Unity Letter in Response to Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez's Antisemitic and Hateful Rhetoric

73 current and former elected officials have signed a joint letter condemning the antisemitic posts shared by Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez. Signatories include thirty-seven current elected officials from across Contra Costa County—where the City of Richmond is located. This comes days after the JCRC Bay Area issued an open letter to Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez urging him to resign given his behavior recent behavior. In Richmond, Councilmember Jamilia Brown called for a resignation while Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia called for a resignation should Martinez not issue a proper apology. Richmond councilmember Cesar Zepeda said he supported a censure of Martinez.

Here is the letter:

As diverse current and former elected officials from across the Bay Area, as well as local Richmond community leaders, we are deeply troubled by recent public statements from Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez that have harmed local residents and undermined public trust. In recent days, Mayor Martinez posted on his LinkedIn profile statements blaming Jews for a terrorist attack in Sydney and for the persistence of antisemitism—language rooted in dangerous antisemitic tropes and unacceptable from any public official.

Hateful rhetoric such as this harms not only those directly targeted, but also the integrity of civic life on which all communities rely—especially when spread by those elected to lead and govern.

We call on Mayor Martinez to take immediate, concrete steps to repair the harm and restore trust, including:

Engaging privately in dialogue and learning with leading community rabbis and local Jewish elected leaders;
Issuing a truly restorative, public apology that acknowledges why his statements were harmful;
Hosting antisemitism education and training for city leadership and staff at the suggestion of community leaders and Jewish officials, and adopting a resolution condemning these remarks and affirming that hateful rhetoric has no place in Richmond.

Should Mayor Martinez be unwilling or unable to take these steps, he should step down from his role as mayor in the best interest of the community.

Signed by:

Contra Costa County Officials

Susannah Meyer – Mayor, City of Brentwood

Holly Tillman – Councilmember, City of Clayton

Pablo Benavente – Councilmember, City of Concord

Laura Nakamura – Mayor, City of Concord

Daniel Nathan-Heiss – Trustee, Contra Costa County Board of Education

Rebecca Barrett – Trustee, Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board

Diana Honig – President, Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board

Andy Li – Trustee, Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board

John Marquez – Trustee, Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board
Rebecca Saltzman – Mayor Pro Tem, City of El Cerrito

Gabe Quinto – Mayor, City of El Cerrito

Lisa Motoyama – Councilmember, City of El Cerrito

Alex Walker-Griffin – Vice Mayor, City of Hercules
Brianne Zorn – Mayor, City of Martinez

Satinder S. Malhi – Vice Mayor, City of Martinez
Logan Campbell – Trustee, Martinez Unified School District

Kerry Hillis – Mayor, City of Moraga

Brian Lawrence – Trustee, Mt. Diablo Unified School District

Anissa Williams – Councilmember and Former Mayor, City of Oakley

Shannon Shaw – Councilmember and Former Mayor, City of Oakley

Latika Malkani – Councilmember and Former Mayor, City of Orinda

Cara Hoxie – Councilmember, City of Orinda
Anthony L. Tave – Mayor, City of Pinole

Devin T. Murphy – Mayor Pro Tempore, City of Pinole

Maureen Toms – Councilmember, City of Pinole

Dionne Adams – Mayor, City of Pittsburg
Arlene Kobata – Councilmember, City of Pittsburg

Andrei Obolenskiy – Vice Mayor, City of Pleasant Hill

Sue Noack – Councilmember, City of Pleasant Hill

Amanda Szakats – Councilmember, City of Pleasant Hill

Zac Shess- Councilmember, City of Pleasant Hill

Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, Mayor, City of San Pablo

Rita Xavier – Vice Mayor, City of San Pablo

Matt Francois – Mayor Pro Tem, City of Walnut Creek
Cindy Darling – Councilmember, City of Walnut Creek
Kevin Wilk – Mayor, City of Walnut Creek
Craig DeVinney – Councilmember, City of Walnut Creek

Other Local Elected Officials

Ben Bartlett – Councilmember, City of Berkeley
Eli Beckman – Councilmember and Former Mayor, Town of Corte Madera

Stephen Burdo – Mayor, Town of San Anselmo
Brent Blackaby – Councilmember, City of Berkeley
David Cohen – Councilmember, City of San Jose
Danielle Cwirko-Godycki – Councilmember, City of San Mateo
Eli Hill – Councilmember, City of San Rafael

Jennifer Holden – Trustee, Tamalpais Union High School District
Mark Humbert – Vice Mayor, City of Berkeley

Julia Mates – Mayor, City of Belmont

Andy Katz – Director, East Bay Municipal Utility District

Ariel Kelley- Councilmember, City of Healdsburg
Rachel Kertz – Vice Mayor, City of San Rafael
Peggy McQuaid – Mayor, City of Albany
Yoav Schlesinger – Councilmember, City of San Anselmo

Mark Stapp — Mayor, City of Santa Rosa
Terry Taplin – Councilmember, City of Berkeley
Holli Thier – Councilmember and Former Mayor, Town of Tiburon
Janice Cader Thompson – Councilmember, City of Petaluma
Igor Tregub – Councilmember, City of Berkeley
Kristie Wang – Vice Mayor, City of Livermore
Jonathan Weinberg – Councilmember and Former Mayor, City of Los Altos

Former Elected Officials

Maria Alegria – Former Mayor and Councilmember, City of Pinole

Melanie Bagby – Former Mayor, City of Cloverdale
Lori Droste – Former Vice Mayor and Councilmember, City of Berkeley
Sophie Hahn – Former Vice Mayor and Councilmember, City of Berkeley

Michael Harris – Former Mayor, City of Pleasant Hill
Shirley Issel – Former President and Director, Berkeley Unified School District
Dan Kalb – Former Councilmember, City of Oakland
Patricia Munro – Former Vice Mayor, City of Livermore
Rochelle Nason – Former Mayor and Councilmember, City of Albany

Tessa Rudnick – Former Mayor and Councilmember, City of El Cerrito

Cindy Watter – Trustee, Napa Valley Unified School District
Susan Wengraf – Former Vice Mayor and Councilmember, City of Berkeley

City of Richmond Leaders

Ahmad Anderson – Richmond Community Leader

Shawn Dunning – Richmond Community Leader

Brandon Evans – Richmond Community Leader

Jamin Pursell – Richmond Community Leader

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