Sierra Lopez
RICHMOND — As half a billion dollars from Chevron start to flow into Richmond’s coffers, city leaders want to know exactly how residents would like to see that money spent.
To get those answers, council members have agreed to set aside up to $300,000 to contract out support that would facilitate community feedback. A central goal of the initiative, approved during a meeting Tuesday, is to develop a “just transition” away from the fossil fuel industry while ensuring community buy-in for how the dollars are spent.
“We’re in that moment where we actually do have to be as careful and as thoughtful as we can to make decisions for the future,” said Vice Mayor Doria Robinson, who drafted the item with Councilmember Claudia Jimenez and Mayor Eduardo Martinez. “We’re making a huge turning point for our city if we do it right. Or we can do it like the way people who win the lottery, go out and buy a bunch of fancy things and then be broke in 10 years.”
The $550 million Richmond is poised to collect stems from an agreement it negotiated with the Richmond Chevron Refinery. In exchange for the funds, the council agreed to remove a tax measure, dubbed the Make Polluters Pay campaign, from the November 2024 ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would have brought in between $60 million and $90 million annually by charging Chevron for every barrel of raw material that was processed at the plant.
Representatives from the two local nonprofit organizations behind the Make Polluters Pay campaign – Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action and Communities for a Better Environment – endorsed the councilmembers’ plan during Tuesday’s meeting.
“The additional and hard won $550 million is a chance for Richmond to…
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