Unbought Slate Wins against Democrats-for-Chevron

[Omaha Steve]

http://labornotes.org/2015/01/unbought-slate-wins-against-democrats-chevron

January 20, 2015 / Jane Slaughter

It’s not often that a city council race in a city of 100,000 draws national attention. It happened in Richmond, California, this fall because one big corporation was so shameless in its open attempt to buy the election.

But even more remarkable was the fact that the corporation got beat. Up against the Democratic Party establishment, plus $3 million in campaign spending by Chevron—the third-largest company in the world—a grassroots group won.

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A mountain of election mailers listed “major funding by Chevron.” Voters received as many as four a day. Chevron also bombarded Richmond voters with billboards and TV ads. Photo: RPA.


Richmond, north of Berkeley in the East Bay, grew up during the shipyard boom and war production of World War II, when workers from other parts of the country flooded in. More recently, it’s been known for its problems: population loss, high crime, bankruptcy, the hollowing out of downtown, dirty air, poverty. The city is now 40 percent Latino, 26 percent Black, 17 percent white, and 14 percent Asian. A fifth of the population was born outside the U.S.

Richmond was long dominated by Chevron, whose massive refinery sits on the shoreline belching oil byproducts into the atmosphere. Chevron is the town’s biggest taxpayer and largest employer—but only 7 percent of employees live in Richmond. The execs certainly do not.

FULL story at link.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Bravo! K&R