Eduardo Martinez (born 1949) is an American politician, former teacher, and the mayor of Richmond, California. [1] [2] He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Richmond Progressive Alliance. [1] [2] [3]
Eduardo Martinez (born 1949) is an American politician, former teacher, and the mayor of Richmond, California. [1] [2] He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Richmond Progressive Alliance. [1] [2] [3]
Martinez was born in 1949 in Dumas, Texas. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. [4] He received a B.A. from San Francisco State University. He taught in the West Contra Costa Unified School District for many years. [4]
Martinez was elected to the Richmond City Council in 2014, [4] and as mayor of Richmond in 2022. [5] In October 2023, he supported a resolution that was passed by the Richmond City Council expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza during the 2023 Gaza War. The resolution drew criticism from local Jewish groups for making no mention of Hamas despite taking place just weeks after the October 7 attacks. [6] [7] In 2024, he supported a ballot initiative on oil taxes that resulted in a $550 million settlement from Chevron. [8] [3]
In January 2025, Martinez joined the Richmond City Council in unanimously granting themselves an 80% pay raise. [9]
In December 2025, Martinez shared several social media posts promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories about the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting as a false flag attack perpetrated by Israel. The posts also described the Bondi Beach Hannukah celebration as a "Jewish...spatial conquest through symbolism" and Israel and Israelis as the "root cause" of anti-semitism. Martinez later deleted the posts, describing them as a mistake resulting from his illness and affirming that antisemitism predates Israel, without commenting on the false flag theory. [10] [11] In response, the Bay Area chapter of the Jewish Community Relations Council called for Martinez's resignation. [12]