Health rally:
Hundreds at S.F. City Hall protest Donald Trump’s pledge to undo Obamacare.
They stood outside Richmond City Hall, some steadying themselves with canes and walkers, others clinging to their children in hopeful, reassuring embraces.
They went there on that September evening to plead for the city’s help so that they wouldn’t be evicted from their homes in the Creekview Apartments.
Melvin Willis, a community organizer for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, a tenant advocacy group working to stop the displacements, shook all of their hands. As he did, his left hand and arm served as an armrest, like a captain’s chair. He offered hugs, too.
Willis ran into council chambers to get the pink cards the residents needed to fill
out so they could make a public comment. He ran back inside to get pencils and pens. He then collected the cards. Then he helped hand out protest signs. He whispered words of encouragement and coached the residents on how to tell their stories.
He didn’t stay in one place. He says he can’t if others need help.
Did anyone happen to have a megaphone? Off Willis went to find one, tucking his striped shirt back into his baggy slacks. The dangling threads on his frayed leather belt flapped like strands of hair in the wind as he picked up his pace. He returned with two megaphones.
On Tuesday, Willis had to sit down — after he was sworn in as a member of the Richmond City Council. In the November election, Willis, 26, collected 12,137 votes, the most of any candidate. Willis ran in tandem with Ben Choi, who finished second with 10,490 votes, on the Richmond Progressive Alliance slate.
Now the group, commonly referred to as the RPA, has a majority on the council. Willis and Choi join Jovanka Beckles, Eduardo Martinez and Gayle McLaughlin. The RPA, a coalition of left-leaning Richmond activists, formed in 2003 to chase corporate influence from Richmond politics.
In 2014, the RPA’s door-todoor canvassing helped defeat four candidates backed by Chevron. Two years later, the RPA has to prove it can govern.
Some people in Richmond, most notably Mayor Tom Butt, are concerned the RPA members on the council will have their votes dictated by the organization’s steering committee.
“The steering committee may take a position, but it’s still up to the council members to decide whether or not they want to support the idea,” Willis said. “We still have our own individuality. My commitment is to the people of Richmond. I just want to make sure I take this responsibility with integrity and not let anybody down.”
The question remains: What happens to him if he begins voting against RPA positions?
Willis told me he’s always been a helper, someone to bum $5 off for a week, or the person to call for help to move furniture. When did he realize community service would become a career?
“I’m just somebody that generally cares what people are going through and just wanted to be there for people,” he said. And he needed a job. He was a struggling 21-yearold when he accepted a job with the alliance. He was paid 12 bucks an hour to carry a clipboard while knocking on doors to invite people to community meetings. He started in North Richmond.
“At the time, I was still one of the people with the perspective you don’t just walk around North Richmond idly,” he said.
But what he found changed his mind.
“People wanted to get involved,” he recalled. “People have a story to tell that’s similar to mine and my experience.”
Willis grew up in a singleparent home in Richmond. His father, Melvin Willis Sr., a truck driver, had a heart attack 12 days before his son was born. The elder Willis died after pulling onto the side of the road. Willis was raised by his mother, Shirley Gayer.
For the past five years, Willis has listened to heartbreaking stories. Recently, it’s been stories about residents losing their homes, with few resources to secure another.
Willis, who admits to being a reluctant politician, now has to do more than listen. He sounds ready as he speaks about making decisions for the community. He told me his job is about service, and that he wants to do everything in his power for Richmond. On top of his list: tenants’ rights, curtailing displacement and holding corporations accountable.
“I’m personally turned off and nervous about the amount of power that I have as a decision maker,” he said. “I don’t want to take advantage of it. I want to respect the authority that was graciously bestowed upon me by the voters.”
“And the only power I care about is how much I can bench press in the gym,” he added.
His goal: “To look like Dwayne Johnson one of these days,” he said, referring to the buff actor and wrestler whose ring name was the Rock.
Yes, Willis wants to be the People’s Champ.