Richmond mayoral candidates square off in televised forum
By Jennifer Baires Contra Costa Times
Posted:   09/26/2014 03:52:50 PM PDT0 Comments
Updated:   09/26/2014 03:52:50 PM PDT

RICHMOND -- Campaign season is well under way in this working-class city, with every member of Richmond's seven-person City Council running for something. Two long-serving council members, Tom Butt and Nat Bates, have safe seats this election cycle but are running for mayor, and termed-out Mayor Gayle McLaughlin seeks a seat on the council.
Joining Butt and Bates in the race for Richmond's top position is a newcomer to the city's raucous political scene, Uche Uwahemu.
The three mayoral candidates gathered recently to discuss their vision for Richmond at a forum moderated by Times columnist Tom Barnidge and hosted by the League of Women Voters and Contra Costa Television.
Butt often agrees with the council's progressive alliance, and Bates is a more conservative council member known for supporting -- and receiving support from -- Chevron. Despite those differences, all three candidates agreed that the city's proposed initiative to try to help underwater homeowners by seizing mortgages through eminent domain should be scrapped, and all approved of a recently passed minimum wage hike.
"The Richmond Cares program was really a creative, brilliant idea, and I supported it," Butt said of the controversial eminent domain program. "But the fact is that it's extremely complicated, and I don't think it's ever going to work. I think it's just sort of going to quietly go away."
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Bates and Uwahemu were more emphatic in their opposition. Uwahemu said it was not well planned and, if elected, he would try to end the initiative.
"It was the worst thing we could have done," Bates said. "The mayor with her Richmond Progressive Alliance and socialist attitude was trying to gain attention for this idea nationwide, and it hurt the city."
On the always hot-button issue of City Council meetings, the three candidates each pointed fingers at someone else for the unruly, drawn-out sessions.
"The mayor has a resonsibitlity to show respect to all council colleagues and audience members," Bates said. "If you don't show respect, you're going to lose respect."
He added that dressing appropriately would go a long way toward professionalizing the meetings. "Some of our council members come in looking like slobs, wearing tank tops."
"To respond to Mr. Bates, let the record reflect I've never worn a tank top to City Council meetings," Butt said with a chuckle. "I think the answer to this is really an easy one. We have one City Council member, Mr. Corky Boozé, who has single-handedly turned our council meetings into a joke because he does not abide by parliamentary procedure ... it's just a pattern in council meetings that is close to anarchy."
Uwahemu said the council lacks leadership from everyone on the dais, and he blamed Butt for Boozé even having a seat on it. "Let me remind you," Uwahemu said, "Tom Butt was the one behind him getting elected. Tom Butt held his hand. He said he was the second coming of Jesus Christ."
Each candidate was also asked to list his top priorities. Uwahemu reiterated his focus on bringing businesses to Richmond and expanding port operations, as well as establishing a technical school.
Bates, for his part, said he wants a balanced budget (in earlier comments he said this could be achieved by cutting positions at City Hall), a more positive business environment and a more responsive City Hall.
Butt said he sees the city as heading in a good direction and would continue that by further decreasing Richmond's once-notorious crime rates, improving infrastructure (especially city streets) and making Richmond a healthy and sustainable place to live.
The Richmond mayoral round table will air at 8 p.m. Oct. 2, 12 p.m. Oct. 13 and 8 p.m. Oct. 14 on KCRT, Comcast Channel 28 and AT&T Channel 99.
Jennifer Baires covers Orinda, Lafayette and Moraga. Contact her at 925-943-8378. Follower her at twitter.com/jenniferbaires