Richmond, California, Mayor Eduardo Martinez did not advance in the June 2 primary election, receiving 19.50% of the vote. Richmond City Councilwoman Claudia Jimenez and Golden Gate Park Gardens culture director Ahmad Anderson will proceed to a November run-off election based on initial results from Contra Costa County.
Jimenez received 37.55% of the vote, and Anderson received 28.82%. Martinez had published posts on LinkedIn prior to the election describing the December 2025 Bondi Beach attack as a false flag operation. Two attackers had shot and killed 15 people at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach, Australia, that month.
Martinez claimed in a LinkedIn post that one of the attackers was a former Israeli Defense Forces soldier. He also stated in social media posts that the root cause of antisemitism is the behavior of Israel and Israelis. Martinez further claimed that Hanukkah had been weaponized as a political tool.
In January, the Richmond City Council approved an atonement plan for Martinez, requiring him to meet with Jewish leaders and complete antisemitism education training, a decision made instead of issuing a formal censure. Martinez later apologized for his posts, stating that antisemitism existed before the creation of Israel and that Zionism should not be conflated with Judaism. He attended the second annual People's Conference in Palestine in September.
Martinez made statements regarding the Palestinian cause, saying, "We should always be ready to stand up and do what’s right and fight for liberation." Martinez said, "If Palestine were a schoolyard playground, I would be a Palestinian. And that part of me, that part of me that couldn’t endure the abuse anymore, would be Hamas." He added, "Unless there is substantial movement toward liberation for the oppressed, peace means capitulation."
Anderson criticized Martinez's LinkedIn posts in an open letter signed in December, writing, "Mayor Martinez doesn’t seem to be able to tell fact from fiction when he’s posting material like this online. Our city should not be led by a mayor who reposts offensive and false misinformation without thinking about who it will hurt." Anderson urged Martinez to apologize, complete antisemitism education training, meet with Jewish leaders, or resign. Anderson said, "The hate speech that Mayor Martinez spread has no place in the City of Pride and Purpose. He made members of the Jewish community feel unsafe and unsupported. That’s not what leaders do, and there’s no excuse for it."
Jimenez described Martinez's social media posts as careless and harmful. She stated that public calls for Martinez's resignation were an overreach given his support for the Palestinian cause. Councilwoman Jimenez said, "I will never stop advocating for an end to the genocidal violence in Gaza, which impacts so many of our neighbors." In August, Jimenez had co-sponsored a resolution with Martinez to establish Sebastia as a sister city of Richmond.