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| Three days from now, December 20, 2022, is my last Richmond City Council meeting. Frankly, I can’t wait. I look forward to leaving with about the same level of enthusiasm I had to leave Vietnam 52 years ago.
In a functional City Council, members could, or even should, be expected to disagree and vote differently on issues. That’s normal, and that’s democracy. Richmond does not have a normal City Council; it has a dysfunctional City Council. The RPA, which runs the Richmond City Council is a cult. Members believe that anyone who disagrees with them is not just personally flawed but must also be corrupt – and they make sure that message is loud and clear.
These last two years as mayor with RPA City Council members (plus Demnlus Johnson III) running the show along with an incompetent city manager (Laura Snideman) and incompetent city attorneys (Teresa Stricker and Dave Aleshire) have been pure misery.
In late 2021, the RPA Four and Councilmember Demnlus Johnson III took actions unprecedented in Richmond history of condemning statements I had made twice, censuring me once , and eventually suing me. Embarrassed and realizing it was going nowhere, the City Council eventually dropped the lawsuit, but not after it had cost Richmond taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars.
From the November 9, 2021, City Council Minutes:
F-2. The matter to adopt a resolution condemning the statements made in the e-forum about the city manager’s job performance was introduced by Senior Assistant City Attorney Heather McLaughlin. Discussion ensued. Tarnel Abbott gave comments via teleconference. (At 11:00 p.m. - a motion by Councilmember Willis, seconded by Vice Mayor Johnson III
, to extend the meeting to complete Item F-2 passed by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmembers Jimenez, Martinez, McLaughlin, Willis, and Vice Mayor Johnson III. Noes: Councilmember Bates and Mayor Butt. Abstentions: None. Absent: None). On motion of Councilmember McLaughlin, seconded by Councilmember Willis, adopted Resolution No. 132-21 by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmembers Jimenez, Martinez, McLaughlin, Willis, and Vice Mayor Johnson III. Noes: Councilmember Bates and Mayor Butt. Abstentions: None. Absent: None
From the November 23, 2021, City Council Minutes:
I-6. The matter to consider whether to adopt a resolution of the City Council of the City of Richmond censuring Mayor Tom Butt for releasing confidential attorney-client privileged information and confidential information discussed during closed session, and directing the city attorney to refer the matter to the Grand Jury and Contra Costa County district attorney was introduced by City Attorney Teresa Stricker. Mark Wassberg gave comments via teleconference. Discussion ensued. On motion of Vice Mayor Johnson III, seconded by Councilmember Martinez, adopted Resolution No. 144-21 by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmembers Jimenez, Martinez, McLaughlin, Willis, and Vice Mayor Johnson III. Noes: Councilmember Bates and Mayor Butt. Abstentions: None. Absent: None
From the December 14, 2021, City Council Minutes;
E-1. The matter to adopt a resolution commending outgoing city attorney Teresa Stricker for her service and professionalism; and renouncing and condemning statements about the city attorney made by Mayor Tom Butt was presented by Councilmembers Jimenez and Willis. This item was continued from the December 7, 2021, meeting. Terri Hinte, Mark Wassberg, and Lisa Cody gave comments via teleconference. Discussion ensued. A motion was made by Councilmember Willis, seconded by Councilmember Jimenez to adopt the resolution. A substitute motion was made by Councilmember Bates to remove the phrase “renouncing and condemning of the mayor” from the resolution. The motion failed for lack of a second. The original motion passed and Resolution No. 149-21, was adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmembers Jimenez, Martinez, McLaughlin, Willis, and Vice Mayor Johnson III. Noes: Councilmember Bates and Mayor Butt. Absent: None. Abstain: None.
It’s not enough for the RPA to just act out their obsessions in City Council meetings. They have a backup team of bloggers, fake journalists and Internet trolls who make sure the public understands that those who oppose them are not just wrong but malicious and corrupt as well.
Although the investigation of me that RPA City Council members (and Demnlus Johnson III) relentlessly pursued and paid over $100,000 for turned out to be a nothingburger, they had no qualms about sowing as much suspicion as possible while it was ongoing for a year and a half. Suanne Wilson, the mouthpiece of the RPA wrote:
For the record, the RPA believes that if there is potential corruption in our city government, it should be investigated, brought to light, and eliminated. After all, avoiding even the appearance of impropriety in government dealings is codified in California law and part of the ethics training every California officeholder receives. The city manager and city attorney were right to scrutinize an accusation brought forward by a city staff member.
The mayor’s reasoning for firing Snideman and Stricker is that the City Manager authorized more than $10,000 in spending to undertake the investigation without the approval of Council, which violates the city charter. The RPA has been clear on this issue: as our democratically-elected leaders, City Council members should approve every city expenditure above $10,000. But potential corruption within Richmond should be taken seriously, and the investigation is already underway. The City Manager and City Attorney should be allowed to perform their jobs without fear of retaliation.
This is not the first time someone has accused Mayor Butt of using his public position for personal profit. And finding ways to retaliate against "progressives" and other political enemies is, without a doubt, his favorite hobby. But now he's retaliating against whistleblowers and investigators -- and it has surely gone too far. Transparency requires that possible government corruption be fully investigated, without any outside interference.
Neither of my two sons are on the City Council or serve the City in any official capacity, but the RPA has gone after them as if they are part of some kind of evil plot. Andres Soto, a founder of the RPA wrote earlier this year:
What is curious to many followers of the Point Molate saga is the role of Tom Butt and his sons Daniel and Andrew, all of them boosters of selling Point Molate to a SunCal affiliate (a shell corporation - no assets) with no reliable financial protections for the City of Richmond.
They seem intent to stir up alarm and panic about a fiscally smart decision the City Council made - the decision to turn down the sale of Point Molate to SunCal and thereby NOT expose the City's finances to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. If the Butts cared about the well being of Richmond, they should be applauding the Council decision.
The three Butts also act as if they are shocked that after May 21, 2022, the City was obliged to sell Point Molate for $400 to the former would-be casino developers, Upstream Inc. and the Guideville Rancheria (a Band of the Pomo Tribe).
Why the surprise when this is exactly the deal that Tom Butt worked out and that Andrew and Daniel supported. The potential sale for $400 was an integral part of the terms of the "secret settlement" that Tom Butt orchestrated when he muscled through a very poor settlement of the lawsuit filed by the casino developers against Richmond. The casino developers had sued Richmond seeking their money back after the City did not approve the casino developers' proposed project. Tom Butt used the specter of the sale for $400 over and over as he bullied and threatened anyone in his way in pushing the SunCal development deal through.
Andres Soto also wrote:
Fresh from being sued for his series of blunders over Point Molate, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt now wants to waste Richmond’s and our City Attorney's time and money pursuing another terrible idea.
This latest proposal from Mayor Butt compounds the series of bad proposals he has dragged the City into. Mayor Butt apparently is proposing turning part of Point Molate over to the East Bay Regional Park District or another entity - the part of Point Molate that he does not want to develop, or does not think can be easily developed. But this idea was already rejected by the East Bay Regional Park District when Butt proposed it last time. The leftover lands and the location are not enough for a Regional Park, as Butt well knows, and would expose the Park District to conflict with the developer over maintenance, trails, fire protections and other issues.
What the Butt proposal will do, however, is once again bog down the entire city staff and the City Attorney's office, and likely require the City to hire another gaggle of high priced lawyers and consultants, to work on another ill-considered plan by Mayor Butt. This will take away from funds that the City has set aside for city salaries and other City expenses.
Meanwhile the City Attorney and staff are already busy full time trying to clean up the other messes Butt has left behind. The City has already incurred over a million dollars in attorney fees due to Butt's bad decisions, such as approving homes on a toxic waste dump and choosing a litigious developer for Point Molate, that Butt rammed through the previous City Council.
I do want to recognize Nat Bates, with whom I have served since 1995. Nat and I were on the same election cycle and ran against each other many times for both City Council and mayor. We have said horrible things about each other. Our political positions on many issues are about as far apart as you can get. But when it came down to respect and rationality over the past couple of years, Nat was the only voice of reason on the City Council, and I thank him for that.
I truly wish the best for the City of Richmond. I have spent over 27 years of my life, over 50,000 hours, over 1,400 City Council meetings and hundreds of meetings of other agencies trying to simply make Richmond a better place to live, work and play. I believe I have succeeded, but I am past ready to get off this trainwreck. |
