In July, the City of Richmond bid farewell to Councilwoman Gayle McLaughlin, a progressive activist dubbed “the Bernie Sanders of the East Bay.” She stepped down from the dais in order to concentrate on her run for lieutenant governor. Now, we’ve got a replacement who appears to be cut from the same cloth.
Like her predecessor, newly appointed Richmond City Councilwoman Ada Recinos is known for her activist spirit. She’s young too. The 26-year-old graduated from UC Santa Cruz three years ago with a bachelor's degree in global information and social enterprise studies.
Recinos currently works as an advancement manager at nonprofit Prospera, which builds co-ops with Latina immigrants in Oakland. Before that, she interned with social justice organization Causa Justa and worked as a research analyst with the Migrant Legal Action Program. Like three other members of the Council, Recinos also belongs to the Progressive Alliance. She has served on the city's Human Rights and Human Relations commission for almost two years.
The vote to appoint Recinos was unanimous, but came as a shock to most observers as evidenced by the audible gasps let out by attendees of the meeting Tuesday. Community organizer and McLaughlin aide Marilyn Langlois was long expected to receive the appointment. Mayor Tom Butt had recently clashed with Langlois, accusing her of peddling 9/11 conspiracy theories. It isn’t clear whether this factored into the council’s surprise decision.