Born and raised in San Diego, Richard graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Business Finance, and later graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Master of Science in Applied Economics. In 2012, he was elected to the Coronado City Council and, in 2016 at the age of 30, Richard was elected the 51st Mayor of Coronado, becoming the youngest mayor in the city’s history.

As Mayor of Coronado, Richard has championed nonpartisan, common sense policies that made Coronado one of the safest places to call “home” through embracing public safety and maintaining clean parks, beaches, and sidewalks. He also voted to reduce taxes, end wasteful spending and supported reforms to protect taxpayers’ money which helped earn Coronado a AAA Bond rating. Richard also led by example by waiving his own city pension and voted twice against his own pay raise.

During his time as Mayor, Richard also made pragmatic environmental initiatives a high priority by securing funds to stop the sewage spills from Mexico that forced the closure of beaches in the United States and launching the 1,001 tree initiative as part of a climate action plan to improve air quality.

In addition to being a former mayor, Richard previously worked as a Financial Analyst for a Fortune 500 company and was an Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of San Diego. He now owns two businesses that operate in San Diego.

Richard believes his experience in both the public and private sectors make him qualified to represent D2 and help San Diego reclaim the title of “America’s Finest City.”