Well, it seems I am in good company. The negative ads are starting in on me now with the fingerprints of Chevron ad Nat Bates all over them

We have the mailer by BMW entitled “Beware of Tom Butt,” the “Arkansas Rattlesnake” paid for by BMW, which is Nat Bates.  Bates is synonymous with BMW, being the “Founding member of (BMW) Black Men and Women Political organization” (http://ca-richmond2.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=398), and having been fined $7,000 by the Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to report contributions (http://www.fppc.ca.gov/Agendas/2005/04-05/99-726AExh.pdf).

I am being accused of lying, but it is, in fact, the hit piece that is a lie.

·         CLAIM – “Lying to the Voters and his Colleague. 2014: After committing to vote to terminate the very risky eminent domain contract, Mr. Butt reneged and voted to continue the contract.”
FACT: I placed the issue on the agenda because the contract as originally written, allowed the City to terminate it only once a year, and that date was approaching. When the other party, Mortgage Resolution Partners, agreed to drop the once a year termination clause and allow it to be terminated at any time, I discontinued pursuing it.

·         CLAIM: “Lying About His Colleagues. 1999: Butt embarrassed the City by accusing African American elected officials, Irma Anderson, Nat Bates, Lesa McIntosh and Richard Griffin, along with Jewish Councilman Alex Evans of financial misdealings. After a raid and extensive investigation over six months by over 100 FBI and Treasury agents, not one African American elected official received even a traffic ticket.”
·         FACT: I had nothing to do with instigating the investigation, and I was interviewed by the FBI just like everyone else. Nat Bates’ pal, Darrell Reese was convicted of felony tax evasion (http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-white-shadow/Content?oid=1066316). Alex Evans is not Jewish.

·         CLAIM: “Ripping Off Taxpayers: Ongoing – Mr. Butt has ripped off taxpayers to the tune of $9 million dollars through non-competitive contracts with the West Contra Costa School District, including his current project at Nystrom School. His practice of finessing “change orders” allows him to line his pockets with thousands of dollars above the original contracts.”
FACT: I am one of seven owners of Interactive Resources. We provide A-E services to dozens of federal, state and local public agencies, including BART, AC Transit, East Bay Regional Parks District and a number of cities and counties. We also provide services to WCCUSD. We do not and cannot provide services to the City of Richmond. We were competitively selected by WCCUSD to design four school projects under the provisions of Government Code Section 4526, which requires selection based on “demonstrated competence and qualifications for the types of services to be performed and at fair and reasonable prices to the public agencies.”

·         CLAIM: “Throwing Friends Under the Bus. 2014: Mr. Butt’s last minute entry into the mayoral race left his good friend Michael Parker in a very bad position. Parker had been campaigning for more than six months and had borrowed and spent nearly $50 thousand dollars in his quest to become mayor only to be thrown under the bus by Mr. Butt.”
FACT: Mike Parker and I were in complete agreement about my candidacy as having the best chance of defeating Nat Bates, and he has subsequently endorsed me.

·         CLAIM: “2010 – present: Tom Butt supported Corky Booze, his friend of 30 years in his bid for City Council, then Butt obsessed with destroying Booze through a barrage of vicious public remarks. What kind of friendship is this?”
FACT: Gayle McLaughlin, Jovanka Beckles and I all endorsed Corky in 2010. Once he was elected, he turned on all of us and began a one-man crusade to destroy civility on the City Council. What kind of a friend is that?

CLAIM: “Disrespecting Our Most Vulnerable – 2014: Treatment of residents of the Hacienda public housing complex by Tom Butt and his administrative staff is unacceptable and embarrassing to the City. For Mr. butt to imply the tenants feel as if they are guests of a hotel and deserving maid service is despicable on so many levels, while lacking the sensitivity and compassion to those less fortunate than most of us. Mr. Butt actually state that media reports of the dreadful living conditions at the Hacienda were exaggerated!”
FACT: See Feeling the Elephant March 08, 2014, for a full explanation. By the way, I have no administrative staff.

The other piece is a video paid for by the Chevron-funded Moving Forward, distributed by Nat Bates under the heading  "Please View This Video Clip Before You Vote," that includes some outtakes from July 2014 Council meetings showing the audience hissing and booing with the mayor calling a recess and me yelling at the audience and the mayor. The cuts of Nat, however, show him condemning the rest of us and preaching civility. I can’t complain about the video, because it happened, but I don’t appreciate Chevron paying to have it edited out of context.

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