Richard’s record of civic engagement began in 1995 with work in Spokane Horizons, the foundation of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. In 1999 his work with Friends of the Aquifer led to a major aquifer study, completed in 2007, deepening understanding of the region’s critical water supply. Friends of the Aquifer also successfully turned back attempts by two speculative energy companies to use vast amounts of the region’s water resource for electricity generation.
Richard served on the Cliff-Cannon Neighborhood Council Executive Committee for seven years. He championed compliance with the City’s Comprehensive Plan on Street Bond projects, particularly Bernard Street in 2006 and Southeast Boulevard in 2007. These efforts led to the successful reconstruction of Lincoln Street in 2008.
Elected to the Spokane City Council in 2007, Richard serves on three Council standing committees: Finance, Public Works (which he chairs) and Planning, Community and Economic Development. He also serves on external boards and commissions including the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, Spokane Transit Authority, the Solid Waste Liaison Board, the Growth Management Steering Committee, the City’s Information Technology Governance Committee and as Council liaison to the Spokane Public Library Board.
PERSONAL
Richard’s deep desire to provide access to government and economic opportunities comes from his early years in 
the segregated South, when his hometown of Tuskegee, Alabama saw that state’s first public school desegregation in 1963. As most of his classmates fled to all-white private academies, Richard stayed, graduating Tuskegee High in a class of only sixteen.
Richard holds a master’s degree in business administration. He has been successful in retail and property management, in civic engagement and as a full-time parent.
Richard and his wife Betsy fell in love with Washington on their honeymoon in 1983. They have two children, Madeleine and Jasper, who attend Spokane Public Schools.
