Richmond to again consider censuring its mayor over controversial social media posts

RICHMOND — Richmond councilmembers will once again on Tuesday have to decide whether to formally admonish Mayor Eduardo Martinez for sharing what some have called antisemitic social media posts.

Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda and Councilmember Jamelia Brown plan to bring forward a second censure resolution that would admonish Martinez after he reshared posts to his LinkedIn account that contained conspiracy theories about a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach.

If approved, Martinez also would be required to “undertake meaningful engagement” with the city’s Jewish community, including religious figures, and participate in at least 16 hours of antisemitism training. Martinez has already publicly committed to meeting with local rabbis.

The censure is not about censoring Martinez, Zepeda said, but is instead meant to set a precedent for the type of behavior the council expects of its political leaders. The last time the council censured a colleague was in 2021, when former Mayor Tom Butt was admonished for allegedly publicly sharing closed session information, Zepeda noted, arguing that Butt’s actions likely caused less harm to the community than Martinez has.

“I’m trying to make sure the community understands and feels that their elected officials care for them and that we’re not here to harm them,” Zepeda said. “When we’re out there in the community, we need people to feel their elected officials can be trusted, that they feel they’re safe and protected in our community.”

Despite councilmembers broadly disavowing the contents of the social media posts Martinez shared, a previous attempt to censure Martinez with an urgency ordinance on Jan. 6 failed with a 2-5 vote, Zepeda and Brown the two ayes.

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez said she felt Martinez had already begun the process to remedy what harm was caused by his social media posts and Councilmember Doria Robinson said she felt the original censure was too punitive because it called for removing the mayor from regional bodies and docking his pay. Both of those requirements have been removed from the new censure measure to be considered.

Martinez and Councilmember Sue Wilson raised concerns about the process, with Wilson arguing the measure should be brought back as a regular agenda item.

Martinez said councilmembers should have discussed the issue with him first before placing the censure item on the agenda. He also accused them of violating the Brown Act by talking about the measure with him in a private meeting after he told them he’d already talked about the issue with another councilmember. The Brown Act is a state law meant to ensure transparency and accountability for governing bodies.

Martinez has drafted his own measure that’s on the Tuesday agenda. In addition to acknowledging the restorative process the mayor is already undergoing in partnership with local rabbis, the measure directs Martinez to publicly apologize for his social media posts and to meet with Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller of Temple Beth Hillel at least two more times in the beginning of the year.

“In light of recent social media posts reshared by the Mayor that used and spread antisemitic ideas, the Mayor is taking proactive steps to address this mistake,” read the staff report for the agenda item.

Martinez did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Whether or not the new censure measure will pass is still up in the air, said Zepeda, who believes the push to formally admonish Martinez has helped influence the mayor’s item. Zepeda said Martinez’s item shows he’s “moving in the right direction,” but argued the censure and attached requirements are still necessary.

“This has made international news. If the pain made international news, the healing also needs to make international news,” Zepeda said.

Tyler Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, a regional advocacy organization, said he similarly believes their pressure campaign for the mayor to resign has led to Martinez’s item.

While appreciative of the mayor’s commitment to engage with the Jewish community and religious leaders, Gregory said the Jewish Community Relations Council will continue to advocate for Martinez to resign until they believe he’s demonstrated deep change.

“If he’s going to commit to doing the work, that’s great, but we’ll believe it when we see it,” Gregory said. “A mark of a good leader is someone who has the backs of people who live in their city whether they vote for him or not, and I’m not sure this mayor can do that.”