Check out this video of Councilmember Jiménez reflecting on her first seven months in office, and visioning ahead to the future.

RPA environmental justice and climate catastrophe activists have been after our local refineries to clean up their air pollution for years, especially Chevron and now PBF Energy (who bought the Shell refinery in Martinez in 2020).  The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Board of Directors met this past July and voted overwhelmingly in favor of strict new requirements for particulate matter emission standards.

Growing up, my head was constantly filled with fantasies about freedom, choices, riches, and justice. I was raised to believe that a country founded by immigrants and for immigrants was rooted in justice, liberty, and freedom for all. I was raised to believe that I could become whomever I wanted if I just worked hard enough. I was raised to believe that everyone mattered, was protected by the law, and was cared for by society.

Richmond has a fireworks problem. For some of our residents, it feels like July 4th has become an entire season.

Mayor Butt’s obsession with Reimagine Public Safety Community Task Force member Tamisha Torres-Walker continues. Torres-Walker, who serves as a City Councilwoman in Antioch, recently made a call for the hiring of four more police officers in the district she represents.

Mire este video de la Concejal Jiménez reflexionando sobre sus primeros siete meses en el oficina y mirando hacia el futuro.

Creciendo, siempre me inculcaron con creencias de libertad, justicia, oportunidad y riquezas.  Yo crecí con la creencia que un país construido de inmigrantes por inmigrantes estaba fundado en justicia y libertad para todos. Yo crecí con la creencia de que si trabajaba duro podía ser la persona que yo quisiera. Yo crecí con la creencia de que a todos importaba, estaban protegidos por la ley, y eran miembros de la sociedad.

As Richmond and other cities around the country engage in groundbreaking budgetary reform efforts, transferring resources from distended police budgets to strapped social services, a narrative is emerging that such changes create a “gap in services.” City staff and others have argued that there should be no cuts in the police budget to  “ensure there are no gaps in services while implementation actions are undertaken.” But this is a specious argument.

The logic behind the “gap in services” narrative is that while any cuts to the police budget would be felt immediately, the crime-reducing impact of social services would take time to emerge to fill its place. The flaw that holds this argument together is the mistaken belief that the police are currently providing critical social services. While it’s true that the police really are the front line of contact for all manner of incident, from mental illness crises, to truancy, to community disputes, it is decidedly not the case that they are providing our communities with what we might recognize as effective support in these areas.

The 2021/22 General Fund Budget passed on June 29, 2021. It is balanced, with revenues totaling $188.5 million, expenditures totaling $187.85 million, and includes funds for reimagining public safety, adding to the  “reserves“, increased staff compensation (Cost of Living Adjustments), facility improvements and subsidy to the housing authority.