As part of their effort to increase awareness of the 2020 U.S. census — and boost their residents’ participation — the mayors of Oakland and Richmond have embarked on a competition to see which city has a higher response rate.

With most federal funding tied to census numbers, which determine how many congressional representatives are apportioned to each community, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Richmond Mayor Tom Butt are upping the ante even further.

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Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.