and powerful.

 The Richmond Progressive Alliance congratulates the Contra Costa Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board for seeing through Chevron's financial sleight of hand, and for bravely rejecting Chevron's thuggish extortion attempt.  We appreciate that you ruled that Chevron must pay the amount originally calculated by the assessor (and more) solely on the evidence.  Notwithstanding this, our senior citizens thank you, our police officers and librarians thank you, our K-12 educators thank you, our ill children thank you, and our school district, and the city and county governments elected by the people to safeguard their health and welfare thank you, too.

Community Action Makes a Difference

Why We Won This Time

Justice was Served

Justice was served by the Board's decision.  While the community is suffering from high unemployment, foreclosures, loss of vital safety-net services and threats of more lay-offs, Chevron posted profits of $7.8 billion and $5.1 billion for the previous two quarters and has a very strong cash position. Justice requires that Chevron's share should be more-not less

Chevron is able to use its surplus cash to invest in lawyers, lobbyists, "experts", and PR firms to  bully local, state and national governments to get legal loop holes and judgments.  As individuals, most of us cannot afford the legal and political costs to get our property taxes reduced.  The county and cities cannot afford the legal and expert costs to prepare assessments that withstand legal challenges and to fully defend the community from avaricious attacks Courts. Appeals board hearings are not neutral when Chevron gets a bigger part in writing the rules and has the overwhelming advantage in interpreting them.

Chevron won its appeal for the 2004, 2005, 2006 with a very similar case. (That decision is now being appealed in the courts by both sides.) Even though one person was on both Appeal Boards, in both cases the decision were unanimous. Why this complete reversal when the playing field  is not level?

Not having a Chevron Agent on the Appeals Board certainly helped

In the earlier case Joe Fisher, leader of Black American Political Action Committee (BAPAC) of Contra Costa was on the Appeals Board. BAPAC had  received large contributions from Chevron as well as campaign contributions which it distributed to favored candidates who supported Chevron's policies. See East Bay Express article.

Public Attention

Another difference between this appeal and the first appeal was that this time the Richmond Progressive Alliance worked hard to keep the proceedings in the public's eye. Citizens wrote letters and attended the hearings and county workers received flyers describing the impact a Chevron victory would have on them. Public rallies kept the issue in the press. Chevron-man was booed when he spoke in favor of the 1%. Articles appeared frequently in the RPA newsletter, the CC Times, Richmond Confidential and the Chronicle. These activities helped focus attention on the crucial importance of the outcome and thus supported the county lawyers as they went about their job. Thanks to all those who worked with us to keep this issue in front of the public and giving support to the exceptionally hard-working and underpaid county lawyers and the refinery assessor and major witness, Mr. Yu.

Political Climate

The Occupy movement helped create the political climate of a much greater understanding of how the 1% were using the laws, lobbyists, and political contributions to increase their unfair share.

Kissing-up to Power Does Not Work

In the last few city council meetings, when the issue of Chevron's appeal came up, Council members Booze and Bates made it a point to praise Chevron and emphasize how much Chevron gave to the community in taxes and contributions. Their attitude seems to be that since Chevron is so big and so powerful, we have to support its policies. Booze absented himself when the Council voted to request Chevron to drop the appeal. This may be the influence of Chevron's substantial political contributions, past and future. Or perhaps its a case of political "Stockholm Syndrome' in which captives come to identify with their captors or where people who are abused defend their abusers?

Chevron is a corporation. Its bottom line is profits. The people who run it are human and should be treated as such, but the decisions are based on corporate needs not human needs. Corporations don't respond to people being nice to them. They respond only to things that affect their bottom line. Their "positive" PR strategies, their support and cooperation for community projects ultimately are intended to create a political climate that allows them to conduct their business in a way which benefits their bottom line.

In the days before the announcement, Chevron is rumored to have offered assurances to the city that it would not require the city to pay back all the money that they expected would be owed to them. They were trying to appear to be the "good guys." In reality they were attempting to exert control over our city government with a 'favor" in exchange for benefits to them in the future. This amounts to an attempt to usurp our democracy.  If they genuinely wanted to help the city and its people they would never have brought the appeal to lower their taxes, potentially bankrupting the city.

It is not over

Even though we won, Chevron cost the County millions in legal defense. Chevron will probably appeal and keep appealing. Chevron can afford the cash for lawyers- the County cannot. Chevron may well press for a compromise so the County can save the costs of litigation. The County and Richmond must stand tough against the bully technique. If Chevron wants to be a good neighbor let it start by dropping all of its tax appeals.  

Let's enjoy these moments of people's victory. But remember that the big picture has not changed. It just depends on our willingness to organize.

60 Minutes

Program on Sugar

Is it Toxic?

Featuring Dr. Rob Lustig

Opportunity Lost

Deal Stops Millionaires Tax Campaign

The Millionaires Tax campaign is probably over. The opportunity for a game changer in the politics and economics of this state and possibly the nation has been lost.

After weeks of intense talks, Gov. Brown and the main backers of the Millionaires Tax reached a compromise deal. Brown agreed to cut the proposed sales tax in half (from .5% to .25%) and to increase the share paid by the wealthy. The income tax increase will be in effect for two additional years for a total of 7 years and the Millionaire Tax campaign will end. See Full Article Here

You can also see past artcles on the Millionaires tax, including reports on polls showing its popularity in past issues of the RPA newsletters which can be found by clicking the "Newsletter Archives" in the left column.

Behind the Attacks on RPA

Recent Richmond City Council meetings have been marked by verbal attacks against the RPA by a few Council members, their representatives and supporters. Healthy politics involve disagreement and vigorous debate.  But the recent attacks have consistently contained  untruths and distortion, and we would like the record to be clear.  We are sharing correct information about the RPA here because Council meetings are not the place to dwell on these issues.  Council meetings should be focused on how to move Richmond forward—not about vilifying individuals or organizations striving to improve our community. ...Click here for the full explanation.

Richmond Council Takes Action on Childhood Obesity and Sugar Drinks

The Richmond council has taken the first steps in a campaign to significantly improve the health of children. Key to the campaign are a pair of measures to reduce the use of Sugary drinks and increase recreation opportunities for young people. The December 6 Council meeting approved (Booze opposed, Bates abstain) a resolution directing staff to prepare measures for the November ballot. One measure places an added fee on sugar drinks to discourage their use. The other measure directs that the money raised goes to recreation, neighborhood gardens, and other youth projects.

Text of Council Resolution

Sugary Drinks and Childhood Obesity
This month's Archives of Pediatric and  Adolescent Medicine  focuses on new research about childhood obesity. Being overweight is now the most common medical condition of childhood. Nearly 1 of every 3 children is at risk of being overweight. Complications of obesity include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and many other health and social problems.

Sugar is like crack.

Or at least, the threat it poses to the health and well being of people in Richmond, California, is not far off from the threat posed by crack cocaine or other harmful narcotics, according to a recent report by the Contra Costa County health department, entitled “The Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption on the Health of Richmond Residents.”
Soda, says the report, is particularly addictive given how effective our bodies are at absorbing sugar, which can lead to obesity, which in turn causes us to be more susceptible to disease.

See fulll article in Richmond Pulse

Due Process or Legal Bullying

Defenders of Chevron ask what is wrong with Chevron appealing for a reduction using the rules just as you or I would.   The difference is that it is not a level playing field.  You and I cannot afford the lawyers and experts that Chevron can to make the rules work for them.  The result is a system of rules which has helped a massive shift of wealth from working people to the top 1% over the past 30 years. The sco-called neutral rules magnify and increase--in a vicious circle-- Chevron's power.

One way that the 1%, like the banks and Chevron, get an ever-expanding part of the pie is their ability to do legal bullying. How this works:

• First they lobby extensively to get technical loopholes in laws that slip under the radar when they are passed.

• Then, they can hire expensive lawyers, "experts," and huge staff to use these loopholes to challenge county or city governments which cannot afford for defense of the public anything close to what the corporations can spend to make their case.

• And if by chance they should lose in the first round in courts, the corporations can appeal. In the meantime any money that is involved is put in escrow so that neither side can use it. Of course the corporations can easily afford this but the county and city cannot afford to wait years for their taxes. 

So the legal bully does not have to win their case in court--just use their deep pockets to force the city and county to settle. And then they can use their PR staffs to spin and cover what they have done
.
Chevron is using the same techniques as the banks are using in resisting regulation. The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is forced to settle most of its cases with a slap-on-the-wrist for the banks because "it does not have the money or the staff to battle the deep-pocketed Wall Street firms in Court.”

It is unlikely that Chevron has a just case for its demands for a property tax rebate. It is likely pursuing this case to get leverage on other issues. But we will never be able to judge for ourselves since virtually all of Chevron's case is closed to the public because it contains "proprietary information."

Chevron is relying on its ability to financially overwhelm the County Assessor's office and bring pressure from county officials for a quick settlement. We have to mobilize the pressure of public sentiment against Chevron so it drops its bully legal attack.

Click here for Text of Council Resolution

LBNL CHOOSES RICHMOND 

I received a call this morning from Paul Alivasatos, Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, informing me that they have decided to make the Richmond Field Station and the City of Richmond the home for their second campus.

I would like to thank the Richmond City Council for their enthusiastic support for this important economic development project, the many City of Richmond staff members who worked to provide technical support in the decision-making process, and the Richmond community for providing the warm welcome mat that was undoubtedly a major factor in their decision.

I will provide more details as they become available.  In the meantime, please enjoy this great bit of news and let's look forward to continued success.

Bill Lindsay

City Manager

Thanks to all who helped make this possible through letters, presentations, your presence at Richmond's rally, and leadership from  Councilmember Jeff Ritterman, Bill Lindsay and the city staff.

See RPA Statement  

RPA Welcomes LBNL Campus to Richmond

Green Campus/ Green Jobs for Richmond

The RPA strongly supports the efforts by the city of Richmond  to promote Richmond as the best place to locate the proposed Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories second campus.
 
We believe that this is an excellent fit.
 
We in Richmond are on the cutting edge of the green economy already.  We have won the Contra Costa sustainability award for the government sector.  We are number 1 in the bay area for solar installed per capita.  We have over 50 core green businesses, dealing with green products and services and countless businesses ‘greening’ their business practices in one way or another.

We have an internationally-renowned green job training program that specializes in training our residents in solar installation, weatherization, and green building practices. 

We have been designated an official ‘Green City’ in California and we are part of the East Bay Green Corridor which has been officially designated as a “hub of green innovation” by the State of California.  We have cutting edge ordinances, policies and initiatives in place and many more to come.

Richmond has excellent connectivity to the region and state through I 80/580 freeways, and BART/AMTRAK The soon to be re-constructed Ohlone Greenway and the Bay Trail offers non-motorized connections with Berkeley. The Bay Trail provides for excellent recreation and access to beautiful shoreline areas. Richmond has created ambitious pedestrian and bicycle plans, which greatly aid mobility and accessibility around Richmond for all modes of travel.

The location of the LBNL in Richmond fits well with our attempt to transform our economy to one based on 21st century jobs and the new green economy.  Not only will it provide direct jobs for construction and operation, but it will provide many indirect jobs though services required, spin offs,  and most importantly,  green oriented businesses choosing to locate nearby, attracted by this research center.

Richmond has informed and engaged residents who are eager to work with the City, LBNL and all other involved parties towards maximizing everyone's benefits from having LBNL located here.  If the Richmond Field Station site is selected, LBNL would have the opportunity to collaborate with Richmond's Southeast Shoreline Community Advisory Group, which has been studying this area of the city for the last six years and is well-equipped to partnering with experts from LBNL in addressing issues of existing toxins at the site.

We believe the commitment of the city to welcome good paying jobs, in a healthy environment, that contribute to protecting the environment and improving the conditions for humanity will be enhanced in this process.

We welcome the LBNL to Richmond.

-RPA Steering Committee 2/4/11
-illustration: David Moore