Soheila Bana: A Real Record of Accomplishment for Richmond 

Improving Public Safety and Wildfire Preparedness

We live in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. So public safety is Councilmember Bana’s top priority. 

• • Helped elevate public safety and wildfire preparedness as a top strategic priority at Richmond City Council.
  • Initiated the Fire Department’s first evacuation drills, strengthening inter-agency evacuation coordination, increasing public awareness and emergency preparedness, and helping identify issues with the Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CWS).
  • Successfully urged City Hall to increase capacity for fuel reduction and vegetation management. Our City’s Public Works Department now has 4 arborists (previously: zero) and 3 remote mowers (previously: zero) to support shaded fuel breaks and safer evacuation routes.  
  • Worked with Contra Costa County Measure X vegetation services, neighborhood residents, and the City’s Public Works Department to help ensure many homes in WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) areas achieve 100 feet of defensible space–which is critical to preventing the spread of wildfire. 
  • Championed regional collaboration among nonprofits, local governments, and other stakeholders to increase wildfire safety and response: 

• • • Brought six East Bay Hills nonprofits together to form the East Bay Alliance of Fire Safe Councils.
    • Helped establish the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments (EBWC), to strengthen regional collaboration on wildfire prevention, evacuation readiness, and disaster response. Soheila currently represents Richmond on the EBWC. 
    • Coordinated fire-risk reduction work with the East Bay Regional Park District (including goat grazing and eucalyptus understory clearing/thinning) and with Contra Costa Fire Protection District (Con Fire) to deliver Measure X fuel reduction services.
    • Worked with East Bay Municipal Utility District to obtain fire hydrant water pressure/flow data to support wildfire response planning.
  • ​​Encouraged neighborhood organizing and information-sharing that has grown to 5+ Firewise neighborhoods.
  • Initiated Fire Station Open House events to raise community awareness about wildfire safety.
  • Stood up to PG&E, getting the utility to maintain its high voltage El Sobrante Valley transmission towers and to clear vegetation and dead trees around the towers–a major wildfire risk. 
  • Worked in collaboration with residents to initiate a citywide campaign to stop illegal fireworks.
  • Worked with Police Chief Bisa French and the family of Pedie Perez–a man killed by Richmond police–to improve police training and reduce the use of excessive force.
  • Initiated Richmond’s first Remembrance Day for victims of gun violence, lifting up the voices of families and survivors, and shedding light on the work of local nonprofits that are working to reduce gun violence and break cycles of trauma.
  • Strongly supported numerous nonprofit organizations working to reduce gun violence in Richmond. 
  • Mobilized City officials, police, and residents to implement new safety measures for our neighborhoods after a neighborhood shooting.
  • Initiated the Richmond Task Force to End Gender-Based Violence, comprising 30+ government and nonprofit agencies as well as survivors, and proposed the City allocate $100,000 to begin implementing the Task Force’s recommendations.

Strengthening the City Services that Improve Our Quality of Life 

Richmond residents deserve reliable City services–clean streets, safe parks, and a responsive City government that follows through. 

• • Raised expectations for responsiveness and transparency in our City government by quickly responding to residents and ensuring clear follow-up with the City Manager and City staff on Public Works issues—leading to effective service delivery and issue resolution for residents.
  • Focused on core quality of life issues–filling potholes, fixing street lighting, and trimming street trees.
  • Helped expand Richmond Moves free and $2 shuttle services to District 4.
  • Helped establish the first online record of Richmond’s historical places and sites—an effective step toward preserving Richmond’s history—which will soon be accessible to the public

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Economic Development that Benefits Everyone

Inclusion is critical for economic development. When all communities can participate fully, our small businesses grow, our business and transit corridors thrive, and neighborhoods become safer and more vibrant. 

• • Pushed the City to fight back against corporate land-grabs–to stop large corporations from gobbling up multiple housing units, which drives up housing prices and limits homeownership opportunities for working families and first-time homebuyers.
  • Worked to address the concerns of local small businesses on issues ranging from street safety to curbing illegal business operators, to advocating for more streamlined business taxes. 
  • Consistently stood up for higher wages and supported a strong, unionized workforce. 
  • Maintained close communication with the Jewish and Muslim communities to prevent and combat both antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry in our community. 
  • Championed diversity and advocated for MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) inclusion legislation at the State level. Governor Newsom recently signed this law which ensures that people of Middle Eastern and North African descent are counted in State demographic data–so they have better access to critical public services and programs. 

Strengthening Collaboration Between Our City and County 

Public safety and quality of life issues don’t stop at a city’s borders–especially in a place like El Sobrante Valley. Soheila has worked hard to ensure our City and County governments have a strong and effective working relationship. 

• • Urged the City and County to improve collaborative public safety planning for the El Sobrante Valley. 
  • Advanced an evacuation drill approach that includes both City areas and unincorporated County areas—because a real evacuation must cross city and county lines. 
  • Strengthened funding for the Safe Organized Spaces (SOS) program, which removes street and encampment-related trash, and then successfully expanded the program to include the entire El Sobrante Valley. 
  • Supported City sponsorship and budgeting for community events that cross city and unincorporated boundaries and benefit the broader community, including the El Sobrante Stroll and El Sobrante Pride.