Eduardo Martinez

Yes. Everyone deserves dignified, safe, secure housing that meets all of their needs.

My track record shows this commitment to housing for all. As Councilmember, I have supported:
● the establishment of rent control in Richmond and now Measure P.
● policies to stop evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent tenant harassment.
● the Fair Chance Housing Act.
● “Ban the box” legislation.
Moreover, affordable housing is one of my key platform planks. As part of my campaign, I have pledged to:
○ Continue supporting support tenant protections such as rent control, just cause for eviction, anti-harassment ordinances, habitability ordinances, prohibition of discrimination based on source of income, and addressing predatory practices around rental application and other fees.
○ Prioritize infill development with strong PLAs and CBAs.
○ Eliminating income discrimination against tenants
○ Supporting tenant rights to organize a tenant union in their building
○ Supporting a tenant’s right to counsel in housing court when facing an eviction.

Shawn Dunning

Yes. I believe every human being deserves reasonable protection, including basic and affordable housing. It is a crime against humanity to look the other way at Richmond residents involuntarily living on our streets, and I commit to providing the leadership necessary to get serious about how we find lasting and comprehensive solutions. This will require an extraordinary degree of cooperation and collaboration with a wide array of organizations, county, state and federal entities, and everyday people. We can make significant progress, and I will bring unlikely stakeholders together in such an effort. Much heroic work is already being done, but we need a paradigm shift. I will not give up.

Doria Robinson

Yes. Housing for all is a primary plank of my platform. This includes a wide range of legislative strategies including supporting:

• a comprehensive approach to serving and securing humane housing for unsheltered residents.
• Community Land Trusts to stabilize housing costs by removing housing from the speculative market and making some housing permanently affordable for low income households.
• more City initiated low income housing development
  City advocacy for changes in federal low income and affordable housing funding
  continuing and improving existing rent control measures
  overturning state legislation such as Costa Hawkins and the Ellis Act.

Cesar Zepeda

Yes, I believe housing is a human right. My platform discusses housing and the need for affordable housing in our communities.

Jamin Pursell

Housing justice means our policies ensure housing is a human right. Housing should be safe, stable, dignified, and appropriate for a person’s life. It should not be a profit-making activity. Affordable housing should not take up more than 30% of a household’s income, and it should be an appropriate size for a household’s needs. Increasing housing supply
is one prong of the complex solutions needed, but my platform also insists that housing projects:

● Are public transit-oriented (centrally located; considerate of accessibility issues; discourage car use for basic services).
● Are not placed in zones of more predictable climate disasters (i.e. sea level rise and wildfires).
● Minimize harm to Richmond’s biodiversity and natural environment.
● Discourage displacement and prioritize affordability for those with very low to moderate incomes.
● Do not replace public green spaces.
● Are not built on or near a former toxic waste site.

Eduardo Martinez

Passage of the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance required annual reports sharing data of access and assessing ordinance implementation, but this hasn’t occurred. Because of low city staffing, this ordinance has gone virtually unimplemented and has no enforcement mechanism. One of my platform planks is to prioritize full city staffing, in order to ensure such programs are actually put into place.
I would support the expansion of the act beyond implementation by:
● expanding fair chance housing protections, such as removing criminal background checks
● expanding the ordinance beyond public housing applications to other housing providers.

Shawn Dunning

Yes, in principle, though details matter. I agree with “ban the box” for both jobs and housing. In order to expand Richmond’s fair chance ordinance to private landlords, I believe they should be involved in the process without assuming that they will block it. I would support a collaborative approach to expanding the rights for community members who were formerly incarcerated. Having met many, I believe they deserve every fair chance we can afford them.

Doria Robinson

Yes. I support Richmond’s fair chance housing ordinance but believe it should be extended beyond public housing providers and protections could be expanded to remove criminal background checks entirely, or at least prohibit them until later in the process. I also believe the city needs to improve data gathering processes and implementation of this ordinance. The Richmond ordinance which passed several years ago requires annual reports but this has yet to occur. I would work with the City Manager to fill vacancies within our city so implementation of policy such as the fair chance housing ordinance can occur.

Cesar Zepeda

Yes. I support Richmond’s fair chance housing ordinance but believe it should be extended beyond public housing providers and protections could be expanded to remove criminal background checks entirely, or at least prohibit them until later in the process. I also believe the city needs to improve data gathering processes and implementation of this ordinance. The Richmond ordinance which passed several years ago requires annual reports but this has yet to occur. I would work with the City Manager to fill vacancies within our city so implementation of policy such as the fair chance housing ordinance can occur.

Jamin Pursell

First, the city must identify a department to effectively implement the ordinance that has already been passed. But this ordinance is not entirely sufficient, as it only delays criminal background checks in the housing application process. I support an expansion that would make it entirely unlawful for landlords to ask about arrests or convictions at any stage in the process or to deny housing based on such records. This expansion could be proposed by a Council member.

Eduardo Martinez

Community health is an utmost priority. For instance, I believe that, without a comprehensive clean-up of the AstraZeneca site, absolutely no housing should be built there. This clean-up should go far beyond what was approved by the DTSC to cap the site and remove only approximately 2% of the contaminated soil. Instead, a thorough soil excavation is needed, and Richmond should commission a new environmental impact report that employs more rigorous health standards and considers recent data on sea-level rise. Complete environmental surveys should be linked to any development of public land for public use or sale to developers.

Shawn Dunning

I believe in science, and whenever bonafide scientists have reasonable concerns about the habitability of an area, I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. As a representative of Richmond, both internally and externally, I will advocate for healthy living environments for all residents, even if that means taking longer to ensure prospective sites are adequately cleaned up.

Doria Robinson

Housing should be built near public transit and other amenities, on land that already has services like the downtown area, and land that is environmentally safe for housing (not toxic and take into account sea level rise). I’m specifically concerned about the proposed housing development of the Astra Zeneca site without a comprehensive clean-up. Remediation should extend beyond what was approved by the DTSC to cap the site and remove only 2% of the contaminated soil. Instead, I support a thorough soil excavation, and for Richmond to commission a new environmental impact report that incorporates more comprehensive health standards and recent sea-level rise data.

Cesar Zepeda

The City should continue to work to remediate and test for contaminants in all developments and if full removal of all contaminants is not feasible then not allow for construction of housing in the area to ensure community health is not impacted. I would not approve any developments unless they are safe for everyone to live in.

Jamin Pursell

There are 170 toxic sites around the city that are contaminated with a plethora of heavy metals, carcinogenic materials, and even radiation. These sites must be dealt with in order not to risk them spreading.
My hope would be to use such sites for adult education around remediation. This approach could serve as one prong of a local Green New Deal for Richmond residents. Moreover, here is another place where the establishment of a City Grants Department
would be incredibly helpful, in order to bring in additional state and federal funds to address cleanup and facilitate safe and healthy development of these locations.

Eduardo Martinez

No. I have always and will always refuse campaign contributions from all corporations, lobbyists, developers, real estate associations, and the police union.

Shawn Dunning

I have been steadfast in my guarantee to invite all stakeholders to the table in order to solve problems in Richmond, and I commit to preventing any entity from owning the table. They certainly won’t own me.

I believe campaign funding has absolutely zero quid-pro-quo value for me, and I have told all funders and prospective funders the same thing–nobody gets special treatment from me and everyone gets a seat at the table whether they support me or not. With that said, anyone who wants to support my campaign is welcome to do so, as I do not have the deep pockets that my competitors do.

I have not received funding from Chevron, nor do I anticipate receiving any. I received $500 from Sims Metal after I asked to tour their facility to see for myself what goes on there. I received $1,000 from the California Real Estate PAC after they invited me for an interview. In neither case did I make any promises other than to invite them to the table to participate in relevant problem-solving.

Doria Robinson

No. I am running as a corporate free candidate. I am not accepting donations from Chevron or any other corporation. I am also not accepting donations from law enforcement unions. I am accepting endorsement and support from other unions, such as educators, health care workers and non-police public employees.

Cesar Zepeda

I have not and will not be accepting donations from Chevron or corporations and their affiliates. I am pro-union and have accepted union support; I am endorsed by SEIU and others.

Jamin Pursell

No. I refuse all campaign contributions from any corporation, lobbyists, developers, and the police union.

Eduardo Martinez

● Through implementation and expansion of the Fair Chance Housing ordinance, which will include a protracted effort to hire more city staff.
● Greater municipal investment in quality SROs, workforce housing, and social housing, in order to offer affordable and stable shelter in central locations.
● Hiring a Housing Navigator onto city staff with expertise in supporting formerly incarcerated people.
● Partnering more closely with the county to harness wraparound services.
● Investment in a supportive housing model on city staff.

Shawn Dunning

In addition to my response above (#2), aside from prohibiting discrimination, I belive we can do more to attract and support healthy business growth in Richmond that will lead to more jobs for everyone, including those with felony records or history of incarceration. I believe in restorative justice, and when we give individuals the chance to be whole again, we all benefit.

Here’s an example of when I took a stand on this issue. 

Doria Robinson

In addition to the specific ways the fair chance housing ordinance could be strengthened (referenced in #2), the City of Richmond also passed ban the box legislation related to employment in 2013, but it only covers the City of Richmond as an employer. I support the California fair chance act (2018) that delays when in the hiring process an employer can ask about an applicant’s conviction history or run a background check. The city could create business tax credits to incentivize employers to hire Richmond residents with a criminal charge.

Cesar Zepeda

Work with developers and housing providers to provide for housing for formerly incarcerated-low-income housing for all and work with employers to provide employment opportunities.

Jamin Pursell

1. Implementation and expansion of the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance.
2. Creating a Housing Navigator position within the city to aid vulnerable populations.
3. Work more closely with the county to regularly obtain housing vouchers for Richmond residents.

Eduardo Martinez

I believe in a Just Transition for Richmond—i.e., shifting our major economic infrastructure away from extractive industries and toward a local economy that is environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable.

While a critical component of this plan is the creation of clean-energy jobs with living wages, these may not be sufficient to employ and transfer the skills of workers now dependent on extractive industries.

The Green New Deal framework provides us with guidance here, even on a local level: Richmond should significantly invest in public works projects with union pay, a prioritization on local hiring, and worker retraining opportunities. Community education will be critical to build support for integrating an environmental vision into economic development plans, including utilizing environmentally sustainable materials for infrastructure and capital improvement projects.
Chevron has successfully used a divide-and-conquer strategy between labor and grassroots organizations in Richmond. The workers of the refinery are told that environmentalists don’t care about their jobs— that regulations and a Just Transition away from fossil fuels will kneecap Richmond’s economy. Community members are told that the refinery workers love Chevron, that they support the company in all it does.

To invigorate Richmond’s Just Transition, I hope to participate in repairing this relationship between labor and environmental justice. A green economy must be both community and worker led. The loss of the coal industry in Appalachia is instructive here: if we phase out or lose a huge industry without worker-led planning, we ensure the mass impoverishment of thousands of workers who rely on this stable income, as well as their political alienation from progressive and climate-centered causes.

Shawn Dunning

Richmond was born from industry, and we can continue to thrive with industry, but we need to catch up to the 21st century with an eye toward clean energy and sustainable business practices that not only minimize direct environmental impact but also serve to provide local jobs that don’t require commuting to other cities. Richmond’s growing cannabis industry is one of those avenues, and others should be developed as well. I believe if we invest in healthy business growth, those businesses will invest in us–including with sustainable wages.

Doria Robinson

I want the City to create a plan to diversify its income streams so that we never again become dependent on any one industry. I also think a part of income diversification should be stronger support for small business development and re-tooling of small business financing so that it is available to those most in need and is non-extractive. The cannabis industry needs to have a special attention to equity issues given the deep historical criminalization of communities of color. I think licenses for new growing operations and dispensaries should consider how each proposed business repairs the decades of harm the War on Drugs and marijuana laws had on low income communities of color. Regarding green jobs, I think we should reorganize our workforce development department to have a focus area on green and renewable energy job training and small business development to help members or environmental justice communities to expand new markets.

Cesar Zepeda

Asking all current and new employers to transition towards green jobs; especially Chevron. I will support and help continue leading green jobs with sustainable wages.

Jamin Pursell

Working class people most affected by pollution and environmental racism are the top priority to build and lead a cleaner local economy in Richmond. To achieve this goal, I will use tools like city mandates for Community Benefits Agreements and Project Labor Agreements on private companies to require local hire for frontline communities into good, union jobs in clean energy, transit and housing.

I’ll also keep building on public youth jobs programs, like we’ve begun with Reimagine Richmond and YouthWorks, and skilled union pre-apprenticeship training programs, to make sure the young people most affected by environmental injustice have support to build and lead the local green transition.

I also will work towards a future of job creation that is not based on the exploitation of natural resources, minority groups, communities, and the environment. This means investing in alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal. That also means retraining the workforce that is in traditional energy to green alternatives.

While in public office I will be working to limit the expansion of the Chevron Refinery. I will seek out ways to encourage the citizens to personally invest in green energy. I will ensure that we hold any new city development to be green in implementation. We need to be developing infill for medium-density homes that are abandoned and dilapidated. There is no reason to destroy more of nature when we have lots that are being squatted on by developers and irresponsible landlords hoping for inflation-based financial gains at the cost of the communities they sit in.

Eduardo Martinez

● Planning for affordable housing should prioritize public-transit accessibility, minimize harm to the natural environment, and be built with potential hazards in mind (i.e., not on a toxic waste site, not in a high-risk wildfire area, not in an area susceptible to sea level rise). To support the funding of affordable housing construction, market and above-market development must include an affordable housing component or in-lieu/impact fees.
● Residents of neighborhoods experiencing gentrification can be protected through anti-displacement strategies such as City and tenant right-to-purchase, strong community benefits agreements for new developments, emergency rent assistance programs and community land trusts.
● I plan to direct city funds into social housing, which would mean purchasing and/or constructing city-owned housing developments that all city residents would be able to live in. Simply put, housing stock would be increased on city
land; administered by city management; and rent would be far below market rates (i.e., set at a “break-even” point for the city).

I am also closely following three new policy proposals in California and hope to emulate them in Richmond, if legally feasible:
● A resolution Los Angeles is currently researching that bans private equity firms from buying single family homes.
● San Francisco County Supervisor Dean Preston also recently introduced a policy that would require upzoning only be available to buyers who have owned a property for five years, which would effectively cut out speculators from buying housing.
● AB 1199. Property hoarding and housing market monopolization by large corporations impacts both low-income renters and prospective home-buyers. This legislation offers an opportunity to de-incentivize these practices and establish a fund to support people impacted by these practices.

Shawn Dunning

What I love most about Richmond is the genuine diversity that comes from a storied past. We literally have neighbors from all walks of life and with very deep roots, and I believe in a vision for Richmond that is safer, cleaner, and more fair for all–and all of this without displacing anyone. This means we need to significantly increase our housing inventory as well as programs to support low-income residents. High density housing near transportation and other resources makes the most sense, and all communities benefit from well-planned affordable housing, too.

Doria Robinson

I support the development of more low income housing and pushing back on federal funding sources so that funds that could be used to construct new low income housing currently going for $700k per unit (apartments) could be used to help low income families and seniors purchase and renovate existing homes. I support land trust models that remove land and housing from the speculative market so it can be affordable for unhoused residents. I believe limited equity housing cooperatives can create homeownership for low income residents. Funding can come from revenue bonds and other taxes. I support ballot measures that designate money to build affordable housing in the city.

Cesar Zepeda

Provide incentives to community builders to create more affordable housing in all communities; housing must include access to EV Charging and green-building standards.

Jamin Pursell

As with the entire Bay Area, Richmond faces a housing crisis. Solutions I support include:
1. Strong enforcement of rent control.
2. Prioritizing infill development.
3. Social, nonprofit housing owned by city, where rents are set below market to break even on construction.
4. Support of tenants unions.
I oppose upzoning without strong affordability requirements and believe strong community benefits agreements policies are needed to provide clear public benefits and offset harmful impacts of new developments. I also support tenant protections such as rent control, just cause for eviction and availability of emergency rent assistance. Additionally, vulnerable, locally-owned businesses should be prioritized for financial support such as rent or foreclosure assistance.

Eduardo Martinez

● Investing in city employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people, including positions in city staff and internships.
● Offering business tax credits to incentivize hiring of formerly incarcerated individuals from Richmond.
● Expanding “ban the box” legislation to include companies Richmond contracts work to.
● Creating a City Grants Department to leverage state and federal funds for supportive programs and expanded job training opportunities.
● Better funding public libraries, which can house programs for reentry and gainful employment (creating resumes and email accounts, submitting job applications, and preparing for interviews).

Shawn Dunning

See #2 and #5, above. Aside from supporting current policies, I would be interested in convening a working group to see what more can and should be done.

Doria Robinson

I support ban the box legislation around housing and employment applications. Richmond’s policies could be strengthened and expanded. I also support reallocation of resources from law enforcement, court and carceral budgets to services that address the root causes of violence and support those impacted by community violence (including those that have been charged with crimes and are formerly incarcerated).

Cesar Zepeda

Creating programs that provide access, working with employers and housing providers to assist in helping people get employment and housing.

Jamin Pursell

1. Create a Grants Department within the city that can leverage state and federal funds aimed at aiding reentry and reducing recidivism.
2. Expand the city’s workforce development department to more readily provide training and work experience for formerly incarcerated people.
3. Expand “ban the box” legislation to other employers beyond the city of Richmond, and/or include tax incentives for local businesses who commit to the policy.
4. As recently done in Seattle, fully expunging all marijuana convictions.

Eduardo Martinez

Yes

Shawn Dunning

Yes, Absolutely.

Doria Robinson

Yes. Additional accountability and transparency from our county Sheriff is needed, I believe stronger community oversight is a step in the right direction.

Cesar Zepeda

Yes

Jamin Pursell

Yes

Eduardo Martinez

Yes.

Shawn Dunning

Yes. Absolutely.

Doria Robinson

Yes. For the past 20+ years, I have been a leader in the environmental movement in Richmond. Currently, as one of the leaders of the Richmond Our Power Coalition, I am working on Just Transition initiatives and what it takes for the city of Richmond to transition from a fossil fuel economy to a green economy. This is a very important issue close to my heart as our Black and Brown communities have suffered from contamination and air pollution due to the pollution caused by Chevron refinery. We need a comprehensive plan for decommissioning the Richmond refinery that includes comprehensive site clean-up and explores non-emitting industries that could repurpose existing infrastructure. 

Cesar Zepeda

Yes, I believe they can co-exist.

Jamin Pursell

Yes