27 Sep Richmond Names Street for Pedie Perez, Plans How to Spend Chevron Settlement

(Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

A section of Spring Street in Richmond — the same street where Richard “Pedie” Perez III’s family has set up shop for decades and around the corner from where he was killed by a Richmond Police officer — now immortalizes the Perez name. 

The Richmond City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved renaming the portion of Spring south of Cutting Boulevard to Pedie Perez Avenue in honor of Perez who was unarmed when Officer Wallace Jensen shot and killed him 10 years ago. 

For the Perez family and community alike, it’s more than a renaming.

“Our work is not finished,” said Patricia Perez, Pedie’s grandmother. “Having a street renamed for Pedie will be a constant reminder that we must strive for better policing that does not entail shooting people who do not have any weapon, who pose zero threat to anyone’s safety.” 

In 2018, the Community Police Review Commission, charged with investigating citizen complaints of excessive force and when an RPD officer discharges their weapon at someone, said that Jensen used “excessive force” when he killed Pedie. 

Council member Soheila Bana, who first brought the item forward at the Sept. 10 meeting, says the new street name will be a “reminder of the sanctity of life” and the need to foster relationships between law enforcement and the community. 

“It symbolizes our desire for justice and collective commitment to healing and reconciliation,” she said. 

The renaming is the latest memorial for Pedie, who most recently had a receptacle in the spot where he was killed decorated with artwork and photos of him through the years. 

“Pedie was never one who wanted the spotlight,” said Rick Perez, Pedie’s father, at the Tuesday meeting. “But I’m sure he’d be very proud of what’s happened here.”

Some of what’s happened after Pedie’s death — as it relates to police accountability at the local and state levels — is due to the advocacy of the Perez family. State legislation, such as SB 1421, which made police records related to use-of-force incidents more accessible, and local laws, like one that gave the CPRC more investigative power in 2020, received support from the Perez family. 

Bana said the unveiling of the new street name will take place Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. 

Chevron settlement fund intentions

Less than a year before Chevron’s first payment to Richmond as part of a 10-year $550 million settlement, city officials are planning how they’ll spend the money. 

Council members on Tuesday initially faced two competing proposals — one brought forward by council member Soheila Bana and another from Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez and council members Gayle McLaughlin and Doria Robinson — that differed in who should guide the process. The trio’s resolution was approved 6-1, with only Bana voting against. 

Bana’s proposal would have directed “staff to conduct an assessment, study and community outreach” on how the money from Chevron should be spent, according to the agenda report.

“Staff was not in the driver’s seat in this conflict to get fair taxation from Chevron for so long,” said McLaughlin when rejecting Bana’s proposal. “It was the council and the community, so we should drive the process together … and we should get a systematic, methodical process in place.” 

The adopted resolution outlines the general intentions the council has when it begins using the funds, ensuring that, as council members change over time, the funds from the settlement will be used in a way that “reduces rather than exacerbates the city’s dependence upon the Chevron Refinery and the fossil fuel industry.” 

The resolution lists various categories they intend for the funding to be used — including infrastructure and other quality of life improvements, development of the local economy, and for the eventual remediation of the refinery. 

McLaughlin said that more resolutions guiding the funding would come forward in the future.

Bana’s proposal, which no other council member expressed support for, would have allocated up to $100,000 to facilitate community outreach through consultants and asked city staff to assess and develop a plan to reduce unmet infrastructure needs and unfunded obligations. 

Before the meeting, the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Communities for a Better Environment opposed Bana’s proposal, saying it was “too hasty,” vague and wasted city funds on a consultant. APEN and CBE were the two groups that helped bring forward the tax measure that, if it had passed in November, would have taxed Chevron. The $550 million settlement came after the measure was removed from the ballot. 

Bana criticized the resolution from McLaughlin, Robinson and Jimenez, saying she was thankful for the work from APEN and CBE but believing the two groups should not have any more say in how the funds are used than other community members. 

“It seems to me that the decision (on how to use the money) has already been made,” said Bana, “and that’s why there’s no need for community outreach.” 

McLaughlin, Robinson and Jimenez disagreed with Bana, saying outreach had happened and rejected the idea that their intentions were to represent APEN and CBE’s interests rather than the entire city.

The next Richmond City Council meeting is Oct. 8.