With only about nine months left until election day in November 2014, the campaign landscape in Richmond has been as dry as the California hills, but that is about to change. Campaign fundraising and expenditure filings are due tomorrow, and they will provide a window into who is raising money for a run, and who is actually planning to run.

By all accounts, I am the only City Council member not planning to run for something.

Nat Bates has long since announced for mayor, and WCCUSD President Charles Ramsey has been planning to challenge him since the middle of last year (http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_23628422/school-board-leader-charles-ramsey-has-sights-set). Ramsey already has nearly $100,000 in his campaign war chest (see Charles Ramsey for mayor of Richmond Form 460) and has quietly been collecting numerous key endorsements. Meanwhile, Chevron and the Chamber of Commerce have been strategizing how they can elevate their favorite councilmember to the mayor’s seat. The race between Bates and Ramsey promises to be a clash of titans, given the past record of multi-million dollar Chevron backed campaigns and Ramsey’s unbroken string of successes in school board elections going back over 20 years  and his leadership in leading the largest per capita school reconstruction project in California. But wait, there’s more. Expect an announcement soon of a third candidate from one of Richmond’s best known political organizations.

On the City Council side, expect all incumbents to run for reelection. Also expect a full slate of candidates from the RPA opposed by a full slate of candidates backed by Chevron and the Chamber of Commerce. The comparatively large number of seats open always encourages optimism of victory, so expect a fair number of unaffiliated candidates to jump in. There will be surprises. An E-FORUM reader even heard former City Council member Donna Powers vow to return to Richmond for a run this year.

One open question is who will run for the two-year seat now occupied by Jael Myrick. Last time this happened, Tony Thurmond, who had been appointed like Jael, ran for his own two-year seat unopposed and walked in without a contested campaign. Rumor is that Booze might try for the less popular two-year seat to increase his chance of victory.

We’ll know a lot more in a few days.

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