04 Oct Q&A: Melvin Willis Promises Transparency to Richmond Voters

Melvin Willis is running for reelection as the District 1 Richmond City Council member. (Melvin Willis via Bay City News)

Interview, Joe Porrello

Name: Melvin Willis

Age: 34

Employment: Richmond City Council member (2016-Present)

Public Service: Served on Richmond Planning Commission, Community Organizer with Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment for 13 years 

Highest Education: High School Diploma

District: 1

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Contra Costa Pulse: For those who don’t know your background, how has it shaped your decision to run for City Council again? And, in general, why are you running?

Melvin Willis: I grew up in Richmond and have lived here for my whole life. My childhood was spent in a single-parent household because my dad died 12 days before I was born. I’m someone who experienced poverty, bullying and emotional as well as physical abuse. I’ve just always had this sense of trying to help out people whenever I can because of people putting me down when I was younger. 

After not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, the thing that got me into City Council was joining a community group called ACCE — Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Through that work, I ended up reaching out to residents and connecting with folks on issues we felt similarly about like safety and blighted community. That was my introduction into the political arena. Seeing community members interact with elected leaders and actually see it turn into an action like passing a law when I was at City Council meetings with ACCE inspired me. 

Passing policy and budget items seemed like pulling teeth with some of the previous council members and administration. I feel like now there’s been a lot of work that’s been done to reimagine public safety and budgeting for community values. For instance, building libraries, keeping affordable housing, and trying to figure out a compassionate way to help unhoused individuals.

Ever since I got elected, I’ve tried to be that council member who’s very direct and clear on where I stand on issues and what my values are so people know what they’re voting on and what they can expect from me. One frustration I always had with politics was a lack of transparency. That’s part of the reason I’m continuing to run. 

>>>Election 2020 Q&A:

Melvin Willis: ‘We Can All Find Solutions’<<<

CC Pulse: What are some of those concerns you’re hearing, and how will you address those issues? 

MW: How I’m generally going to address community issues is by doing direct community engagement. I’ve been making more and more of an effort to connect our departments and city staff directly to residents just to try to resolve some of the issues quickly or at least give information on how the process is going to move forward.

Human trafficking in District 1, where I live, is a huge issue. We also have street traffic issues throughout the district and the city. And those problems can be helped by educating people on what the procedures are to make change and making sure funding is available to implement appropriate strategies. Some of the feedback that I heard was that the process to access funds may be difficult, so we’re trying to figure out how we can make it more user-friendly while still doing our due diligence to make sure taxpayer funding isn’t being misused in any kind of way. 

Youth services, housing insecurities, and homelessness, in general, are always issues. We do have a Department of Children and Youth fund that I was part of supporting back in 2018. With housing, I think we have a surplus of property and developers that are always interested in doing business in the city of Richmond, but we have to be choosy and not just accept every development on the planet. I want to make sure developments are catering to the equity needs of the community. 

CC Pulse: What would you say the No. 1 issue facing Richmond right now is?

MW: I believe the main issue, which goes under the umbrella of public safety, is living wages. Inflation has impacted a lot of people. People are losing their spending power, and it’s just really hard to get by. That puts a lot of stress and agitation on people — I know that personally. I just see this constant pattern that I’ve even experienced, where folks are being pushed to the edge just to survive. If folks just had more disposable income, they would be able to sustain and take care of themselves —  and actually feel more invested in the community. Stronger living wages across the board would be a good start in shifting Richmond’s overall culture and how people feel about where they’re living.

CC Pulse: Do you think Richmond won the Chevron deal?

MW: I think what we did with the Chevron deal was historic, and I’m still very supportive of the refinery tax. It’s just going to give us a platform where Richmond actually starts to build up its resiliency. It feels like ever since I’ve been attending City Council meetings or on the council, there’s never really been enough to meet the demands of residents — if anything, there were more recommendations to cut services or reduce community spaces for the sake of protecting the budget. There’s just been so many neglected needs for so many years. We’re going to use the settlement money to work on issues such as deferred maintenance, infrastructure needs, and service needs. 

CC Pulse: How could you protect District 1 in the Chevron Deal?

As I’m talking to voters right now, I’m explaining how the settlement provides resources for Richmond, but in order to know how to spend this money, we need to make sure those who are most impacted have voices at the table. The main way to keep the district involved is just being transparent and giving residents every opportunity to participate and make sure their needs are heard before any decisions are made.

CC Pulse: Lastly, what message do you have for voters as they get closer to Election Day, and why should they vote for you?

MW: My general message to voters is just to make sure you’re doing your research, and voting your conscience and what resonates closely with your values. 

If you trust me as a representative, I hope I can count on your vote. If you don’t want to vote for people, in general, because you don’t trust them, cool, but at least turn out and vote for the laws because those are the things that will have an immediate impact on your life, and you want to make sure your life isn’t being dictated by somebody else.

I’m a corporate-free candidate that just believes in racial and economic equity. I have fought for housing justice with deep rent control locally, regionally and statewide. I have supported eviction protections during the stay-at-home orders. I not only supported the Department of Children and Youth going on the ballot but even did my own civic engagement work for that. I’m proud of the Hacienda Heights being rebuilt after it was condemned and closed down in 2013; we’re actually housing people again. And I’m proud that we’re able to start renovating the library starting next year, even though there wasn’t much hope that would happen. 

I hope people vote for me because they know I truly love Richmond and want to work with community members to see an improvement. The actions I’ve taken thus far have been for that very goal of improving Richmond’s needs based on community input I’ve heard over the years and want to continue to discover as I move forward — and if I move forward over the next four years with Richmond City Council.

Read our interview with one of Melvin Willis’ opponents, Jamelia Brown:

Q&A: Jamelia Brown Has a ‘Personal Investment’ in Richmond’s District 1