Candidate for
Council Member; City of Richmond

Tom Butt Wishes/Predictions for 2012 (see 2011 Year End Review and Prediction and Wishes for 2012, In What Will We Delve in 2012? December 31, 2011.

Shipyard 3 Buildings. I hope that the National Park Service will lease enough space in the General Warehouse and/or Riggers Loft for the Maritime Museum Archives to enable the financing of rehabilitation of the Riggers Loft and tenant improvements for the General Warehouse, and that the work will be completed in 2012. It would also be nice for the National Park Service to designate the Cafeteria Building as its headquarters and begin the rehabilitation of that structure. (Update: we lost the bid for the Maritime Museum Archives, but work on the Riggers Loft is going forward, funded by a grant).

Point Molate. I wish that the City will prevail in or successfully settle its lawsuit for interpretation of the Upstream contract and that a new plan for development of Point Molate will go forward.(Outcome: Litigation is still in progress).

Railroads. I hope that the proposed Quiet Zones at Cutting Boulevard and 4th Street and Canal Boulevard will be completed and activated. I hope that the City will keep its promise to limit street blockages by trains serving the Port of Richmond during the day. I wish that BNSF would make its engineers more sensitive to the needless harm they are causing by abusing train horn at night. I wish that the Federal Railroad Administration and the California Public Utilities Commission would become as concerned about the adverse impacts of noise as they are about grade crossing safety. (Outcome: Cutting Boulevard and 4th Street are almost done, and Canal Boulevard is in progress. The litigation over street blockages by trains is still in litigation at the California Court of Appeals).

Crime.I hope Richmond's crime rate continues to decline, and I hope the homicide rate will also decline in 2012.(Outcome: both crime and homicides are on a downward trend)

Chevron.I hope that the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Project will be permitted and start construction in 2012. I wish that Chevron would either drop their property tax assessment appeals or negotiate a settlement that leaves Richmond whole.(Outcome: The permitting process for the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Project is well underway. Chevron lost their latest property tax appeal).

Elections.I hope the 2012 City Council elections will result in a City Council that can work together for a progressive and sustainable future. I predict that one or more incumbents will choose not to run for reelection. (Outcome: the campaign is just beginning).

Marijuana.I predict that the City Council's plan to license marijuana dispensaries will fail due to federal intervention. (Outcome: There has been no federal intervention, and the City Council has increased the number of permitted dispensaries from three to six).

Booker et al.I predict the Booker litigation will be resolved in 2012. (Outcome: The superior court litigation has concluded with a loss for the plaintiffs. The federal court litigation is pending, but over half the plaintiffs have settled and dropped out).

North Shoreline. The idea of the North Shoreline as open space will be toast in 2012. (Outcome: The City Council majority did not support North Shoreline open space).