Kudos to Richmond! (Concord, Walnut Creek, San Ramon: 2014, violent crime, neighborhoods)

[Cida]

I can't believe that there aren't several threads about this already. But I just wanted to post from the other side of the country how great it is that the town of Richmond stood up against pressure from Big Oil in the election. Really wonderful news.

Richmond: The little town that beat Big Oil | Al Jazeera America

[18Montclair]

Yeah, because jobs and economic expansion is so terrible. *rollseyes*

[Tom Dempsey's Left Foot]

As someone who just started working in Richmond a few months ago, I'm going to be honest, this was the weirdest local election I've ever seen.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that a corporation was trying to influence an election, because...I mean, I can't think of a place where that isn't happening. But what got me about the Richmond mayoral/council race was that it was so incredibly obvious. Usually, on either the national or local scale, corporations like to hide that kind of stuff behind a PAC or some 501c4 called "Americans for a Tomorrow with Puppies and Kittens" or something, but in Richmond it was pretty much up-front...pretty much all of their billboards and mailings came with "Major funding from Chevron" printed on it. They did admittedly try some other stuff (the lawn signs for Chevron's choice for mayor had a complete ripoff of Obama's 2008 logo), but it got to a point where pretty much everybody in the town knew that they were voting for Chevron if they voted for their preferred candidates.

Based on my personal experience, that's a weird way to go. Like, really, really weird. I mean, considering that Chevron is (and will be for a loooong time, even with this election outcome) the biggest employer in Richmond, maybe they were confident their employees would see it and vote for their company's self-interest or something? I don't know. It was a pretty big mistake on their part, especially considering their name is attached to the refinery that set itself on fire and endangered the whole town's health a few years back.

Oh well. That was their election strategy, they lost, and now they have to deal with it.

P.S. Actually, you know what, here's a better election campaign strategy for Chevron. Instead of using that three million dollars they spent on billboards and private consultants that don't actually do anything, use it on lowering their gas prices in their Richmond stations to something better than the Arco on Barrett Ave. Nothing sways a person's voting pattern like seeing $2.50 a gallon at the pump.

[Cida]

Originally Posted by Tom Dempsey's Left Foot

As someone who just started working in Richmond a few months ago, I'm going to be honest, this was the weirdest local election I've ever seen.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that a corporation was trying to influence an election, because...I mean, I can't think of a place where that isn't happening. But what got me about the Richmond mayoral/council race was that it was so incredibly obvious. Usually, on either the national or local scale, corporations like to hide that kind of stuff behind a PAC or some 501c4 called "Americans for a Tomorrow with Puppies and Kittens" or something, but in Richmond it was pretty much up-front...pretty much all of their billboards and mailings came with "Major funding from Chevron" printed on it. They did admittedly try some other stuff (the lawn signs for Chevron's choice for mayor had a complete ripoff of Obama's 2008 logo), but it got to a point where pretty much everybody in the town knew that they were voting for Chevron if they voted for their preferred candidates.

Based on my personal experience, that's a weird way to go. Like, really, really weird. I mean, considering that Chevron is (and will be for a loooong time, even with this election outcome) the biggest employer in Richmond, maybe they were confident their employees would see it and vote for their company's self-interest or something? I don't know. It was a pretty big mistake on their part, especially considering their name is attached to the refinery that set itself on fire and endangered the whole town's health a few years back.

Exactly. And it's not as if oil/gas companies are widely beloved, anyway.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Cida

I can't believe that there aren't several threads about this already. But I just wanted to post from the other side of the country how great it is that the town of Richmond stood up against pressure from Big Oil in the election. Really wonderful news.

Richmond: The little town that beat Big Oil | Al Jazeera America

Yay, now crime can remain their no.1 industry!

Vote no on jobs!

Listen, if Richmond had a booming economy, than I can see them being picky, but come on! No wonder it's a crime ridden eye sore in the Bay Area.

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Yay, now crime can remain their no.1 industry!

Vote no on jobs!

Listen, if Richmond had a booming economy, than I can see them being picky, but come on! No wonder it's a crime ridden eye sore in the Bay Area.

Regardless of who won the mayoral and council elections, there is no way that Chevron is leaving Richmond. It would cost billions of dollars to relocate their refinery and, even then, who else is going to take it. So this is not about jobs.

Furthermore, the vast majority of jobs at Chevron don't go to Richmond residents. Instead, Richmond residents suffer from Chevron's presence, especially when things like this happen: Chevron Richmond Refinery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chevron's jobs primarily go to commuters who live elsewhere. The major importance of Chevron to Richmond is as a tax base, but the pro-Chevron politicians are never going to raise taxes on Chevron. Richmond will be better off economically if it can raise taxes on Chevron and get more money to run the city.

In the long run, Richmond is going to be better off if it can make itself a desirable place to live. The location is already pretty good. Obviously things like decreasing crime and improving schools will help. But replacing polluting heavy industry with more modern green industry and commercial businesses will help too. And Chevron has been fighting cleaning up their refinery for years.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by smashystyle

Regardless of who won the mayoral and council elections, there is no way that Chevron is leaving Richmond. It would cost billions of dollars to relocate their refinery and, even then, who else is going to take it. So this is not about jobs.

Furthermore, the vast majority of jobs at Chevron don't go to Richmond residents. Instead, Richmond residents suffer from Chevron's presence, especially when things like this happen: Chevron Richmond Refinery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chevron's jobs primarily go to commuters who live elsewhere. The major importance of Chevron to Richmond is as a tax base, but the pro-Chevron politicians are never going to raise taxes on Chevron. Richmond will be better off economically if it can raise taxes on Chevron and get more money to run the city.

In the long run, Richmond is going to be better off if it can make itself a desirable place to live. The location is already pretty good. Obviously things like decreasing crime and improving schools will help. But replacing polluting heavy industry with more modern green industry and commercial businesses will help too. And Chevron has been fighting cleaning up their refinery for years.

The vast majority of jobs at Chevron don't go to Richmond residents, because all too many Richmond residents are unskilled, criminal, or both. And then you have the leftist business bashers who have moved in to exploit people who vote for anyone with a (D) after their name.

Chevron *has* moved all the jobs they can move out of Richmond; their accounting and other desk work is already in the Walnut Creek / Concord / San Ramon area.

[smashystyle]

More good news for Richmond: the lowest homicide rate on record in 2014, along with double-digit declines in property crime and violent crime -- Richmond: Crime down in 2014, homicides reach yet another low - ContraCostaTimes.com

[Pietro25]

Originally Posted by NickB1967

The vast majority of jobs at Chevron don't go to Richmond residents, because all too many Richmond residents are unskilled, criminal, or both.

You're dealing in stereotypes here. You've plainly not been to Richmond. Richmond, like all cities its size, has its good neighborhoods and bad ones. The six o'clock news likes to visit the bad ones. It never goes to the Point Richmond neighborhood, for example. Point Richmond is like a little Mill Valley waiting to happen.

[Ruth4Truth]

Gee, those Al Jaz journalists write as though they'd gotten advanced degrees in US universities.

I bet they wouldn't be championing political victories by gay female politicians back home.