Below is the story from today’s West County Times about the brazen power grab by the Viramontes (Chevron) Five to control the flow of funds from the Chevron Community benefit Agreement. Not one person in attendance at the meeting supported the move, which gave three of the Viramontes Five (all of whom are candidates for reelection) and Chevron total control over the distribution of a $10 million slush fund over ten years.

When minority councilmembers queried the contract city attorney why the mayor didn’t have the prerogative under the Charter to appoint the committee (see Charter excerpt below), he caved in to the majority who hired him and responded that this was not a City Council committee. Huh?

Sec. 1. Elected Mayor. There shall be a Mayor of the City of Richmond who shall have the powers and duties and shall be elected by the voters in the manner set forth herein.

Sec. 2. Powers and Duties of the Mayor. The Mayor shall be a member of the City Council and shall have all of the powers and duties of a member of the Council unless otherwise specified herein. In addition, the Mayor shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Political Position. The Mayor shall be the chief elected officer and ceremonial head of the City, responsible for providing civic leadership and taking issues to the people, and marshalling public interest in and support for municipal activity. The Mayor shall be concerned with the general development of the community and the general level of City services and activity programs and may develop and inform City residents of policies and programs which he or she believes are necessary for the welfare of the City.

(b) Policy, Program and Budget. The Mayor may make recommendations to the City Council on matters of policy and program which require Council decision and may propose ordinances and resolutions for Council consideration. The Mayor shall work with the City Manager in preparing an annual budget for submission to the City Council. The Mayor shall make an annual report to the City Council as to the conditions and affairs of the City.

(c) (As amended at election November 6, 1984 and November 2, 2004) Appointments and Removals. The Mayor shall have the authority at any regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council to make appointments to or removals from all City boards, commissions and committees with the concurrence of at least four (4) other members of the City Council.

(Added at the election November 2, 2004) Effective with the November 2008 election, the Mayor shall have the authority at any regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council to make appointments to or removals from all City boards, commissions and committees with the concurrence of at least three (3) other members of the City Council.

Richmond leaders to sit on committee distributing $10 million from Chevron

By Katherine Tam
West County Times

Article Launched: 07/30/2008 04:39:00 PM PDT

In a vote shouted down by the audience, Richmond city leaders appointed themselves to a committee that will decide how $10 million from a community benefits agreement with Chevron will be spent.

Council members Nat Bates, Ludmyrna Lopez and Harpreet Sandhu will sit on the committee. Councilman John Marquez will serve as the alternate.

Audience members shouted "Remember Pinole," alluding to the successful February recall of two council members in that city. The recall followed an intense citizen-led campaign that focused on the pair's ability to respond to local concerns and their ties to a local restaurant that was delinquent in hundreds of thousands in city loans.

In Richmond, the council members on the new committee will help decide which community groups receive $1 million a year from a community benefits agreement the city approved with Chevron on July 17. Critics blasted the deal, saying it was negotiated without full council or public input and constituted a bribe for the approval of the oil company's contentious plan to replace equipment at its refinery.

On Tuesday night, residents urged the City Council to hold off appointing anyone to the committee. Officials running for re-election should not be doling out funding, they said.

"It seems highly unethical to me that you will be distributing to community groups some millions of dollars of Chevron's money while you are running for re-election, while you are campaigning,"

Richmond resident Jeff Ritterman said. "I don't think this is ethical. I think it's an unfair campaign practice."

Bates, Marquez and Sandhu are up for re-election Nov. 4, along with Councilmen Tom Butt and Tony Thurmond.

Ritterman is one of 10 people who has pulled nomination papers for the council race. The deadline to formally file is Aug. 8.

Richmond City Attorney Scott Dickey said the committee's work does not constitute a political contribution that violates state campaign laws.

"None of the money outlined in the community benefits agreement is going to arrive before 2009," Dickey said.

Ritterman responded: "But promises can be made before 2009."

A council minority concurred with the audience's plea to hold off on appointing committee members.

Thurmond, who described the decision as premature, said, "Let's wait. The criteria for how an allocation will be made has not even been articulated to the community, let alone how we will decide how a community member can be on the committee."

The motion to appoint Bates, Lopez and Sandhu to the committee with Marquez as an alternate was approved in a split council vote. Bates called the suggestion that it constitutes a political or campaign contribution "quite absurd."

The new Richmond Community Fund Advisory Committee is to consist of three sitting or retired council members, two Chevron appointees and two community members who would be selected by the city and Chevron.

Chevron submitted a written copy of the community benefits agreement to the city July 15. A council majority approved it July 17.

The agreement, which was contingent on approval of Chevron's refinery project, calls for $6.8 million for job training and placement, $11.3 million for public safety, $6 million to Brookside Health Clinic, $10 million in financial aid to area nonprofit groups, $5 million for the Bay Trail, $14.6 million for alternative energy projects and $5 million for other environmental mitigations.

Butt and Mayor Gayle McLaughlin have criticized the agreement, saying the proposed amounts aren't enough to build and maintain the Bay Trail or to sustain services long term. Others carry no benefits to the city, they argue. And funding for an alternative energy project that Chevron would sell to the city under one scenario is nothing more than a business venture, they said.

In addition, they and Chevron project opponents said the agreement was negotiated between Chevron and some council members in secret without full council or public input. Councilwoman Maria Viramontes, who voted to approve both the Chevron retrofit and the community benefits agreement, disputed the charge.

Richmond resident Linda Newton told the council Tuesday night that she worried the committee does not fully represent the community.

"It seems to me a very unbalanced one, seeing as they all voted for the Chevron proposal," Newton said. "I'm concerned that all the citizens of Richmond need to be represented; all our voices need to be heard."

The council's vote to approve Chevron's project was 5-4. Bates, Lopez, Marquez, Sandhu and Viramontes voted yes. McLaughlin, Butt, Rogers and Thurmond dissented.

Reach Katherine Tam at 510-262-2787 or ktam@bayareanewsgroup.com.

HOW THEY VOTED
The following is the Richmond City Council's vote on whether to appoint Nat Bates, Ludmyrna Lopez and Harpreet Sandhu to the Community Fund Advisory Committee. John Marquez is an alternate.

Nat Bates: Yes
Tom Butt: No
Ludmyrna Lopez: Yes
John Marquez: Yes
Gayle McLaughlin: Absent
Jim Rogers: No
Harpreet Sandhu: Yes
Tony Thurmond: No
Maria Viramontes: Yes