Nat Bates for Mayor

Corporate Influence on Local Politics

Opening with footage of a 2012 fire at the Chevron oil refinery and a heated town hall where blue-collar employees clash with environmentalists, the film sets the groundwork for the election that shifted the balance of power in the city. Councilman Nat Bates makes a Faustian bargain with the corporate devil in hopes of keeping the waning working-class African-American community intact, as it deals with gentrification occurring throughout the Bay Area.

NAT BATES FOR MAYOR follows the candidates on the trail, captures revealing personal moments, and records audacious city council meetings as they campaign to take control of the Bay Area's overlooked oil town. Nothing is clear-cut as the film potently mixes issues of corporate influence, race, gentrification, homophobia, political self-determination, and humor -- all told through the lives of bigger-than-life small-town characters.

Official Selection, SF DocFest

"It's like watching a year-long boxing match with no referee." - East Bay Express