3. Prevention of Violence and Crime

The roots of Richmond’s violence run deep. Richmond’s chronic street violence is largely drug- and/or gang-related. This is not the only type of violence that exists in Richmond, but the price in young lives is unbearable and must no longer be tolerated. Richmond must start building the way out of the cycle. Yes, the availability of drugs to be traded and the use of guns to deal with conflict are key causal factors. Yet even deeper roots lie in our decimated educational system and a lack of jobs, leading to an ongoing vicious cycle of deprivation, desperation and anger, and erupting too often in senseless acts of violence on our streets.

As mayor, I will:
Recognize the institutional causes of violence, the hopelessness, the despair and
the lack of skills, including social skills, needed to earn a living and to deal with the ensuing
frustrations. I will understand and address the deep roots of Richmond’s violence. I will
promote locally the creation of a peaceful and just society, based on fairness, respect and
understanding.
Acknowledge, adhere and promote the principles of Community Policing (CP),
adopted intheory by the City but hardly implemented at all. I will encourage and support the
Chief of Police in concrete implementation of policies that reflect these principles. I will
reinvigorate the citizens committee which promoted the adoption of these principles by the
City and will raise their status to a CP Commission.
Cut Richmond’s street violence in half by 2010. The average number of street homicides
and violent crime will be reduced by half by the year 2010.
Create the Richmond Youth Corps (RYC). Up to 1,000 youth (<21), residing in the areas
of the city with the highest incidence of street violence, will be able to work up to 10 hours
a week and throughout the year in many areas of community need under the leadership of
mentors from these Richmond neighborhoods. This program will be funded by revenue
originating from the elimination of the unfair Utility Users Tax cap (Chevron), as well as
other sources. The youth and their mentors will be hired and paid as union public works
employees.
Reduce local high school drop-out rate by 50% by year 2010: High School enrollment
will be required for participation in the Richmond Youth Corps. Parents and neighbors will be
encouraged and supported to converge into groups supporting high school completion
and graduation.
Create the Richmond Goes to College Program to double by year 2010 the number of
Richmond residents graduating from local high schools who enter college.
Create a Richmond Mentoring Center for young parolees who were Richmond residents
at the time of their incarceration. If we want people who served their time to be responsible
residents, there needs to be a time and place for transition as well as guidance, social
orientation, and life skills training for concrete job opportunities.
Coordinate existing resources and identify new resources from federal, state, local,
and regional. We need to maximize funding streams.
Promote solutions that address long-term recidivism: Promote support groups, mental
health counseling services, education opportunities and supportive housing.
Regionalize the solution because there is strength in numbers. We cannot solve street
violence without a comprehensive regional plan that is inclusive of all East Bay
municipalities, cities, and counties.

4. Better Education

The City of Richmond must intervene to save Richmond‘s children from inadequate and insufficient learning opportunities. Even though it is the responsibility of the WCCUSD to see that appropriate school services are provided, the reality is that generation after generation of our children are short-changed in their education. I am committed to the youth of Richmond and will ensure they receive learning support opportunities to compensate the shortcomings of our public schools.

As mayor, I will:
Increase funding for the Richmond Public Library by prioritizing education in the city
budget and aggressively lobbying the state government on issues of education funding.
Reopen full time the West Side and the Bay View library branches.
Build two additional library branches in the neighborhoods most impacted by violence.
Improve the quality of education by supporting community based after-school programs in
each City neighborhood to strengthen the academic learning from the schools and include
areas not covered by the school programs such as life skills promotion.
Make good management of the WCCUSD a priority by pushing district officials to adopt
sunshine laws, ensuring there are clear lines of accountability, and strengthening the role
of the City's liaison to the school district.
Bring new voices to the table by supporting the idea that non-citizens with children should
be able to vote in school board elections, advocating for a Student Advisory Commission,
invigorating the City's Youth Commission, and promoting better ties between school site
Councils and the City Neighborhood Councils.
Find ways to allow for alternative assessment models for evaluating academic success
rather than requiring the High School exit exam to be the sole measure of achievement
and readiness.
Recognize the centrality of art in a well-rounded education by supporting the Richmond
Art Center and the East Bay Center for Performing Arts, helping them to ensure high rates
of low income and minority representation. I will encourage funding partners, both private
and public, as well as artists and arts organizations to play a more active role in allocating
resources to our public schools.
Support students in non-traditional ways encouraging individual creativity and uniqueness.

5. Better Environment

I will work to make Richmond a more sustainable city, by championing green energy and business practices to protect our scarce natural resources from further degradation by pollution and overuse, and make the city a healthy place for all of its residents. The formula for a better environment in Richmond is relatively simple: Do not build on toxic sites, mandate appropriate clean-ups under rigorous supervision; preserve the remaining open spaces; enforce the pollution control regulations both on industry and residents; promote and expand Richmond’s urban forest, parks and gardens; and promote environmental awareness in all residents.

As mayor, I will:
Convert city vehicles to cleaner fuels or electric power, which reduce noise and air
pollution and lower operating costs.
Promote the city’s participation in Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) (AB117),
and encourage residents and businesses to join. CCA will result in Richmond residents,
business and government having more local control, lower energy rates and more
renewable and alternative energy sources.
Promote the generation of electricity cleanly and efficiently through solar and tidal power,
and significantly expand energy conservation programs.
Restore and expand urban parks, plazas, and open space, convert unused city land to
parks and open space, protect and restore natural areas, and expand access to the
shoreline.
Make Richmond a model city for sustainable development by promoting a Sustainability
Plan and the implementation of green designs in City buildings.
Promote the emergence of a truly community-planned Richmond Greenway.
Protect the natural and use values of our water system by making use of recycled water,
opposing expansion of the system to support suburban sprawl in the hills, promote water
conservation, and manage watershed lands with sustainability.
Protect the surrounding bay and waterfront by preventing the loss of the remaining open
space and marshlands; protecting the waterfront from redevelopment; reducing sewage
spills; and reducing urban runoff.
Fix Richmond’s failing sewer system to stop the high rate of raw sewage flowing into the
San Francisco Bay.
Promote the safe removal of toxins from our environment.
Reduce noise pollution by implementing quiet zones and enforcing City ordinances.
Institute significant Shelter in Place fines to be charged to the industry responsible for
the alert.
Create a Richmond Environmental Commission.
Establish an Environmental Justice Policy.
Support smart growth, infill housing and neighborhood character preservation.
Keep Richmond's hills open, accessible and public.
Keep Richmond's shorelines open, accessible, clean and public.

6. Better City For Families and Children

The diversity of Richmond families, from single parents and couples to multi-generational families living under the same roof, must be supported by City Hall. I will champion change that allows a more sustainable city with a stronger economy, a healthier environment, and a better future for all of Richmond's families. Richmond must also become a more child-friendly City, by making sure that all of our City agencies and policies address the needs of children, and that the city programs complement school district programs for the benefit of our kids. The future prosperity of our City lies in our City's future leaders. By investing in their safety, education, health, and environment, we improve the prospects for a better Richmond for all of our residents.

7. Human Rights for all, including Immigrants & the Homeless

Richmond's immigrant population is a vital part of our community. The diversity of our City is what makes Richmond culturally rich. To maintain that diversity, we need to ensure protection of immigrant rights and improve their access to services. Immigrants should not be afraid to use City services that are meant to support them. As mayor, I will support legislation that levels the playing field, while strenuously opposing policies that scapegoat immigrant communities. Regarding homelessness, the existing system of criminalization of the homeless and reactive service provision has failed. Changing the system will take courage and the resolve to do what works, not what is politically expedient.

8. Affordable Housing

Over half (51%) of Richmond residents are renters, a group that is often at the mercy of unfair eviction practices. I am committed to making Richmond a place where the rights of good tenants and of good landlords are protected. I am also committed to expanding homeownership opportunities to people of all incomes. A balanced housing strategy for Richmond includes protecting existing affordable housing, making additional permanently affordable housing available, and increasing the overall housing supply. The City must adopt smart policies that allow the private market, the nonprofit sector, and government to work together to keep the city affordable.

9. Better City Planning

Richmond needs a Planning Department that plans in the public interest. As mayor, I will lead comprehensive reform of how we plan for the city's future, creating a Planning Department with the leadership to develop a unified and integrated people’s vision for the Richmond we want. I will strengthen the role of local communities and neighborhoods in the planning process, and ensure that new development contributes to a better, more equitable city for all residents of Richmond.

10. The Arts, Culture and Global Connections

Richmond has many cultural expressions and a vibrant art community. The arts, often overlooked and marginalized, not only contribute to the cultural character of our City, as a venue for individual and collective reflection and healing, but also can act as a revenue-producing sector. I will foster partnerships between individual artists and groups of artists, local small business and not-for-profit organizations, and our local public TV station KCRT. These partnerships could result in expanding venues for Richmond’s artists.