Gayle McLaughlin
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| Gayle McLaughlin | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Irma A. Anderson |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
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| Born | 1952 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Profession | Postal clerk, elderly caregiver, teacher, LD-tutor/clinician, activist |
Gayle McLaughlin (pronounced /məˈklɔːflɨn/) (b. 1952, Chicago, Illinois) is the Green Party mayor of the city of Richmond, California and a member of Richmond's City Council. McLaughlin was elected on November 7, 2006 by a 279-vote[1] margin over incumbent mayor Irma A. Anderson.[2] Richmond is, as of 2009, the largest city in the country with a Green Party mayor.[3]
McLaughlin is a social activist who has participated in the peace, social justice, civil rights, and environmental movements. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, with graduate study in psychology and education.
McLaughlin is currently an elected member of the Richmond Greens Steering Committee and has served on the Green Party County Council of Contra Costa County. Her term as council member expired on November 21, 2006.[4] She was elected to the City Council in 2004, winning one of five open seats, with 11,191 votes or 10% in 2004.[5] She has lived in Richmond since 2001.[6] McLaughlin has declared her desire to introduce instant run-off voting, term limits, and district council members.[7]
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[edit] Background and experience
McLaughlin was born into a working class union family. She is the middle child of five daughters born to a unionized carpenter and a housewife.
During the 1980s, McLaughlin was an activist with the Central American solidarity movement and a steering committee member of CISPES (Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). She also played an active role in the North Star Network, a national networking effort to unite progressives, and in coalition-building efforts with People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) and the Rainbow Coalition.
McLaughlin graduated summa cum laude from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. She continued her education with two years of graduate study in psychology at Rhode Island College, with additional graduate study in education at U.C. Berkeley Extension.
McLaughlin has worked as a postal clerk, teacher, caregiver for the elderly, and tutor/clinician for children with learning disabilities. She has also worked in the capacity of support staff for various not-for-profit health and educational organizations.[citation needed]
[edit] Richmond Progressive Alliance
On November 2, 2004, McLaughlin was elected to the city council of Richmond, California, on the Green Party ticket. She has been involved with the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), a non-partisan liberal group in western Contra Costa County, comprised mostly of Green Party members, as well as left-leaning and progressive independents and Democrats.
In Richmond, as a Richmond Green, McLaughlin's lifelong activism has found her in many local struggles. She has opposed the Patriot Act, and the toxic impact of ChevronTexaco on the environment. She has also been involved in an ongoing effort to stop development on the North Richmond shoreline, and is supporting the current battle by the Service Employees International Unionagainst job and salary cutbacks.
[edit] Mayor
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In 2003, McLaughlin was the first Green Party candidate ever to win a seat on Richmond, California's City Council. In 2006, she decided to challenge incumbent African-American mayor Irma Anderson, whom she defeated by 279 votes.
Mayor McLaughlin is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[8] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.
[edit] See also
[edit] Source
- RichmondProgressiveAlliance.net "Asleep at the Wheel in Richmond", Chip Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle (July 12, 2004)
[edit] References
- ^ KESQ.com Palm Springs, Coachella Valley - Weather, News, Sports: Our Apologies
- ^ Green Party likely to win in Richmond mayor's race
- ^ Mayor Anderson concedes race
- ^ Richmond, California, Official Website - Biographies and Terms
- ^ Election Results
- ^ City of Richmond website, Gayle McLaughlin profile, retrieved May 27, 2006
- ^ "Asleep at the Wheel in Richmond"
- ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml.
[edit] External links
- GayleMcLaughlin.net - Official website
- ContraCostaTimes.com - 'Council Pool Not Deep' (editorial), Contra Costa Times (October 27, 2006)
- RichmondGreens.net - 'Many Neighborhoods - One Richmond', Richmond Greens
- Editorial by McLaughlin on Curbing violence
- Mayors Against Illegal Guns homepage
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