Blog

March 28, 2017

The grand jury verdict is still fresh, and we are still processing our emotional reactions to it. Immediately, although we are not surprised, we are outraged by the decision of the grand jury in failing to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown...

March 28, 2017

On June 3, 2014, the Richmond City Council unanimously passed a first reading of our Minimum Wage Increase Ordinance. The second reading will take place on June 17th and is expected to pass again with unanimous support. This great victory for Richmond is long...

March 28, 2017

Months after Benecia rejected Valero's oil trains project, the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors voted this month to reject Phillips 66's proposed oil train offloading terminal. The project was denied with a 3-1 vote, with one supervisor recusing himself in a conflict of...

March 28, 2017

The California Values Act, SB 54, cleared an important hurdle on Monday, and is poised to move to a full Senate vote. The bill would prohibit state and local law enforcement from acting as federal immigration officers and bans immigration enforcement at public schools,...

March 28, 2017

On Tuesday, March 21, the Richmond City Council voted unanimously to appoint a 5-member rent board. This board will be responsible for implementing rent control: setting a budget for the Richmond Rent Program, hiring an Executive Director and setting regulations. The newly appointed members...

March 26, 2017

One feature of the new rent control law is that it protects the right of tenants to organize together.  The law provides that: Tenants have the right to organize. It is illegal for landlords to retaliate; Landlords must recognize and deal with an organization...

March 18, 2017

As you know, President Trump and Republican leaders are moving quickly to repeal the Affordable Care Act and gut Medicaid - threatening the healthcare and lives of millions of low to moderate income Americans while handing huge tax cuts to the rich and big...

March 01, 2017

Here are four observations for the City as it contemplates how to respond in the wake of Oakland's Ghost Ship fire.1.  When there is not a sufficient supply of cheap housing or when wages are not sufficient to support what housing is available, it...

April 25, 2015

Mayor Tom Butt put out one of his E-Forums with a couple with accusations that are very misleading and untrue in regard to some correspondence I made during my service as Richmond's mayor. In an attempt to divert public opinion away from his role...

April 24, 2015

After the Navy closed its fuel depot there and deeded the property to the City of Richmond, the City Council in 2004 (before Gayle McLaughlin was first elected to the City Council) voted to give the developer Upstream the right to purchase nearly all...