Mr. Lopez:

Thank you for your two emails received today, which are copied at the end of this email for context in my response below:

• Requiring people to leave the City Council Chamber was simply a function of the California Fire Code, which requires the maximum occupancy of any assembly space to be posted and enforced. For you to turn this into an action that “betrayed members of the community” and were “civil rights violations.” is both naïve and insulting. Would you allow several hundred people to crowd into one of your classrooms, creating a public safety hazard and violating the law? Of course not.
• The item was, in fact, moved up on the agenda, but it was preceded by two items of significant importance to the entire city, not just to one group. The first was renewal of the city manager’s contract, and the second was the Richmond Promise Program, which will benefit every Richmond resident who graduates from high school, including your students.
• You provided no notice to me or anyone on City staff that several hundred people would be attending the meeting. Perhaps if you had done so, we could have provided an overflow room or changed the location of the meeting to the Memorial Auditorium, as has been done more than once in the past. Can you provide an estimate of the number of people who will attend the November 24 meeting and plan to speak at Open Forum?
• We do need to repair the video screen in the Lobby. Thank you for informing me that it is not working.
• You stated, “A Juarez Elementary School father, whose wife and child attended the meeting as well, left to take his son, a Kindergartner, home for the night because it was simply too cold outside. The mother stayed to address you, city leaders. Sadly, both father and 5 year old were shot on their way home from the council meeting.” Your assertions are both incorrect and inflammatory. The adult who was shot on the evening of November 24 was never at the City Council meeting, nor was his 5-year old son. Richmond Police Department sources have indicated that so far the investigation strongly suggests that the shooting was not random and that one or more adult occupants of the vehicle were likely targeted. It is tragic that the 5-year old son of one of the adult individuals in the car was also shot. My heart goes out to him and his family, but to somehow blame this on the events at the City Council meeting is both inaccurate and completely unfair.
• The playground that Mr. Poe built for you was not out of altruism; it was a requirement of the Conditional Use Permit. You should thank the Richmond Planning Commission, not Mr. Poe.
• I am not inclined to move this item off the November 24 Agenda. We have only two more meetings this year after November 24 -- December 1 and December 15, both with full agendas. I will not be at the December 1 City Council meeting because I will be attending the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris.  I am told by the city attorney that California law compels us to move this expeditiously. We should have done it on the November 17, but we made a valiant effort, finishing public comment only well after midnight. In any event, there will be no opportunity for public speakers to comment on the item when it comes up on November 24 because we completed public comment on November 17. The public will, however, have an opportunity at Open Forum. At this time, the only way the item can be moved to a different date is by a vote of the City Council on November 24.
• You stated, “To highlight one huge difference between us and the traditional school district Mr. Butt, we do not have ​pre-paid ​building​s​, municipal tax or local bond revenues or capacities….we must make our own path.” I do not believe that is an accurate statement. California law requires the district that provides a charter to a charter school to provide both operating funds and housing, both of which are paid from the same tax sources that traditional public schools utilize, including bond funds.
• You stated, “We were able to secure a commitment and letter of understanding from the developer, Richard Poe, a commitment for a small parcel of land, slated for the possibility of developing teacher housing, a concept that many urban districts such as Oakland and San Francisco have begun to address.” I have requested a copy of that letter and other details about Mr. Poe’s commitment to teacher housing, but you have not provided them.

Mr. Lopez, we have an obligation under California law to provide Mr. Poe and your school families the same opportunity for public engagement that we provide to everyone else, but we are not required, and there is no compelling reason, to provide enhanced opportunities that would deprive others of an opportunity to engage on issues that are similarly vital to them.

Tom Butt, Mayor
City of Richmond

Letters and Emails from Jorge Lopez

Dear Richmond City Leaders- 

First of all, I am proud to say that I am a native of Richmond, CA; fourth generation. Upon attending college and working throughout different parts of the state, I returned to Richmond to fulfill a lifelong mission of mine to provide a positive service to Richmond youth who are often neglected. Thus, in 2012 we established Richmond Charter Academy, a public charter middle school that opened in a small church facility in Central Richmond. Within the first few years, Richmond Charter Academy became the highest performing middle school in the history of West Contra Costa Unified School District with an Academic Performance Index score of 812. One would think that the school community, especially the kids would be celebrated and congratulated for such an achievement, instead what we have received is a constant barrage of obstacles and now possible civil rights violations aimed towards our families who were, by actions of some city leaders and staff, sent away without being able to address the city council.
  
We must call a spade a spade and put the blame where it belongs. Considering that what I witnessed was not at all a practice in democracy, I cannot hide it but to say that city leaders betrayed members of the community, and not only am I going to say it, but I am going to prove how Richmond Families rights were violated on Tuesday November 17: 

• Even though over 40 speaker cards were submitted to the Richmond Riviera Project, and at minimum two school personnel asked to move the item up in the agenda to accommodate the kids and families, the item was dead last - even though it was known that the families were there for the Riviera item.  
• The chamber doors were locked by a man in a suit who someone later identified as a city staff member, to keep people stop people to enter the chambers from the lobby. They said it was too loud. However, I witnessed a person who was allowed time to say a racist diatribe, argue in the lobby and yet no one asked him to leave.
• Overflow Room: Once the families were forced to stand in the hallway, the fire official asked them to exit the building. Thus, little children, students, families, and grandparents were told to stand outside on a cold November night. How come no one offered to open an overflow room as has been done at previous city council meeting to accommodate families? I saw it happen during Chevron meetings most recent, where rooms in the civic center were opened to accommodate.
• The television in the lobby was turned off: Those standing in the lobby could not see proceedings. The lobby access television turned the television off thus families could not hear the council discussions. Even though approximately 60% of the city are Latino, mainly Spanish Speaking, the city does not offer any translation service, video text or anything of that nature, Thus Latino families must find a translator to bring with them to address city leaders. This is beyond an oversight- it is disconnect.  
• A Juarez Elementary School father, whose wife and child attended the meeting as well, left to take his son, a Kindergartner, home for the night because it was simply too cold outside. The mother stayed to address you, city leaders. Sadly, both father and 5 year old were shot on their way home from the council meeting. A reminder to all of us that while the projected city led project is aiming to attract San Francisco residents and tourists, there are many issue that remain to be addressed with current Richmond residents. 

All we wanted was to be heard.
  
I do not know all of the history between the City of Richmond, Richard Poe, and the rest of the individuals involved with the project. Frankly, I really do not care- I can’t. My job is to make sure our schools remain vibrant and the students, staff and families are served well by the actions that I, as the leader of the organization, can create for the school community.

One of the concepts we have been grappling with is talent recruitment, same as most California schools. We were able to secure a commitment and letter of understanding from the developer, Richard Poe, a commitment for a small parcel of land, slated for the possibility of developing teacher housing, a concept that many urban districts such as Oakland and San Francisco have begun to address. Moreover, we received Mr. Poe’s added commitment for his assistance in helping the school build a playground- a really expensive project for a public school to take on. The playground design, by the way, was mandated and detailed by the Planning Commission during our CUP process.

The concepts and designs of the Riviera project, and the benefits of the school were presented to school and family leaders by Mr. Poe and his team, and as such, the school community became excited for the concept. We all agreed to support Mr. Poe, but what I have heard since the council meeting is that the families were somehow force fed the Richmond Riviera Project or that Mr. Poe is bullying us and our families to speak. The level of disrespect is deafening. Is it hard to believe that black and brown families could produce independent thought? Do those that make such comments think Latino and Black families are stupid?  Again, all families wanted that night was to be heard. 

School is out of session next week, the week for the Riviera vote, and families, staff and students are off and many out of town to spend time with loved ones.  It is my request that the city re-dignify itself and how they handle Richmond families and out of respect for residents; I request that you please move the item to December 1st so that individuals can attend and speak during Open Forum at the December meeting.
  
This is a moment when Richmond city leaders could show true civic leadership and community spirit and accommodate the families and to remember that there is no better teacher than adversity and reaction and to keep in mind that every obstacle, every threat, and every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve our performance the next time. I hope that you will find the importance to allow the item to be heard at the December 1 meeting. 

All the families want is to be heard.  

Respectively,  

Jorge Lopez

Mr. Butt-

Unfortunately, we tried to do just that at the city council meeting. If our families would have had a chance to speak, you would have heard more about the support for the teacher housing idea, and other resources we have secured in the process. You would have also heard from families themselves why they oppose high density housing anywhere in Richmond being that many of them live in such housing now.

Mr. Poe, and his team presented to our family and school leaders the concept and the commitment for teacher housing and resources for a school playground- that will go far in making sure we can have a safe place for our kids to play. However, our school community has encountered one obstacle over another as we have dealt with civic leaders and staff in Richmond seeking to serve Richmond kids. This is why we as a community, must mobilize constantly. I do not know all of the historical background between you, the city and Mr. Poe’s issues- frankly, it’s not my business. But serving our school community and students is my domain, and by supporting the project, we can counter various issues facing us such as teacher recruitment, and resources to cover the extremely large costs tied to the CUP process for our schools. To highlight one huge difference between us and the traditional school district Mr. Butt, we do not have ​pre-paid ​building​s​, municipal tax or local bond revenues or capacities….we must make our own path.

I am very sorry for my disjointed rant at council last meeting; I was tired, angry, and sad that one of our students and family members were shot that night. It was a bad.  

I hope you can find it necessary to move the Riviera item to a date that is not in the middle of a holiday so families could address leaders​ and then you have a chance to clear up the matter in a transparent and open fashion.

Thank you ​for your contact, and I wish you and yours a restful and joyous holiday.

​Respectfully, ​

​Jorge Lopez​