Jovanka Beckles

Jovanka Beckles, an educator, counselor, small business owner and extensive community activist with eight years of experience in West County, looks to stand for the community as a member of the Richmond City Council.


"I stand for the community, better health benefits and living wage jobs," she said.


"I stand for providing the resources that young people need."


She said she promotes "positive progressive change," a term she uses to describe the potential improvements in the quality of life in the community.


As a council member, she plans to work on preventing crime and violence by providing jobs, youth programs and public safety, while also pledging to develop Richmond's green technologies and provide more support for small businesses.


Beckles has worked with youth and their families for 18 years and is "devoted to the people, not corporations or special interest groups."


Because of this interest in "her" people, she wants to provide recreational centers, more library hours and updated facilities with up-to-date technology.


The need for unification is important, Beckles said, especially in the African-American and Latino-American community. As a Latina immigrant of African descent, she recognizes that Richmond is very diverse.


Beckles is also a committed supporter of Measure T, a proposal to require large corporations in Richmond to contribute funding to the city. If passed, it may help expand services in the city, she said.


"It will benefit us as a community. We need to be able to take advantage (of the large corporations). Richmond is already dominated by oil," she said.


—Holly Pablo