Two Resign from Richmond Board Over Pro-Palestinian Resolution

Two members of the City of Richmond’s Design Review Board resigned in protest over a recently approved Palestine Resolution.

Design Review Board Members Kevin K Plotkin and Leah Marthinse sent in their letters of resignation this week (read them below) after the City Council approved a resolution that stood in solidarity with the Palestinian People of Gaza.

“The resolution clearly isolates and endangers the Jewish community in Richmond, which includes my family. My children do not feel safe in their own home,” stated Plotkin in his letter.

Meanwhile, Marthinse called the council’s choice to pass the resolution offensive.

“I am resigning my position on the DRB, effective immediately, following the Richmond City Council’s choice to pass the offensive, biased, and inflammatory Resolution R-1 on 10/25. Personally, as a Jewish person and a committed Richmond resident, I’m hurt and saddened to be making this choice,” stated Marthinse.

The resolution, which was passed in a 5-1 vote, had more than a 300 public comments over a 7-hour meeting with public speakers showcasing flags for Israel, others representing Palestinians along with heckling throughout the night. Speakers from both sides spoke during the meeting both supporting and objecting to the resolution.

The resolution stood in solidarity with the Palestinian People of Gaza.

Prior to public comment, Mayor Eduardo Martinez offered up a nearly 10-minute monologue as to why they were bringing up the resolution, which included a call for recess as the crowd became lively.

According to the city, the the Design Review Board (DRB) shall review and/or approve, as the case may be, the design of exterior construction or modifications for which a building permit, zoning permit, certificate, or discretionary planning approval is required, including any variances from Chapter 15.06 of the Richmond Sign Ordinance unless it is exempt from design review or receives administrative design review approval. Applications requiring both Planning Commission and Design Review Board approval shall be reviewed in one meeting by the DRB for recommendation to the Planning Commission.

The City of Richmond provided the letters upon request:

From Kevin K. Plotkin:

Dear Mayor, City Council members, Design Review Board members and staff:

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of Richmond‘s Design Review Board, particularly with the wonderful planning staff and exemplary fellow board members with whom I have been honored to work. The Richmond DRB is a space in which the board members take great pride in stewarding the incredible possibilities for the future of Richmond through the lens of design.

I am saddened, and frankly outraged, that I can no longer serve this city I love as a result of the divisive, dangerous and deeply painful resolution R1. The resolution clearly isolates and endangers the Jewish community in Richmond, which includes my family. My children do not feel safe in their own home. Furthermore, as an appointee of our current mayor for whom I proudly voted, I am stunned that I did not receive a single response to the concerns I raised—before or after the council’s vote—from him, nor any other council member. It’s clear the elected leaders of the city of Richmond do not care about bringing our community together, but rather, chose to divide us with this incendiary resolution. I cannot be a party to such cancerous behavior. Instead, I will turn my energy toward rallying with my friends and neighbors, inside and outside of the Jewish community, to ensure that a more humane mayor and city council are elected to lead our once welcoming and progressive Richmond community.

When that time comes, I look forward to being re-appointed to this board on which I have loved serving. For now, I am resigning my position on the board effective immediately.

Respectfully,

David Kozolchyk Plotkin, AIA

The following letter was issued by Leah Marthinsen:

Dear Mr. Mayor and members of the City Council,

I joined the Design Review board because I believe deeply in the power of design to bring people together. Over the past year as a Design Board member, I have appreciated my colleagues’ and City staff’s commitment to building community through design dialog, on projects large and small.

So it is with deep regret and disappointment that I am resigning my position on the DRB, effective immediately, following the Richmond City Council’s choice to pass the offensive, biased, and inflammatory Resolution R-1 on 10/25. Personally, as a Jewish person and a committed Richmond resident, I’m hurt and saddened to be making this choice.

I am unable to continue to support an administration that chooses incendiary and divisive grandstanding over inclusiveness and the well-being of all our community members.

 Leah Marthinse

According to former mayor Tom Butt, who released the letters in is E-Forum, he said the two Design Review Board members, David Plotkin and Leah Marthinsen, have resigned in protest of the ill-conceived Palestine Resolution, leaving the DRB with only four of seven authorized members, making a quorum impossible if only one of the remaining four does not attend a meeting. Kim Butt’s term has ended, but she can continue to serve until replaced. Former chair Jonathan Livingston resigned in January in protest of the way City staff was handling project applications.

Leah Marthinsen was appointed by me and approved by the City Council November 1, 2022, and David Plotkin was appointed by Mayor Martinez and approved by the City Council on March 7, 2023. Neither shows up on the City Clerk’s DRB roster.

The November 8 City of Richmond Design Review Board meeting has already been cancelled per the City of Richmond website.

Here is a copy of the resolution:

Resolution with Amendments (changes bolded)

WHEREAS, the City of Richmond stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, who are currently facing a campaign of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment by the state of Israel; and 

WHEREAS, collective punishment is considered a war crime under international law, and refers to a form of sanction imposed on persons or a group of persons in response to a crime committed by one of them or a member of the group; and 

WHEREAS, the state of Israel is engaging in collective punishment against the Palestinian people in Gaza in response to Hamas attacks on Israel; and 

WHEREAS, this collective punishment of the Palestinian people includes shutting off all access to electricity, drinking water, food, and humanitarian aid; and 

WHEREAS, the UN says approximately 2 million people in Gaza may soon run out of drinking water and all medical care; and 

WHEREAS, ethnic cleaning refers to the creation of an ethnically homogenous geographic area through the elimination of unwanted ethnic groups by deportation, forcible displacement, or genocide; and

WHEREAS, Israel is now engaged in an ethnic cleansing campaign by explicitly requiring two million Palestinians to leave Gaza immediately or risk being bombed in their homes by the Israeli army; and 

WHEREAS, the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated places on Earth, has been repeatedly referred to by human rights groups as “the world’s largest open-air prison” even prior to this conflict; and

WHEREAS, Gaza is known as “the world’s largest open-air prison” due to ongoing, unbearable living conditions imposed by the state of Israel, including a full air, land and sea blockade, enclosure of its borders by concrete walls and barbed wire fences, and the strict prohibition of Palestinians from leaving and entering the territory freely; and

WHEREAS, this blockade on Gaza has caused a 42% unemployment rate, while 84% of the population relies on humanitarian aid, 41% of Palestinians have too little food, 60% of Palestinian children are anemic, and the Gazan population cannot count on more than 2-4 hours of continuous electrical power a day; and 

WHEREAS, prior to this current water shortage, only 1% of Gaza population has access to safe drinking water, leaving Gaza’s population – half of whom are children – increasingly vulnerable to waterborne diseases, infections, and dehydration; and

WHEREAS, Israel has not allowed many common cancer diagnosis and treatment tools, including PET CT and radiotherapy, to enter Gaza since 2007; and

WHEREAS, pediatric cancer cases that are typically considered treatable are often fatal in the Gaza Strip, as a result of the lack of healthcare and restrictions on movement; and

WHEREAS, the state of Israel would not be able to maintain an apartheid regime without enormous military aid provided by the United States every year, thereby also depriving Americans of money for their own urgent needs; and

WHEREAS, 1,400 Israelis have been killed by Hamas on October 7th and nearly 6,000 Palestinians have been killed by the state of Israel in this escalated conflict; and

WHEREAS, we mourn the loss of all civilian lives lost on both sides from October 7th to the present and also throughout the decades of displacement, occupation, oppression and blockade endured in Gaza and the West Bank;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Richmond takes seriously the entreaty of “Never Again,” and that the historical memory of the Holocaust means fighting ethnic cleansing and apartheid everywhere; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond vows to combat antisemitism and ethno-nationalism in all its forms; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the safe passage of substantial humanitarian aid to Gaza; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond calls for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages taken by Hamas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond calls for an end to Israeli apartheid and the occupation and blockade of Palestinian land by Israeli military forces; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond opposes all existing and any future military aid to Israel; and

FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Richmond advocates for the dignity and safety of residents in every community, regardless of what crimes its leadership may commit, and that peaceful diplomacy is the only way to achieve this safety and dignity.

Previous Stories:

• Oct 25 – Richmond City Council Passes Resolution to Support Palestinians in Gaza
• Oct 24 – Richmond Seeks to Affirm Support and Solidarity With Palestinian People of Gaza