Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006

The three candidates vying to be Richmond's next mayor are all experienced politicians who have served on the City Council.

The incumbent is Irma Anderson, who became the first African American woman elected mayor of a major California city when she won the office in 2001. She faces challenges from City Councilwoman Gayle McLaughlin and former City Councilman Gary Bell.

Anderson touts her leadership during Richmond's 2004 budget crisis, when the city eliminated a $35 million budget deficit by laying off about 300 workers and slashing salaries. She also established an after-school tutorial program called Kids First. The $5 million initiative now serves five schools in the city's toughest neighborhoods.

McLaughlin has promised to rehire city workers laid off in 2004 and supports increasing taxes for large businesses such as Chevron Corp. to pay for programs to help at-risk youth and to fight crime. [emphasis added]

Bell has accused Anderson of being an ineffective leader and called the City Council dysfunctional and fragmented. He said his primary objective is attracting and retaining businesses.

The dominant issue of the election for a four-year term is the rise in violent crime. There have been 36 homicides in the city so far this year, a per-capita murder rate that is almost as bad as Oakland's.

Anderson is proposing a ballot measure that would set aside 5 percent of the city's general fund -- at least $6 million a year -- to increase the police force from 155 to 215 officers over five years and fund violence-prevention programs.

McLaughlin said she would create a youth corps to employ 1,000 young people from high-crime areas in public-works projects. [emphasis added]

Bell supports tougher enforcement of loitering and truancy ordinances and establishing gun-free zones throughout the city.

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The candidates

Irma Anderson

Age: 75

Education: Second black student to attend and graduate from the Cornell School of Nursing; master's degree, UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Occupation: Richmond mayor, 2001-present

Career: Richmond City Council, 1993-2001; retired in 1992 as director of Contra Costa County public health nursing

Quote: "I am pursuing a second term to complete what I started in my first term. I believe the city is on the brink of a renaissance."

Web site: www.irmaandersonformayor.com

Gayle McLaughlin

Age: 54

Education: Bachelor's degree in psychology, Bridgewater State College, Massachusetts; two years of graduate study in psychology, Rhode Island College; studied education at UC Berkeley Extension

Occupation: Richmond City Council, 2004-present

Career: Teacher and clinician for special-needs children; worked for nonprofits, including American Library Association, American Osteopathic Association and Family Resource Coalition

Quote: "I'm running to bring a new kind of leadership to Richmond. I oppose business as usual. For too long we've seen corporations and special interests have too much influence."

Web site: www.gaylemclaughlin.net [emphasis added]

Gary Bell

Age: 48

Occupation: Owner, First Bankers Mortgage and Realty, Richmond; licensed real estate broker

Experience: Richmond City Council, 2000-04; Wichita (Kan.) City Council, 1985-88

Education: Bachelor's degree in liberal arts, Wichita State University; master of business administration in financial management, John F. Kennedy University, Orinda

Quote: "I want to provide better leadership. I want to see our city move toward being a first-class city, as I know it can be."

Web site: www.garybell.org

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