Politics in Richmond, Calif., have revolved around one company for decades: Chevron. The oil giant operates a massive refinery in the city, creating jobs and contributing millions of dollars in tax revenue that helps fund local government. Despite its outsized economic role, Chevron has remained the primary political target of Richmond’s democratic socialist leaders, particularly the influential Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA).
The relationship between Richmond and Chevron has evolved from one of corporate dominance and influence to one of persistent conflict as the city’s leadership moves further to the left.
“I think it’s pretty much a fact that for 100 years Chevron pretty much controlled the city of Richmond,” former Richmond Mayor Tom Butt told Fox News Digital.
“When I first got elected, the politics in Richmond were — the power in Richmond resided in big developers, industries, particularly Chevron, and lobbyists, that sort of thing. And so that was what I was fighting,” Butt said. He added that the turning point came in the mid-2000s as the RPA began gaining influence. According to Butt, while he was skeptical of the RPA, the coalition was helpful in the city’s fight against Chevron.
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The Chevron refinery, which is still operational, was completed in July 1902, according to the company’s website, around three years before Richmond was incorporated as a city in 1905. Chevron noted that in 2002, as the refinery marked its 100th anniversary, it had over 1,300 employees and spanned 2,900 acres.
Current Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, a member of the RPA and a democratic socialist, told Fox News Digital that he does not believe there are any communities hosting major oil companies that have achieved a balanced relationship between residents and industry.
“The imbalance we see today stems from a lack of accountability and compassion among multibillion-dollar corporations whose operations can affect the health and safety of surrounding communities. True balance will be achieved only when corporations operate responsibly and give equal consideration to the needs of the communities they impact, not solely to the interests of shareholders,” he said.
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The city’s frustrations with Chevron go beyond local politics. Over the years, refinery incidents have raised concerns among residents about safety, pollution and corporate accountability.
In March 1999, an explosion and fire at the Chevron refinery released toxic fumes and prompted a shelter-in-place warning. SFGate reported at the time that three Chevron emergency response team workers were injured, and multiple workers were seen coughing. A spokesperson for the company told SFGate in 1999 that an explosion led to “a very hot fire, and when you have burning liquid it’s unpredictable. We’re throwing everything we have at it.”
A defining moment in Chevron’s relationship with Richmond came in August 2012, when a ruptured pipe released flammable, high-temperature light gas oil that partially vaporized into a large opaque cloud. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) found that the vapor cloud ignited approximately two minutes after the release, triggering a massive fire.
While no one was killed, approximately 15,000 people sought medical treatment in the weeks that followed for ailments including breathing problems, chest pain, shortness of breath, sore throats and headaches. The CSB ultimately concluded that the rupture resulted from severe corrosion and found that Chevron had failed to effectively implement internal recommendations to inspect or replace vulnerable piping before the accident.
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The refinery incidents fueled longstanding skepticism toward Chevron among many Richmond residents and activists, creating political momentum for leaders who argued the company should face greater oversight and contribute more to the economy.
Politics in Richmond became increasingly focused on Chevron after the 2012 fire, with activists and city leaders pushing the company to contribute more to the community. The tension culminated in 2024, when the Richmond City Council approved a deal in which Chevron agreed to pay $550 million in exchange for the removal of a proposed refinery tax measure from the ballot.
Chevron told local news outlet Richmondside that the “agreement ensures Chevron Richmond can continue to provide Northern California with the affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy the region’s economy needs.”
While Richmond leaders celebrated the deal as a victory, some residents questioned whether continued pressure on Chevron could push the company to leave, potentially triggering major economic consequences.
Butt argued that Chevron became an issue that helped the RPA go from a fringe movement to a major force in Richmond politics.
“I think the secret to the RPA’s initial success has to do with Chevron,” he said. “They identified an issue in Richmond that had enough sympathy that they could win an election on it.”
Butt said that Chevron’s waning influence in Richmond was evident in a 2014 municipal election. Chevron shelled out approximately $3 million to back a slate of preferred candidates, all of whom were defeated.
“They put $3 million, which is a lot of money in Richmond, into backing a slate of candidates and all their candidates lost. And that was kind of the turning point for them where they went from owning Richmond to not owning Richmond,” Butt told Fox News Digital.
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Even some of Chevron’s critics acknowledge that Richmond faces a difficult balancing act between trying to hold the oil giant accountable without completely pushing it out. However, Butt believes that the RPA is hoping Chevron will close its doors.
“The RPA basically would love to see Chevron closed down tomorrow, and then you know what they would do at that point for jet fuel and for gasoline for their cars and that sort of thing, I don’t think they think that far ahead. That’s just not it, it doesn’t mean anything to them,” he said.
The risk of Chevron scaling back its presence in California is not entirely hypothetical, as the company has already relocated its headquarters from San Ramon, Calif., to Houston, Texas. For some Richmond residents, the move reinforced concerns about the city’s approach to the company.
“Chevron built Richmond because, you know, back in the day everybody used to live two blocks away from Chevron,” Mark Wassberg, a Richmond resident and former Chevron worker, told Fox News Digital.
Wassberg argued that the refinery jobs are difficult to replace with newer positions in green-energy, saying that he was making $1,400 weekly and had no overtime limits.
Not all Richmond residents who expressed concern about Chevron’s future were completely against the city working to hold the company accountable. Richmond resident Stephen London said pollution concerns are common in the area and praised city leaders for extracting concessions from Chevron.
“The city’s on an upswing and, you know, we got a lot of money out of Chevron for their pollution. I think they get some of the credit for that from what I understand,” London said.
However, London acknowledged that there were risks if the accountability push were to go too far.
“You don’t really want to kill the golden goose, you just want to squeeze a bunch of eggs out of them,” he later said.
For London and other Richmond residents, the challenge facing city leadership is to find a way to hold Chevron accountable while preserving the jobs and tax revenue that the company has provided for generations.
Fox News Digital reached out to Chevron for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
