Just 30 minutes from San Francisco sits the city of Richmond, Calif., which has quietly become one of the country’s most unusual political experiments.
It’s a city where an activist coalition that includes democratic socialists has exercised influence over local government for years.
From the outside, Richmond looks like any other working-class California city with a massive Chevron refinery looming over the shoreline and immigrant-owned businesses lining 23rd Street. Politically, however, Richmond stands apart.
The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), which was formed in the early 2000s, has played a major role in the city’s government for more than two decades.
The group’s website states it was initially started to “challenge corporate power, oppose the Iraq War, and fight for fair housing and rent control.”
Its influence has only grown over the years, leaving many Richmond residents concerned about City Hall’s relationship with local businesses and its openness to economic development.
The RPA’s influence is perhaps most evident in City Hall, where Mayor Eduardo Martinez, who is aligned with the coalition and openly affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), leads the progressive-leaning city council.
Martinez has championed policies focused on environmental justice and reducing corporate influence.
However, critics say that the city has become increasingly hostile to businesses overall, both big and local.
“Richmond embraces elements of progressive governance, but like the rest of America, we are not defined by any single ideology,” Martinez told Fox News Digital. “We are a diverse community with a range of political perspectives, united by a commitment to serving our residents. While we may disagree on certain issues, I am encouraged by our ability to find common ground on priorities such as addressing homelessness, creating living-wage jobs, maintaining a clean city, and ensuring government works for the people.”
When asked about the influence the RPA has in Richmond, Martinez told Fox News Digital that the group “serves as an alternative to traditional, business-dominated politics. It seeks to empower communities that have historically been marginalized by providing meaningful opportunities for residents to participate in shaping the decisions that affect their lives.”
“When I first ran for city council and was elected back in the early 90s, I was considered to be the most, let’s say, the most liberal person on the city council. And since then, if anything, I’ve gotten even more liberal and progressive. But when I left, I wasn’t considered the most conservative person on city council, so I didn’t change that much. But the city council changed dramatically,” former Richmond Mayor Tom Butt told Fox News Digital.
Butt was the longest continually serving person on the City Council and played a consequential role as mayor.
Now, he’s concerned about the direction of Richmond under the RPA’s influence.
“When the first RPA people got elected — although I wasn’t one of them and I had some suspicions of them — I found them very helpful to get things done I wanted to do,” Butt said, adding that the group was helpful in tackling issues such as climate change and energy.
“I enjoyed the help I got from those RPA folks. And then as they gained more power in the mid-2010s, they pivoted,” he said.
The shift in the RPA’s impact on Richmond occurred amid the city’s efforts to curb Chevron’s influence in local politics. The energy giant runs a massive refinery in Richmond and remains one of the city’s largest sources of tax revenue. While RPA leadership argued that the company should pay more to address environmental and community impacts, critics warned that if the city alienated Chevron, it could lead to disastrous economic results.
Supporters of the RPA point to the coalition’s victories in the city’s fight against Chevron, arguing that the group has helped hold the company accountable.
However, Butt said that City Hall’s tension with business owners goes beyond Chevron.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes here in Richmond. It’s not a business-friendly place, it really isn’t,” Butt said. “If you’re in business, you’re pretty much on your own. The city of Richmond’s not going to help you.”
Martinez pushed back on the idea that Richmond City Hall was adversarial with local business owners.
“I would challenge the notion that Richmond is hostile to business. We support responsible corporate behavior and work effectively with companies that respect the city, the environment, their workers, and neighboring communities,” he told Fox News Digital. “Those who characterize City Hall as hostile often do so because they have caused harm — or failed to prevent harm — to one of those stakeholders. It is our responsibility to protect residents, workers, and the environment from corporate negligence or abuse.”
Local business owners echoed similar concerns when speaking with Fox News Digital. Among the most vocal critics was Kevin Brown, the former president and CEO of Riggers Loft Wine Company, who believes the RPA is pushing a strictly “anti-business” agenda.
Brown said he invested approximately $2 million in transforming a former shipyard building into a waterfront winery, tasting room and event space that drew visitors from across the Bay Area. However, after a dispute with the city over deferred COVID-era rent payments, Brown’s business was ultimately closed down. He told Fox News Digital that his conflict with the city underscored local leadership’s broader hostility towards business owners.
“We were, in our estimation and the estimation of many other people, a valuable business and kind of a calling card for Richmond, but when the city decided they wanted to change directions, they were just looking for, ‘How do we get rid of them?,’” Brown said.
The city disputed Brown’s characterization of events, saying in a statement that his company accumulated nearly $400,000 in unpaid rent and violated its lease despite receiving accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city said it made “multiple efforts to find a resolution,” but Richmond’s Surplus Property Authority was ultimately forced to file two unlawful detainer cases in an effort to reclaim the property.
According to Brown, the city’s animosity towards businesses goes beyond political labels and ideology.
“Eduardo Martinez says he’s a social democrat. I’m not one way or the other. But you need a certain amount of business to help generate revenues and to be an attraction for people to come to the city. And you also need to have a great quality of life for the citizens,” he said.
Though, Martinez said that, in his view, “ideology is an essential component of elected leadership.”
“Voters choose representatives whose values and priorities align with their own. Our beliefs serve as a moral compass when making decisions and determining how best to serve our residents,” he added.
Similar frustrations were expressed by owners of businesses that are far removed from Richmond’s political battles with Chevron.
Along 23rd Street, an area of Richmond full of immigrant-owned businesses, Raul Ramirez built Tacos El Rulas. After emigrating from Mexico, Ramirez started with an ice cream cart before expanding to Mexican treats, food trucks and eventually a full-service restaurant that draws diners looking to try unique creations, like Mexican sushi.
Despite building a successful business, the Ramirez family said that dealing with City Hall is often frustrating.
“The city council should actually pay attention to small businesses, because that’s the next generation,” Angel Ramirez, Raul’s son, said.
Angel said that small businesses in Richmond were struggling to get permits and claimed that some applicants had not received permits from the city, despite paying for them.
“They always say a lot of stuff, but it never really gets done,” he said.
Brown, like other business owners and residents who spoke with Fox News Digital, said that Richmond’s leadership was guided more by ideology than practical concerns.
“They have a vision and ideology, and it’s full speed ahead. That’s what they’re going to do,” Brown said.
The RPA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Butt said he believes Richmond has become something larger than a local political dispute.
“I think they’re all frustrated that they can’t change the United States to fit their vision of how government should work. But they certainly can do that in Richmond,” he said.
Martinez said his city is not an experiment, but rather “a shining example of working people recognizing their ability to govern themselves without being beholden to corporate influence or large financial interests.”
“We serve as an incubator for grassroots democracy, nurturing inclusivity, compassion, and responsible industry. We believe this reflects the purest expression of government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
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