Richmond Mayoral Race: Jimenez and Anderson Likely Headed for Runoff in November

Martinez’s reelection bid followed calls for him to resign at the end of last year, after he reposted antisemitic conspiracy theories on LinkedIn. One of the posts alleged that an attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was an Israeli “false flag” operation, while another said that “the root cause of antisemitism is the behavior of Israel and Israelis.”

Fellow council members proposed, but failed to pass, a measure to censure him over the posts.

In January, he read an apology letter at a City Council meeting, saying it was a mistake to share the posts. Martinez did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Jimenez made waves when she launched her campaign in March, taking on the mayor, a progressive ally. She said she wasn’t planning to run for the seat until she was urged to by residents and local organizations, but quickly amassed support from the prominent Richmond Progressive Alliance, which supported Martinez’s 2022 election bid, and campaign contributions from many of the labor unions that supported his first campaign.

“I am the candidate who had shown that I had the skills, I had the perseverance to finish the things that I am doing, showing results and a vision for Richmond,” she said.

Jimenez, who did not support the move to censure Martinez, said she doesn’t believe the controversy played a role in the election outcome. Instead, she said she believes Richmond voters see her as a stronger candidate to champion the progressive initiatives she’s supported on the council.

“I think people feel like I am a stronger leader and they want a stronger leader for mayor,” she said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the posts.”

Anderson, who has previously run two unsuccessful campaigns for City Council, gained the support of the city’s police association, the state and county democratic party organizations and East Bay state legislators Buffy Wicks and Jesse Arreguín. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The county is expected to release additional election results by Friday.