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On June 2, Richmond voters will cast their ballots in the city’s first-ever primary election. We wanted to give voters a chance to prepare for this important election — which includes a mayoral race — by asking questions and hearing from the candidates directly.
Richmondside candidate forums
Mayoral forum: April 22 at CoBiz, 6:30 p.m-8 p.m.., RSVP
District 3 council forum: May 7 at Easter Hill United Methodist Church, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (RSVP coming soon.)
District 4 council forum: May 13 at De Anza High School library, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (RSVP coming soon.)
Richmondside is partnering with Richmond Confidential, a publication of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and The Advocate, the student-led newspaper at Contra Costa College, to co-host and moderate three election forums: for the mayoral race and the city council races in districts 3 and 4. Our newsroom is also partnering El TÃmpano, a media organization serving the Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan immigrant communities, to help collect questions for the mayoral candidates from local residents.
The first of the three forums will feature the mayoral candidates and will take place on April 22.
At the forums, candidates will briefly present their platforms and take questions from local journalists and audience members. The forums are free and open to all. Spanish interpretation will be available on site, upon request. The forums will also be live-streamed on richmondside.org.
Have questions for the candidates? We want to hear from you
If you have questions for the mayoral candidates, please use the form below to share them. We’ll review the questions and ask some of them at the forum on April 22.
How does the primary work?
For the primary election, only the top two vote-getters in races where no one wins a majority will advance to a run-off in the November general election. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes in the primary, they will win and that race won’t be on the general election ballot.
There are five candidates running for mayor in the primary, including incumbent Eduardo Martinez. There are three candidates running in each of the city council races in Districts 3 and 4. (District 2 incumbent candidate Cesar Zepeda is running unopposed, so will win by default.) There could still be write-in candidates for any of the races, as the filing period for that ends on May 19.
More election info & resources
Get full coverage of the June 2 primary election with Richmondside’s 2026 Voter Guide.
Key dates: Mail-in ballots will be sent around May 6. The last day to register to vote is May 13. The election is June 2.
Learn more: Visit the city’s election page for additional details and to read candidate statements. Unsure which council district you live in? Check the city’s district map.
We look forward to seeing you at these events and to helping you learn more about who is competing to represent you at City Hall. We will update this post with information on the Districts 3 and 4 City Council forums as we get closer to those dates.
