Green Party Mayor Gayle McLaughlin Profiled In Richmond Confidential

Gayle McLaughlin is currently the most prominent elected official in the Green Party as the Mayor of Richmond, California–a city with a population of over 100,000 people. McLaughlin is running for re-election in 2010 and was profiled in the Richmond Confidential.

Richmond mayor Gayle McLaughlin isn’t the untested commodity she was four years ago, when she drew national headlines by becoming the nation’s only big-city Green Party mayor.

She’s more careful with her words and just a shade more conservative in her aims, if not her hopes. Her platform this year now includes more stock-in-trade pledges made by municipal politicians, including a vow to beef up the police force to about 200 sworn officers. She also hopes to expand some of her flagship green-jobs training and youth employment programs, even if it requires funds siphoned from her own office’s budget, as it did earlier this year.

The journey from rabble-rousing candidate to sometimes-embattled municipal leader has been a learning experience, and sometimes a bruising one, she acknowledged during a wide-ranging interview at the downtown offices of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, a local political group she co-founded.

“The mistake that I would say I made is that I overestimated the willingness of the full council to engage productively, in a productive and principled debate of divergent ideas,” said McLaughlin.  “I really didn’t expect so much blocking of good ideas, blocking of good policy.”

As a challenger in 2006, McLaughlin proved a political rarity — a candidate who campaigned on raising taxes, at least for large corporations. She also pledged to re-hire laid off city workers and launch jobs programs for local youths.

Amazingly to some City Hall watchers, it clicked. Thanks to a three-way race, McLaughlin squeaked into office with just over one-third of the vote, giving her the victory over two-term incumbent Irma Anderson. The Richmond Globe newspaper ran a headline declaring that Anderson’s “Legacy yields to McLaughlin’s progressive ideals.”

She’s more careful with her words and just a shade more conservative in her aims, if not her hopes. Her platform this year now includes more stock-in-trade pledges made by municipal politicians, including a vow to beef up the police force to about 200 sworn officers. She also hopes to expand some of her flagship green-jobs training and youth employment programs, even if it requires funds siphoned from her own office’s budget, as it did earlier this year.

The journey from rabble-rousing candidate to sometimes-embattled municipal leader has been a learning experience, and sometimes a bruising one, she acknowledged during a wide-ranging interview at the downtown offices of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, a local political group she co-founded.

“The mistake that I would say I made is that I overestimated the willingness of the full council to engage productively, in a productive and principled debate of divergent ideas,” said McLaughlin.  “I really didn’t expect so much blocking of good ideas, blocking of good policy.”

As a challenger in 2006, McLaughlin proved a political rarity — a candidate who campaigned on raising taxes, at least for large corporations. She also pledged to re-hire laid off city workers and launch jobs programs for local youths.

Amazingly to some City Hall watchers, it clicked. Thanks to a three-way race, McLaughlin squeaked into office with just over one-third of the vote, giving her the victory over two-term incumbent Irma Anderson. The Richmond Globe newspaper ran a headline declaring that Anderson’s “Legacy yields to McLaughlin’s progressive ideals.”

As America’s first Green Party mayor of a city of more than 100,000 residents, McLaughlin was instantly a national figure. Weeks later, she would share the stage with Green Party goliath Ralph Nader at an event bristling with progressive luminaries in San Francisco.

As America’s first Green Party mayor of a city of more than 100,000 residents, McLaughlin was instantly a national figure. Weeks later, she would share the stage with Green Party goliath Ralph Nader at an event bristling with progressive luminaries in San Francisco.

You can read the full article here. Thanks to Green Party Watch for the news.