Seven candidates are running for three open seats on the Richmond City Council this year.
In District 1, incumbent Melvin Lee Willis Jr. is being challenged by Jamelia Brown and Mark Wassberg.
Willis is a Richmond native who has been on the council since 2016. He said on his campaign site he doesn’t take contributions from corporations or developers.
Willis’ site touts his introduction of the ordinance to raise the local minimum wage to $15 and that he supported rent control protections and preserving Point Molate as a park rather than selling the area just north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to a developer. He also said he supported keeping undocumented immigrants’ information away from federal authorities and the “Ban the Box” campaign to prevent employers from asking about applicants’ criminal history on job applications.
Willis has campaigned on increasing affordable housing, improving wages, protecting the environment, securing a local hospital, and expanding opportunities for youth.
Like Willis, Jamelia Brown is a lifelong Richmond resident. She’s an educator, having taught in the West Contra Costa Unified School District at both Kennedy High School and Lovonya DeJean Middle School.
First: Melvin Willis is a Richmond, Calif., City Councilmember and District 1 candidate. (Melvin Willis via Bay City News) Last: amelia Brown is a Richmond, Calif., City District 1 City Council 2024 candidate. (Jamelia Brown via Bay City News)
Brown has used her doctorate degree in social work from University of Southern California as a community organizer, addiction counselor and to connect people to social services and other resources, according to her campaign site.
In his candidate statement, Wassberg said he’s an actor, filmmaker, and TV talk show host. Wassberg doesn’t have a campaign website.
A frequent critic of the council over the years, Wassberg ran for mayor two years ago. He advocates for more police and has referred to the Richmond Progressive Alliance — of which Willis is a member — of being communists who have tripled the city homicide rate and hurt job growth.
District 5 Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin is retiring after nearly 20 years on the council. Ahmad Anderson and Sue Wilson are vying to take her place.
Anderson likely knows the job well, having grown up the son of two former Richmond mayors — Irma Anderson and Rev Booker T. Anderson.
Anderson has served as chairperson of Richmond’s Economic Development Commission. His professional background is in human resources, including serving as Goodwill’s vice president of human resources. He also serves on the board of directors of the University of California Alumni Association, has been on the board of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and was interim general manager at Berkeley radio station KPFA.
Anderson said on his campaign site he wants to reimagine and reinvest in public safety, ensure “robust” budget oversight, make Richmond more affordable, and “Develop and carry out a comprehensive economic and workforce development action plan” for the city.
Wilson said on her campaign site she has been endorsed by McLaughlin. She said she won’t take campaign money from corporations, businesses or business-promoting organizations.
Wilson is a UC Berkeley graduate and has worked for health care unions, including the Cailfornia Nurses Association. She has also worked as a consultant for nonprofits.
Wilson said on her campaign site she also has the endorsement of current Mayor Eduardo Martinez, council members Melvin Willis, Claudia Jimenez and Doria Robinson, as well as Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who represents Richmond.
Jimenez, the District 6 incumbent who has been on the council since 2020, is an immigrant from Colombia. She counts among her accomplishments three years of budget surplus, fewer Richmond homicides than ever last year and helping the city gain $80 million by supporting Measure U, which changed how the city taxes businesses, from a flat tax to one based on gross receipts.
Jimenez also takes at least partial credit for park improvements, a complete renovation of the city’s main library, expanded violence prevention programs, raises for city staff, emergency rent relief for tenants and “enhanced solutions” for homelessness.
Challenger Shawn Dunning is an independent consultant in organizational development and conflict resolution and was chief operations officer of organizational development company Adventure Associates Inc. according to his campaign website.
The site said Dunning is an avid community organizer, volunteer and nonprofit board member.
He said, if elected, he’ll advocate for basic housing for everyone and support for the community, “from mental health support to police protection.” He also wants “calm traffic and enforcement of basic laws.”
Dunning said he wants policymaking to be guided by transparency, accountability, and equity and for residents to see results for the taxes they pay. He wants to afford “reasonable protection” for both renters and “mom and pop” landlords. He wants to welcome businesses with incentives and fair tax policy and to make Richmond affordable to live in for those working there. He also said city government should always operate with integrity.