RICHMOND GLOBE
January 28 - February 3, 2009

Mayor Dubs 2009 Richmond’s ‘Year of Unity’
During State of the City Address

By Tuseda A. Graggs

During her annual State of the City address Tuesday night, Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin dubbed 2009 as the city’s “Year of Unity,” expressing high hopes for building upon the gains started in 2008, including a reduction in violent crime and the continued “greening” of the city.

McLaughlin made the address during the Richmond City Council meeting and received a standing ovation from the more than 150 residents and other observers who overflowed the council chambers.

“The state of our city in 2009 remains sound,” she said. “We have emerged from a roller-coaster of a year. (The year) 2008 had its share of ups and downs, but we most definitely ended the year with transformational accomplishments.”

She reviewed challenging issues in 2008 including the city and nation’s unprecedented financial struggles and the ongoing discussions about possible West County school closures. Yet she also termed 2008 “The Year of Environmental Justice.”

“We saw some of the strongest and most profound community mobilizations that Richmond has ever experienced,” she said. “Our local environmental justice community mobilized like never before, making it clear that they will not sit on the sidelines while decisions get made for them in terms of our air quality and our public health.”

She also discussed the passage of Richmond’s Measure T, which will tax manufacturers and provide millions in tax revenue for programs and youth services.

After reflecting upon 2008, she looked forward to 2009.

“We have entered a new era with an awakened hope throughout our nation. It is in that spirit of hope that we continue our work on a local level creating local solutions for our cherished city of Richmond,” said McLaughlin. “This is the time to turn division into dedicated unity, to turn our pain into collective healing, to turn our fear into unwavering strength.

“Standing together to save our West County schools has unified school communities and cities. I encourage everyone to continue to join together to find solutions and bring forward the needed pressure on the state to make sure our schools are not shuttered.”

She also discussed her continuing collaboration with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. She expressed excitement about the trio’s collaborative planning for 2009.

McLaughlin said she hopes to advance unity through the city’s various festivals, including Juneteenth, Cinco de Mayo, the Homefront Festival, the second annual International Women’s Day event in March and a spring youth event. “(These events) help us build community pride and joy as we learn from historic struggles and efforts,” she said.

The mayor’s entire speech will be made available online at www.ci.richmond.ca.us.

Following her address, McLaughlin presented a half dozen Richmond environmental activists with Martin Luther King Jr. Community Leadership Service Awards to honor their pursuit of environmental justice.

Awards were presented to Dr. Henry Clark of the West County Toxics Coalition; Jessica Guadalupe Tovar of Communities for Environmental Justice; Torm Nompraseut of the Laotian Organizing Project/Asian Pacific Environmental Network; Sherry Padgett of the North Richmond Shoreline Open Space Alliance; and Robin Carpenter and Andrew Olmstead of the Richmond Responsible Antenna Placement Committee.

“It is a great honor to walk in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Henry Clark. “It’s about human rights. That everyone has the right to a clean, safe environment. And we will continue to remain vigilant to ensure that.”

The City Council also announced a proclamation with certificates of thanks and recognition to honor a host of city departments and community organizations that collaborated to reduce Richmond’s violent crime during 2008.

Richmond’s violent crime numbers dropped last. Homicide went down 40 percent, aggravated assault down 21 percent, property crimes down 10 percent and robbery down 7 percent, McLaughlin said.

The groups honored helped aid the crime reduction effort, she said.

The honorees included the Richmond Police Department, Bay Area Peacekeepers, Street Peace Ambassadors program of Neighborhood House of North Richmond, the city’s Office of Community and Economic Development/ Redevelopment Agency, the city’s Employment and Training Department, Richmond’s Labor and Love Community Development, Richmond PAL, Not Today, County Supervisor John Gioia’s office, Tent City Peace Movement, Southeast Asian Young Leaders, Youth Together and RYSE Youth Center.