Richmond City Council District 3 incumbent Doria Robinson appears to have waged a successful reelection bid, earning 69% of the votes cast, according to unofficial election results that were last updated on June 10.
The district encompasses the south side of the city, including Atchison Village, the southern portion of the Iron Triangle, and the Coronado, Richmore Village/Metro Square, Pullman and Park Plaza neighborhoods.
Doria Robinson, who gave Richmondside a statement just after midnight Wednesday, said she was encouraged by the trend, which showed her leading challenger Brandon Evans in the race. Robinson showed up briefly at the Richmond Progressive Alliance headquarters Tuesday night.
“We did our best,” she said, adding that she was proud of the campaign she ran and her team. “We talked to as many people as possible and worked together with other teams to make the most of what we had.”
When asked what she heard from voters about what they want to see from their elected officials, Robinson said residents want engaged leadership that listens to them.
“They want you to show up throughout the three years,” she added. “They want safety, healthy, happy peaceful neighborhoods, and less drama, not more.”
While unofficial results showed Evans trailing behind, his friends, family and supporters gathered at Vive Bistro early Tuesday evening, laughing, mingling and even dancing to loud music.
Evans summed up his feelings succinctly: “I’m relieved,” he told Richmondside, saying the year of campaigning has been hard work and challenging for a self-described introvert. But it has also been incredibly rewarding
“My grandma used to say, nothing worth having isn’t worth working for. So it’s just been a master class in work ethic,” he said.
His goal was to know that he had tried everything he could, saying, “We felt it. I felt it.”
If anything, he said the experience has deepened his resolve to be a representative for his community.
“It showed me that hard work does make a difference. Sometimes you really have to dig deep and just put it all out there,” Evans said.
One of his supporters at the gathering, Juanita Towns, said she met Evans while he was working for the city’s youth employment and training program.
She said he helped her son with financial aid and college prep, and she would like to see him have an opportunity to help the city’s young people have more opportunities.
“I’ve watched him grow in his career … it’s been an honor to watch him grow,” Towns said. “I feel like Richmond needs a fresh start.”
The race and two others that are contested are the first being held under the city’s Measure J system, which was approved by voters in 2024. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the votes cast will win the seat outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two vote-getters will move on to the November General Election. (District 2 council member Cesar Zepeda is running for reelection unopposed.)
June 2 primary election
For more info.: Visit Richmondside’s voter guide or the Contra Costa County elections page.
Because there are only two District 3 candidates, it’s highly unlikely there would need to be a November run-off unless the candidates split the vote exactly down the middle.
With all precincts counted, voter turnout countywide was at 23.8%.
Evans, a former economic development commissioner and nonprofit executive director, has served as a local political consultant, helping current mayoral candidate Demnlus Johnson during his successful 2018 council campaign and current District 1 council member Jamelia Brown during her 2024 campaign.
Robinson has raised substantially more money than Evans, securing nearly $30,000 this cycle and winning a number of key endorsements from local public employee labor unions and the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), though she maintains she is not a member. Her campaign has also received support from a number of PACs, including East Bay Working Families, APEN Action and SEIU Local 1021 PAC.
Robinson has campaigned on a platform of continuing her work on the council, citing her pivotal accomplishment as helping to win the $550 million Chevron settlement. Evans says he’ll be a new voice on the governing body and has questioned whether Robinson has done enough to deserve to be reelected.
Both Robinson and Evans campaigned on issues including how to spend the Chevron settlement, public safety and environmental issues affecting the district’s fenceline communities near the Chevron refinery.
According to the city’s redistricting data from 2021, District 3 is the most populous district in the city with a bit more than 20,000 residents. Of those residents, however, only 1,173 voted in the race compared to less than 3,000 cast ballots in the 2022 District 3 election, according to county election data.
