United front against Bates in Richmond mayor's race
Chip Johnson
Published 5:01 pm, Monday, August 11, 2014

Tom Butt announced his candidacy for mayor of Richmond, where he will oppose former mayor Nat Bates in the race. Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle
Remember "Anybody but Perata?"
That was the mantra councilwomen Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan used in 2010 that resulted in an upset during late rounds of ranked-choice vote tallies that eliminated former state Sen. Don Perata and left Quan as the winner.
Now Richmond is getting a taste, although under much different circumstances.
Try "Anybody but Bates" - as in Richmond councilman Nat Bates, who is running for mayor.
Bates, 82, is a longtime political presence in Richmond, a walking, talking anachronism who has held office, not continuously, since 1967, including two stints as mayor in the late 1970s.
In the opinion of his rivals, a Bates victory represents a step back in time - and in the wrong direction.
So on Friday, Richmond Progressive Alliance candidate Mike Parker withdrew his candidacy and veteran City Council member Tom Butt announced his mayoral campaign. Uche Uwahemu, a local business owner, is also running for the seat.
The concern among the city's political leaders is that if Parker and Butt split the city's liberal vote, it could provide an opportunity for Bates to win - and both Butt and Parker believe that is something that must be prevented.
"Mr. Bates essentially represents what Chevron wants in the city - and a return to the old boy crony network that took the city down a decade ago," Parker said. "He is an enabler of people like (Council colleague) Corky Boozé and others in the audience who have attacked council member Jovanka Beckles."
Hateful words
For almost a year, Boozé and a group of council gadflies have insulted, berated and threatened Beckles - an openly lesbian council member - at council meetings.
Bates has stood by and watched - saying he believes in their First Amendment right to express themselves - while Butt has supported a half-dozen proposed measures to curtail the shouting and chaos.
Butt, 70, has served on the council since 1995 and seen a shift in Richmond's politics over the years from an emphasis on serving business interests to serving residents.
"The mind-set of the council I came to was, 'We got to take care of Chevron and developers and the industrial community,' " Butt said. "It was Richmond's version of the trickle-down theory: We take care of Chevron and developers and we reap the benefits."
It was a strategy that Butt rejected.
"The reason businesses come to a city is not because the council kisses their ass, they're looking for amenities and quality of life because that's what their employees want," he said. "It has to be a city that's attractive to people - and that's what I've tried to do - make Richmond a place where people want to live."
To that end the city built Marina Bay, a waterfront community of 3,000 homes and opened Craneway Pavilion, a 40,000-square-foot venue for concerts, conventions and gatherings.
Under the leadership of Police Chief Chris Magnus, the city's crime rate has plummeted. In 2013, Richmond recorded the lowest homicide rate in 33 years.
Losing key leaders
Considering some of the attitudes that have been displayed at council meetings, Butt worries that a Bates victory could cost the city some of its key leaders, namely Magnus, who is openly gay.
"I worry that if Nat was to win this, some of our world-class management team would bail out," he said. "There have been a couple of nights when I've woken up in a cold sweat from a nightmare that Nat Bates was mayor. Neither one of us are young guys, but he represents a Richmond that disappeared one or two decades ago, and we don't need to go back."
Bates says he wants to dwell on the "the positive aspects to get my message to fair, open-minded people who hopefully will support my candidacy."
"I'm running on my record and relationship not with just the black community, but the entire city," Bates says.
On his relationship with Chevron: Bates said it has resulted in significant funding for youth sports, programs for seniors and nonprofit organizations that operate in the city.
Shrinking minority
And on the heckling of Beckles, Bates says: "When people come before the council, you might not like what they have to say, but as long as they're not using profanity or yelling and screaming, they have a First Amendment right."
That's a paper-thin veneer that's been employed to conceal or rationalize hate speech for years, and it's a clear indication that the times are changin', but Bates is not.
That's why his rivals are right to join together to ensure his defeat. Bates' views are a fading historical reflection of a shrinking minority, not the majority of a 21st century Bay Area city.
He shouldn't be elected mayor. He can't be mayor.
Chip Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column runs on Tuesday and Friday. E-mail: chjohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @chjohnson