Richmond City Council (Richmond, California)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Richmond, British Columbia, Canada city council see, Richmond City Council (Richmond, British Columbia).

Richmond City Council group photograph (2005). From left: Jim Rodgers, Richard Grifin, María Viramontes, Gayle McLaughlin, Irma Anderson, Mindell Penn, Nathanial Bates, John Márquez, Tom Butt

Richmond City Council is the governing body for the city of Richmond, California.

The council consists of the Mayor of Richmond and eight other city council members, one designated Vice Mayor. The council members are all elected from the whole city; no members are elected by district or ward. The council members are elected to four-year terms, as opposed to the previous six-year terms. They are not all elected at once.

The council members meet every first and third Tuesday of the month and, if necessary, hold special meetings on the remaning Tuesdays.

Presently, there are eight Democrats, including Mayor Anderson; one member of the Green Party, and no Republicans.

The city council has met at the Richmond Civic Center at City Hall for decades, but due to seismic instability the council has been forced to meet at an alternative site in the Marina Bay neighborhood. Some of the council favor a permanent move to this site, which is newer and in one of the more affluent neighborhoods. However, the majority of the populace is against this action as it would move City Hall from a central location to a rather isolated one.

In the recent 2006 Richmond, California mayorial election, Gayle McLaughlin of the Green Party was elected mayor of Richmond after a close race with Democrats Irma Anderson and Gary Bell.

"

[edit] Mayor Irma Anderson

First African-American female mayor of a major California city.

[edit] Vice Mayor María Viramontes

First Latina on city council; first Latino and Latina appointed vice mayor

[edit] Jim Rogers

Rights activist; former lawyer (resigned from the State Bar of California with disciplinary charges pending)

[edit] Gayle McLaughlin

First green party member on city council and first to run for mayor.

[edit] John E. Márquez

[edit] Nathanial "Nate" Bates

[edit] Richard Griffin

[edit] Tom Butt

[edit] Tony K. Thurmond

[edit] External links

• Richmond City Council