Residents Rally Against Elected Mayor as Pinole Grapples With Revenue Leakage

The Pinole City Council's March 17 meeting was dominated by a wave of public opposition to Measure D, the June 2 special election ballot measure that would create a directly elected mayor — a change critics called a $55,000 solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Beyond the governance fight, council members received sobering data on millions in retail sales tax revenue leaving the city and a sharp rise in injury collisions, while approving a completed intersection safety project that came in under budget.

• Residents flood public comment opposing Measure D, the $55,000 special election to create a directly elected mayor, calling it wasteful and unnecessary after a century of rotating mayors

• Pinole loses over $17.8 million in clothing sales alone to surrounding cities and online retailers, an HDL market report reveals, with 90%-plus leakage across multiple retail categories

• Injury collisions more than double in the second half of 2025, rising from 7 to 17, while the city went three months without a traffic officer

• Appian Way–Marlesta Road safety project accepted as complete, finishing 16% under its $715,891 budget with a new traffic signal and crosswalks near schools

• Hospital desert spreading from West Contra Costa County toward Central and East County, council members warn, as federal cuts squeeze clinical services