Nathaniel Bates is a former mayor and eight-term city councilman of
Richmond, California in addition to being a former professional baseball player in the Canadian League in his earlier years.
History
He arrived in Richmond in 1942 by train from Texas to join his mother whom worked at the
Kaiser Shipyards
The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaise ...
for the World War II
home front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...
. He later served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
and later as a probation officer for
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...
. Bates was first elected city councilman in 1967 for a six-year-term.
He was appointed mayor from 1971 to 1972.
He was subsequently re-elected in 1973 to a second term.
Then he was elected again for a four-year term (the voters decreased the term) in 1979 until the end of his term in 1983.
He was again appointed mayor from 1976 to 1977.
That however was not the end of his career; he ran again in 1995 and won a four-year term being re-elected in 1999, 2004, 2008, and 2012.
He is a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and ran again winning an 8th term in 2018.
At this point in his career he was being called the most "conservative" man on the city council.
In 2001 there was a controversy between him and councilman
John Marquez over who received more time at the microphone at the city's
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo ( in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoz ...
event.
[Flag Waving in Berkeley; Lawsuit on Public School Conditions in Oakland Goes Forward](_blank)
''East Bay Express''; accessed June 11, 2017.
Bates claimed the event should have been called "Marquez de Mayo" and stated that he just wanted time to address the crowd as well.
City manager when questioned stated "he did not want to touch" the matter and later Bates requested an investigation into the conduct by the parks department and filed a complaint with mayor
Rosemary Corbin Rosemary Corbin is a longstanding Democratic public figure and former mayor of Richmond, California. .
The
East Bay Express newspaper published a political cartoon of him characterized as a "
big baby".
In 2011 when deciding placing the first in the nation municipal soda tax ballot he voted no.
[Alexis Kenyon]
City Council moves forward with soda tax
''Richmond Confidential
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
''; accessed December 25, 2011. He stated he felt it would lead people to buy soda outside the city, and that it targeted black people.
Although the latter was contradicted by his fellow councilmember Jovanka Beckels who is also black and chastized him and Corky Boozé (also black) for not supporting the measure that she reported disproportionately affected people of color.
Biography
Bates has lived in Richmond since the 1940s. He is a retired probation officer. He spent two seasons in the 1950s playing professional baseball in western Canada.
He holds a BA from
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
and a teaching credential from
CSU Hayward (now called CSU East Bay).
He was a
National League of Cities
The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...
Board director from 1976–1980 and has a lifetime appointment to National League of Cities Advisory Board since 1980.
Personal life
With his late wife, Shirley Christine Adams Bates, he had four children (one of whom is deceased), in addition to seven grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren, as reported in 2004.
References
External links
Nat Bates for Mayor video KQED.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Nat
Living people
California State University, East Bay alumni
San Francisco State University alumni
Mayors of Richmond, California
African-American mayors in California
Richmond City Council members (California)
21st-century American politicians
1931 births
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century African-American people