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Posted on January 15, 2007

Richmond Leaders Consider
Response to Warning Failure

RICHMOND (KRON) -- Richmond's new mayor says Monday's Chevron refinery fire should be a reminder of the dangers of living near such a facility. "The situation that happened this morning is clearly a reminder of the risks that having this refinery in our backyard poses to our community," Mayor Gayle McLaughlin told KRON 4's Haaziq Madyun. "It's a reminder that an incident far worse than this could happen in the future.

McLaughlin has only been on the job as Mayor since the first of the year. She won a narrow election as a Green Party candidate. She says failures with the communications system must be fixed immediately. "We need to work with the county and make sure we have a communication system that is right on the button in reference to letting residents know when any public safety issue comes up," the mayor said.

Longtime East Bay Congressman George Miller agrees. "The public relies on these emergency warning systems," the Democrat said. "They rely on having that information immediately about what they can do to protect their families and if those systems aren't functioning then we have a big problem."

Miller notes it's too soon to say for sure what caused Monday's problems with the warning system. "Let's not jump to conclusions," Rep. Miller said. "Let's just make sure we have an integrated system here that does what it promised the public it would do. If that's not happening then we have to go back and re-work this system."

Richmond City Councilman Tom Butt is reviving an idea he says previous councils have shot down. Butt wants to charge a $6,000 per minute fine every time the community warning system is triggered paid by the company responsible. The councilman wants to use the money to build an entirely new system. "It never gets fixed, or there's a different problem the next time," Councilman Butt said. "The bottom line is the system has never functioned the way it's supposed to function in the ten or so years it's been in effect."

Butt notes it's a complicated problem to fix since a growing number of people only have cell phones or don't speak English. He says the fine would produce the revenues needed to create a new system that works. Butt says the election of Mayor McLaughlin is a sign of changing times. "You know we have a good mayor," Butt said. "Chevron spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep our current mayor from being elected... so Richmond's changing."