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Mayor of Richmond

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City of Richmond

Mayor of Richmond

This person presides over Richmond City Council meetings and represents the city publicly. They vote as one of seven members on the budget and city laws. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day government. Richmond's mayor is the only council seat elected citywide. The other six are elected by district. Richmond is the only Contra Costa city with its own primary and runoff system. It holds a primary in June and a runoff in November. No June candidate won a majority this year. So the top two candidates meet in November. The term is four years.

Richmond's Nov. 3 ballot has just one local race, for Mayor. In the city's first primary this June, no candidate won a majority. The top two candidates advance to November. City Councilmember Claudia Jimenez got 39% of the vote, a certified result. Retired HR director Ahmad Anderson got 28%. Incumbent Mayor Eduardo Martinez finished third with 22% and is out. He had faced criticism over social media comments many read as antisemitic.

The winner serves a 4-year term as the only citywide-elected member of Richmond's 7-person council -- the other six seats are elected by district. Under Richmond's council-manager government, an appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations; the mayor chairs council meetings, represents the city publicly, and votes as one of seven, with no veto. City Council Districts 2, 3, and 4 were also up this year, but all three incumbents (Cesar Zepeda, Doria Robinson, Soheila Bana) won outright in June, so the mayor's race is the only one reaching November.

Both candidates frame the race around what comes after Chevron's $550 million settlement with the city. Jimenez, a two-term councilmember who helped negotiate that money, argues for experienced continuity in spending it. Anderson, a retired human-resources director and first-time officeholder who says they have learned from past election losses, argues Richmond needs new leadership on public safety and jobs beyond Chevron. Both are longtime Richmond Democrats running in this nonpartisan race -- the split reads more insider-vs-outsider than left-right.

Richmond's first primary-runoff election

Richmond had never run a primary before this year. A 2024 charter amendment, approved by 58% of voters, created a June primary/November runoff for Mayor and City Council, replacing the old single-round election. This June was the system's debut: five mayoral candidates and eight council candidates (across Districts 2, 3, and 4) qualified. A candidate who wins an outright majority in June is elected without a November race -- which is what happened in all three council districts. Only the mayor's race, with five candidates splitting the vote, produced no June majority.

Claudia Jimenez

Claudia Jimenez is a two-term Richmond city councilmember representing District 6. She led the June primary with 39% of the vote. She is originally from Colombia and trained as an architect. She holds a master's degree in environmental planning from UC Berkeley. She worked on affordable housing and watershed projects before moving to Richmond. On the council, she helped negotiate the city's $550 million Chevron settlement. She led an "Invest in People Not Prison" campaign. That campaign redirected $5.2 million toward reentry services. She also championed the 2016 rent control ballot measure. She has pledged to take no money from corporations or fossil fuel interests. She has also pledged to avoid money from city contractors or developers. She is backed by the Sierra Club and Richmond Firefighters Local 188. She is also backed by United Teachers of Richmond and SEIU Local 1021. She is backed by IFPTE Local 21 as well.

Ahmad Anderson

Ahmad Anderson is a retired human resources director. They were born and raised in Richmond, where they say they have lived 66 years. They finished second in the June primary with 28% of the vote. They spent their career in HR and workforce roles. Most recently they were Director of People and Culture at the nonprofit that runs Golden Gate Park. They earlier worked at UPS and Goodwill Industries. They have also taught at UC Berkeley for more than 13 years. They chaired Richmond's Economic Development Commission. They serve as vice president of the Richmond NAACP. They sit on the board of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. Their platform centers on public safety and workforce development beyond Chevron. They cite OpenAI's planned 730 local jobs as part of that. They also want Chevron settlement money to go toward a Hilltop-area hospital. They are endorsed by the California Democratic Party and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond. They are also endorsed by State Sen. Jesse Arreguin and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. Three sitting Richmond councilmembers endorse Anderson too.

Your pick

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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