A California mayor who has garnered controversy after sharing conspiracy theories that cast the Bondi Beach Massacre as a false flag attack and identified Hamas as a defensive force appeared set to lose his reelection bid, according to preliminary results published on Friday by Contra Costa County.
Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez won 19.50% of the June 2 primary election, according to the initial results, falling behind the 37.55% of votes for City Councilwoman Claudia Jimenez and the 28.82% won by Golden Gate Park Gardens culture director Ahmad Anderson. The two leaders appear to be set for a November run-off election.
The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of San Francisco celebrated Martinez's uncertified loss in a Sunday Facebook post, asserting that after an antisemitic conspiracy scandal, voters had sent the message that "antisemitism has no place in public office."
"This result is a victory for everyone who stood with the Jewish community in confronting antisemitism and demanding accountability," said the JCRC. "We are grateful to the thousands of community members, allies, and elected leaders who spoke out and refused to stay silent."
Martinez claimed Hanukkah terror attack was 'Israel's false flag'
Martinez had faced scrutiny for sharing several posts on LinkedIn asserting that the December Bondi Beach terrorist attack was a false flag attack. The posts were made soon after two terrorists shot and murdered 15 participants of an Australian Hanukkah event.
One post shared by Martinez wished peace to "all the victims of Israel's false flag attack," and another asserted that one of the shooters was a former IDF soldier. Other posts asserted that the "root cause of antisemitism is the behavior of Israel and Israelis" and that Hanukkah had been "weaponized as a political tool."
Martinez later apologized, explaining that antisemitism existed before the creation of Israel, and emphasized that "we should not conflate Zionism with Judaism."
JCRC had called for the resignation of Martinez, and in January Martinez avoided censure by the City Council, which opted instead for an atonement plan in which he would meet with Jewish leaders and participate in antisemitism education training.
Martinez also raised controversy in September when he participated in the 2nd annual People's Conference in Palestine, which saw speeches by terrorists and anti-American rhetoric.
The incumbent mayor gave a speech at the conference in which he declared that “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.”
Martinez also recalled a 1968 conversation he had with African-American activist Stokely Carmichael about how the “white man’s word” of “peace” alone wasn’t the answer because peace could only be achieved after the “liberation” of making everyone equal.
“Unless there is substantial movement toward liberation for the oppressed, peace means capitulation,” said Martinez. “We should always be ready to stand up and do what’s right and fight for liberation.”
Electoral frontrunner endorsed by Richmond for Palestine
Jimenez, the electoral frontrunner leading into the elections, had condemned Martinez's posts as careless and harmful, according to KQED, but said that calls for his resignation had been an overreach due to his support for the Palestinian cause. She had been absent in the censure vote.
The councilwoman was endorsed for the election not only by the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), to which Martinez was a member, but also by Richmond for Palestine. The group engaged in canvassing in support of Jimenez.
"I will never stop advocating for an end to the genocidal violence in Gaza, which impacts so many of our neighbors," Jimenez said on Facebook, welcoming the anti-Israel group's endorsement.
In August, Jimenez co-sponsored a resolution with Martinez, which made Sebastia a sister city of Richmond. According to the Contra Costa Pulse, the RPA and the Palestinian Youth Movement had worked with the mayor to establish the partnership.
According to Contra Costa News, Anderson signed a December open letter condemning Martinez for his LinkedIn posts, urging him to apologize, host antisemitism education training, and hold a dialogue with Jewish leaders, or else resign.
"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," Anderson said in a December Facebook post.
"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."