Gayle McLaughlin
5th Mayor of Richmond, California
In office
January 9, 2007 – January 13, 2015
Preceded byIrma A. Anderson
Succeeded byTom Butt
Member of the Richmond City Council
In office
January 13, 2015 – July 18, 2017
In office
January 2005 – January 9, 2007
Personal details
Born1952 (age 71–72)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Green Party (until 2016)
EducationBridgewater State University (BS)
ProfessionEducator and activist

Gayle McLaughlin (born 1952) is an American politician from Richmond, California. She was first elected to the Richmond City Council in 2004 when she was a member of the Green Party of California. She won two consecutive four-year terms as the city's mayor in 2006 and 2010. After reaching the mayoral term limit, she was reelected to the City Council in 2014. In June 2017, she announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor of California in the 2018 election.

McLaughlin's election in 2006 made Richmond the largest U.S. city led by a Green Party member. She has advocated for a minimum wage increase and a plan to forcibly appropriate foreclosed home mortgages from banks. She has led an ongoing effort to restrict the municipal influence of Richmond's largest employer, the Chevron Corporation, and to refashion its environmental obligations.

Early life and education

McLaughlin was born into a working class family in Chicago. The middle child of five daughters, her father was a union carpenter and her mother was a factory worker and housewife.[1][2]

During the 1980s, McLaughlin was an activist with the Central American solidarity movement and a steering committee member of CISPES (Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). She also played an active role in the North Star Network, a national networking effort to unite progressives, and in coalition-building efforts with Rainbow/PUSH. She continues to work as a social activist in the peace, social justice, civil rights, and environmental movements.

McLaughlin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Bridgewater State University and took graduate courses in psychology and education at Rhode Island College and UC Berkeley Extension.[1][3]

Career

She has worked as a postal clerk, teacher, caregiver for the elderly, and tutor/clinician for children with learning disabilities. She has also worked in the capacity of support staff for various not-for-profit health and educational organizations.[4] She has lived in Richmond since 2001.[1]

Richmond Progressive Alliance

McLaughlin is a founder of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), a non-partisan progressive group in western Contra Costa County, composed of members of the Green Party, Democratic Party, and the Peace and Freedom Party, as well as independent voters.[5] In 2004, the RPA ran a slate of candidates to replace a municipal government that was widely seen as dysfunctional: "There are vacancies in virtually every major administrative department," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle, "and the city is operating with an interim city manager, city attorney, police chief and fire chief. The city has no library director and no parks and recreation director, and no one running its housing authority."[6] Together with RPA colleagues, McLaughlin won her first election to the Richmond City Council in November 2004.[5]

In Richmond, McLaughlin's activism has found her involved in many local struggles in support of both social and environmental justice. She opposed the Patriot Act, the criminalization of the homeless, and Chevron's Richmond Refinery tax perks. She has also been involved in an ongoing effort to stop development on the North Richmond shoreline and supports the Service Employees International Union.

Mayor of Richmond

Campaign sign, 2006

In 2006, McLaughlin decided to challenge Richmond's incumbent mayor Irma Anderson. She was elected on November 7, 2006 by a 242-vote margin over Anderson.[7] At the time, her victory made Richmond the largest city in the country with a Green Party mayor.[7][8] McLaughlin won a second term in office in the 2010 municipal election.[9] She overcame a well-funded offensive to unseat her during the re-election campaign.

Under McLaughlin's mayoralty, the "small, blue-collar city best known for its Chevron refinery has become the unlikely vanguard for anticorporate, left-wing activism".[10] From early in her career, McLaughlin gave tangible governmental support to workers' cooperatives as a means of fighting unemployment.[11] She was a strong proponent of Measure N, a proposed municipal soda tax that was met by determined, well-funded resistance from the American Beverage Association and other business interests.[10] She also spearheaded a 2014 effort to raise Richmond's local minimum wage to US$12.30 per hour.[12] The raise provided impetus to the broader statewide minimum wage movement.[13] McLaughlin was a member of the nationwide advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.[14]

McLaughlin was criticized for attending an Occupy rally on Veterans Day of 2011 instead of a symbolic ship-launching portrayal at the former Richmond Shipyards.[15] McLaughlin stated she was a supporter of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War.[16]

Eminent domain against banks

The U.S. mortgage crisis of the late 2000s had a powerful impact on Richmond. Even by 2013, nearly half of all home mortgages in the city were "underwater", with owners owing more than their houses were worth.[17] On average, homeowners with mortgages were indebted for about 45% more than the original value of their homes.[18] McLaughlin mounted a unique and highly controversial effort to gain control of the mortgages. The city, in partnership with a private financing company, would seek to purchase mortgages from banks at fair market value and then allow the homeowners to refinance for a minimal fee. If the banks refused, the city would seize the mortgages using the legal power of eminent domain.[2][19]

Defending the plan, McLaughlin said mortgage seizures were necessary to alleviate "an unjust set of circumstances" facing homeowners after the Great Recession, and the use of eminent domain would be justified for the common good by preventing urban blight caused by abandoned foreclosed homes.[17] The city thus has a right and duty to prevent foreclosures, as well as a legal necessity to protect its citizens: "People were tricked. They were sold these bad loans" which were far in excess of their value, and made Richmond "a community being victimized".[2][20] In March 2013, the City Council voted 6–1 in favor of partnering with a San Francisco firm, Mortgage Resolution Partners (MRP), to begin enactment of the plan.[21]

Opponents in Richmond countered that the plan would help only a small subsection of mortgage-holders,[18] while two banks, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank, immediately filed lawsuits against the city.[19] Arguing that it was an illegal use of eminent domain, the banks also warned that it would severely damage the U.S. mortgage industry by encouraging other municipalities to do the same.[2][17] Other cities, including Newark, North Las Vegas, and Seattle were all said to be considering mortgage seizure, although only Richmond publicly pursued the plan.[17][18] Undaunted, McLaughlin told the press in August 2013 that her administration was confident that it would prevail in court against the banks.[22] The following month, after heated public debate, the City Council again voted to back McLaughlin and proceed with the plan.[23]

Chevron

More than anything else, it is McLaughlin's contentious relationship with the Chevron Corporation that has defined her political history.[24] The multinational energy corporation maintains a massive, century-old oil refinery in Richmond, and it has long dominated the city's economy and politics.[25] After the RPA took root, however, the shift in government caused friction with Chevron, particularly after the McLaughlin administration fought it in court over the payment of various taxes.[25] A major fire at the refinery in August 2012 led to another hotly contested lawsuit, this time for "willful and conscious disregard of public safety".[26][27]

Chevron spent $1.2 million in 2012 to oppose two Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) City Council candidates who were critical of the company and to support three that the oil company considered supportive.[10] That was the one year that the RPA candidates lost. McLaughlin herself was not up for reelection that year, but strongly supported the two RPA candidates with whom she shared progressive values.

Return to City Council

Even after her mayoralty ended, Chevron continued to oppose her vigorously, "spending some $3 million – an unheard of amount for a small, local election – to campaign against McLaughlin and her slate" in the 2014 city council elections.[28] She was nonetheless elected to the City Council in 2014 and served in this role until July 18, 2017, when she resigned to seek a higher political office.[1][29]

McLaughlin is not without critics such as the East Bay Times, which referred to her and the RPA in a 2016 editorial as "the biggest deniers of the city's fiscal crisis."[30]

She and her fellow RPA candidates Eduardo Martinez and Jovanka Beckles all won by wide margins in 2014 despite having been heavily outspent by their opposition.[31] The 2016 City Council elections were noticeably quieter in tone, with no financial input from Chevron, according to campaign finance reports.[32] Two other RPA candidates, Melvin Willis and Ben Choi, won open seats creating a RPA majority in the City Council.[33]

In 2016, McLaughlin changed her political party registration from Green Party to NPP ("No Party Preference") so she could vote for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in the California presidential primary.[34]

Campaign for lieutenant governor

In June 2017, McLaughlin declared her candidacy for lieutenant governor in the California lieutenant gubernatorial election of 2018.[34][35] Her independent campaign refused to accept any corporate contributions.[36] Although she ran with no party affiliation, her endorsements include California's Green Party,[37] Our Revolution,[38] and the Peace and Freedom Party.[39] The hotly contested primary race saw over $10 million raised by campaigns – "far more than the $7.6 million that candidates raised for the entire election cycle the last time the seat was open in 2010".[36] In a crowded field of eight, McLaughlin took 3.6% of the vote.[40]

Books

A chronicle of the McLaughlin administration's rise and legacy, Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City, was published in 2017 with a foreword written by Bernie Sanders.[41][42] This was followed in early 2018 by McLaughlin's own memoir, Winning Richmond: How a Progressive Alliance Won City Hall.[43]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gayle McLaughlin". Ci.Richmond.Ca.us. City of Richmond, California. 2017. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Schmit, Julie (September 29, 2013). "Forceful mayor's drastic plan to stop foreclosures". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ "About Gayle McLaughlin" (PDF). californiaprogressivealliance.org.
  4. ↑ "About Mayor McLaughlin". www.mayorgayle.net. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  5. 1 2 "2004 Election Results". Richmond Progressive Alliance. 2004. Archived from the original on April 9, 2005. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Chip (July 12, 2004). "Asleep at the wheel in Richmond". SFGate. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Anderson concedes defeat to challenger in race for mayor". KESQ-TV. 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  8. ↑ Hall, Carl. T. (November 22, 2006). "Richmond Mayor concedes race – city largest in nation with Green leadership". SFGate. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Results of 2010 midterm elections are mixed bag for Mayor Bloomberg". New York Daily News. 2010-11-07. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  10. 1 2 3 Onishi, Norimitsu (November 4, 2012). "California City Savors Role in Fighting 'Big Soda'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ Romney, Lee (November 28, 2011). "Where the workers are the owners". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. pp. A1, A12–13. Retrieved April 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ↑ Lopes, Ricardo (April 1, 2014). "Bay area city to vote on $12.30 minimum". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ↑ Lopes, Ricardo (May 27, 2014). "Minimum wage campaign shifts strategy". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ↑ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 2007. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007.
  15. ↑ "California Mayor Snubs Veterans to Attend Occupy Rally". Fox News Channel. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Dreier, Hannah (9 November 2011). "Richmond Mayor to skip Veterans Day events for Occupy rally". Mercurynews.com. The Mercury News. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Elias, Paul (August 26, 2013). "California city looks to seize home loans". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson AZ. Associated Press. pp. A1, A4. Retrieved March 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  18. 1 2 3 Dewan, Shaila (January 26, 2014). "Mayor mounts long-shot fight against blight". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, FL. New York Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  19. 1 2 Gonzales, Richard (September 12, 2013). "Calif. City Proposes Unique Plan To Avoid Foreclosures". Morning Edition. NPR. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Transcript. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  20. ↑ Goodman, Amy (host) (August 6, 2013). "California City Threatens to Use Eminent Domain to Stop Bank Foreclosures". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  21. ↑ Said, Carolyn (June 15, 2013). "A rescue for Richmond's underwater mortgages?". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  22. ↑ Timiraos, Nick (August 9, 2013). "Richmond Mayor Says Lawsuit Won't Deter Loan Seizures". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  23. ↑ DePillis, Lydia (September 11, 2013). "After 7-hour meeting, it's on: Richmond sticks with its plan to seize mortgages through eminent domain". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  24. ↑ Dewan, Shaila (January 11, 2014). "Eminent Domain: A Long Shot Against Blight". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  25. 1 2 Onishi, Norimitsu (January 2, 2013). "Together a Century, City and Oil Giant Hit a Rough Patch". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Richmond Files Lawsuit Against Chevron For Alleged Negligence in 2012 Refinery Fire". NBC. August 2, 2013. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  27. ↑ Ostrander, Madeline (November 7, 2014). "Richmond: The little town that beat Big Oil". Al Jazeera America. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  28. ↑ Winship, Michael (October 30, 2014). "Chevron's "Company Town" Fights Back: An Interview with Gayle McLaughlin". BillMoyers.com. Public Square Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  29. ↑ Edevane, Gillian (June 29, 2017). "Richmond City Council Member Steps Down to Run For Lt. Governor". nbcbayarea. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  30. ↑ Bornstein, Dan" (October 10, 2016). "Editorial". eastbaytimes.com. Digital First Media, Inc. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  31. ↑ Baires, Jennifer (November 4, 2014). "Anti-Chevron candidates sweep to victory in Richmond races". East Bay Times. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  32. ↑ Joffee, Karina (October 21, 2016). "Anti-Chevron candidates sweep to victory in Richmond race". East Bay Times. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Willis' and Choi's City Council wins bring victory for RPA, Mayor Butt voices concern". Richmond Confidential. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  34. 1 2 Early, Steve (May 23, 2017). ""Corporate Free" Richmond Candidates Moving Up". BeyondChron. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  35. ↑ Lochner, Tom (June 7, 2017). "Richmond's 'Bernie Sanders of the East Bay' to run for lieutenant governor". East Bay Times. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  36. 1 2 Garofoli, Joe (May 16, 2018). "'Lite Guv' no more: California candidates spending millions for a job that gets no respect". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018.
  37. ↑ "The Green Party of California State Voter Guide". The Green Party of California State. Archived from the original on 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  38. ↑ "Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution Organization Endorses Independent Over Democrat in Lt. Gov. Race For California". Ivn.us. Independent Voter Network. May 2, 2018. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Election 2018: Gayle McLaughlin for Lt. Governor". Peace and Freedom Party. Archived from the original on 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  40. ↑ "Updated: June 5 Primary Election Results!". East Bay Express. June 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  41. ↑ "Refinery Town by Steve Early". Kirkus Reviews. January 17, 2017. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  42. ↑ Helvarg, David (January 26, 2017). "Book Review: Richmond's Example to the Nation". The Progressive. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  43. ↑ Lettieri, Scott (April 3, 2018). "Former Richmond Mayor Gayle Mclaughlin Discusses Taking On The Oil Industry". KCBS Radio. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.

Further reading

  • Early, Steve (2017). Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807094273.
  • McLaughlin, Gayle (2018). Winning Richmond: How a Progressive Alliance Won City Hall. Hardball Press. ISBN 978-0999135815.
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