Questions for Third District Council Candidates

08.2024

Richmond’s Third District Council race is one of the most hotly contested in recent memory. Incumbent Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert is squaring off with Kenya Gibson, the District’s School Board representative, and Maria Carra Rose, a small business owner. NORTH of the JAMES asked nine questions of each candidate. Here are their responses.

1. Why are you running for office and why do you think you, of the three candidates, would be the best choice to represent Third District residents on City Council?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

I care so much about our community and families. We need to make sure all our public schools are top-notch with modern buildings, up to date technology and sufficient teachers and staff who are paid as the professionals they are. 

We need to increase our stock of affordable housing so families will choose to come here, be able to stay here, purchase a home and grow their family’s wealth. We also need to stop the spiraling evictions in rental properties and ensure landlords maintain their buildings. 

We need to increase our public safety so people feel safe in every part of Richmond, increase multi-modal transportation and work to keep our taxes down. 

KENYA GIBSON

I believe I’m the candidate that can bring together a cross-class, multi-racial coalition to effectively challenge the status quo. I have a proven record of winning people-driven change in the city. Leaders who go along to get along are working for their donors—I’m working for us.

I was elected to the school board in 2017 with teachers by my side. I have twice defeated opponents who were backed by the city’s establishment to have the privilege of working with school workers and residents. Together, we’ve enacted policies that protect workers’ and students’ rights, reform procurement, and provide living wages.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

The number one reason why I’m the best choice is my commitment to constituent service and making sure residents have a voice in city hall. 

2. If elected will you always back what the overwhelming majority of your constituents want?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

Yes, I will be out in the community, meeting with and listening to residents, holding regular meetings around the district and having open office hours so I can hear from constituents.

KENYA GIBSON

Every constituent I’ve spoken with wants the same thing—a government that works. Richmonders want every community to be safe and to thrive. We want our tax dollars going towards essential needs that make our government functional.

When leaders waste time chasing economic development deals that benefit the elite, they aren’t able to truly represent the communities they were elected to serve. We need leaders who aren't beholden to the political establishment. 

A clear example of this is the casino referendum. The third district twice voted against the proposal. I was proud to have publicly opposed it.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

Yes…. while providing leadership to issues that are in the best interest of the city.

3. City Hall has been in a state of chaos for years and seems to get worse with each passing month. It is next to impossible to actually speak with a human being at City Hall. The amount of calls I receive in a given month about how the city overcharged residents for utilities and real estate taxes is staggering. How will you alter this broken system and replace it with one that embraces both accountability and accessibility?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

I will be a hands-on councilperson and if residents are having problems, I will personally intervene to help address them. 

But I will also strongly encourage a top to bottom review of City Hall to create a government that is reliable, accessible and accountable. If a City Hall employee tells you something, you should be able to count on it. 

KENYA GIBSON

Services in the city are dysfunctional. The primary issue is the lack of transparency in spending and operations. Residents are regularly denied requests for information, and Council seems disinterested in proactive oversight. This has decreased public confidence in the city’s government.

Council must provide more direct oversight and audit requests for public information. We must scrutinize privatized services that allow out-of-town companies to profit while Richmonders lose.

City workers are talented and dedicated yet they are denied the needed resources to provide adequate services. We must shift funding away from vanity projects and invest in our essential operations. 

 ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

As a new administration is due to take office in January, I will hold all department accountable to provide great customer service, be good stewards of taxpayer funds, make good decisions to move the city forward.

4. Affordable housing is a major problem facing our city. In far too many instances, long-time residents have been forced to relocate to one of the adjacent counties because of the high reassessment rates of their property resulting in exorbitant real estate taxes. Those who rent face a similar problem because of astronomically expensive apartment rates. Cities like Boulder, Colorado have made significant headway in addressing this issue by adopting an “inclusionary housing” section in their city code. What would you as a council representative do to address this issue? Please be specific.

MARIA CARRA ROSE

We need more flexible zoning that allows for creative solutions like Accessory Dwelling Units, allowing elderly parents or young people starting out to be independent, yet close by. We need zoning that allows for more density. We need to expedite the approval process and allow for more administrative approvals. Now, it is a lengthy complicated process, often fraught with delays, to get a project approved. We need to offer developers rebates for building affordable housing. These rebates are then usable for further affordable housing developments. I believe looking at a code similar to Boulder’s IH program for Richmond would be appropriate. As we too are “land locked” and remaining land appropriate for residential development within our border is limited, it is essential that a reasonable proportion of such land be developed into housing units affordable to very low-, low-, moderate and middle-income residents and working people.

KENYA GIBSON

Affordable housing is at odds with the interests of corporate developers who fund most City Council campaigns. People are getting displaced because of rising property taxes and rents. While our costs go up, corporate developers are getting tax breaks. By refusing donations from corporate entities, I can act as an independent voice.

Council must incentivize affordable development and fund rental inspections, eviction diversion, local housing supplements, and right to counsel while advocating for more authority from the state over inclusionary zoning.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

Affordable housing is a huge issue and presents a problem for many residents, we must balance any solution to this issue with our economic development opportunities as well. We can provide more incentives for developers to build more affordable housing, provide increased education to residents/homeowners on homeownership, and maintain affordable tax rates to be competitive with the rest of the region.

5. In recent years, scores of absolutely bland multi-family structures have sprung up throughout the city. Many of them are high rises, and block views of some of our extraordinary architecture. These rectangular buildings, which one architectural historian told me will not age well, have been compared to Khrushchevkas. The Commission of Architectural Review seems to be remiss in its duties. How do we solve this problem before our city is swallowed up by a skyline that looks like any Edge City, USA (think of Charlotte, North Carolina), and we lose one of the key reasons our city is so popular?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

Appearance of buildings needs to be a significant part of approval of any project. The Commission of Architectural Review (CAR) is appointed by City Council and I will make sure my appointee is well-versed in priorities ensuring we protect our historical perspectives and uniqueness of Richmond. 

The CAR is supposed to rely on the Richmond Old & Historic Districts Handbook and Design Review Guidelines, which was adopted in 1999. We need to update that guide to ensure it meets our present standards and does a better job protecting our history and our skyline. But, to my point above, we need to ensure that there are affordable housing developments that are built to age well and not be overly burdensome to the developer.

KENYA GIBSON

I have a Masters Degree in architecture. I fell in love with Richmond because of the history reflected in our built landscape. It’s our source of pride.

Meanwhile elected leaders allow history to be demolished and replaced with cookie-cutter buildings their developer donors want.

I fought to preserve the historic George Mason School and Thirteen Acres Building. In the proposed development of several VUU parcels, investors want to destroy Old Richmond Community Hospital built in 1932 — the first Black hospital in Richmond. We cannot tolerate this erasure of our shared history; it must be celebrated, not sacrificed to investors. 

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

As an older aging city we must realize that our infrastructure is aging and cost a lot of money to fix (schools, roads, sewer, sidewalks, parks, etc..) so while i want to maintain view sheds and our historic fabric we must ask how do we pay for all of the needs of the city. As a landlocked city we must be creative in how we grow and not place the burden on homeowners. A balance needs to be worked to move the city forward while respecting the unique historic fabric of our neighborhoods.

6. As you likely know, the Fall Line bicycle trail from Ashland to Petersburg will come through Richmond’s Bryan Park. Rather than use the park’s existing back roads, planners want to build a new, 10-foot-wide roadway that will pave over park land, threaten trees, take cyclists through the most congested part of the park, and cost $3 million. Do you support this plan, or would you advocate using the park’s existing roads with minimal environmental impacts and at a fraction of the cost?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

The Fall Line Bike Trail is a great addition to the region, offering a wonderful way for Richmonders to engage with the outdoors and in a way perfect for everyone – families, kids, older folks and serious enthusiasts. However, we need to review much more critically any part of the Fall Line that diminishes green space and tree canopies, both of which help to combat climate change and diminish some of the excessive heat we are now enduring. Using existing trails, while potentially updating them for bikes and strollers means we can protect Bryan park’s uniqueness, save money, reserve green spaces and yet still support the Fall Line Trail. 

KENYA GIBSON

The Fall Line Trail presents an incredible opportunity to showcase one of Richmond’s core strengths as a city—the limitless opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.

Thus far, the project has been in the hands of state and regional entities. As Council reviews the final approval for the Bryan Park segment, we must ensure that community members in the 3rd District are kept in the loop and there are multiple opportunities for robust public engagement.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

I support any solution that is the most effective and saves the taxpayers the most money and minimizes any environmental impacts.

7. A great public school system is a key to the success of any municipality. How do you plan to tackle the problems the schools in our district now face?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

Unfortunately, our school district faces a myriad of problems from older, outdated buildings to a lack of teachers and staff. Moreover, many of our students come from under-resourced families with a variety of challenges. We need to do everything we can to increase funding and resources for our schools. This means reviewing every budget item to ensure it is essential and, if not, putting that money into RPS with specific goals for its use. We need to do a better job of advocating with our legislators for more resources but also to change the way schools are funded so a community like ours receives our fair share. We need to work with organizations and businesses to encourage them to invest in our schools, both monetarily and otherwise,  providing mentorships and offering other programs that assist our students. 

KENYA GIBSON

Public education is deeply underfunded across our country. It’s a plain fact that we should be spending more money on schools. Council must fully fund RPS’s budget needs. We have buildings with mold, mice, and friable asbestos.

RPS has seen a decline in daily membership over the last six years as assessment increases displace working class homeowners—resulting in millions of lost state funding. Simultaneously, the percent of the city budget going to schools has decreased. Council must create affordable housing to stabilize enrollment and establish a formula for recurring funding that allows the district to plan for the long term.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

Because the City Council does not have any direct control over how the schools are run/managed, I will continue to advocate for increased accountability for the funds we provide to RPS and look for more ways we can combine administrative functions to reduce administrative cost and shift that money directly into the classroom.

8. What is your take on the Diamond District and the development slated for that area? There is a lot of potential there, but many would like to see that district developed responsibly with an eye trained on the community—not just business.

MARIA CARRA ROSE

The Diamond District provides a great opportunity, if done well. No doubt, baseball is popular here and a wonderful activity for families and a safe one for adolescents. Development will also help to increase our affordable housing stock, critical for Richmond. We do need the tax revenue that will come from businesses to support our schools and other needs. However, the development must be responsible and live up to our values, ensuring opportunities for locally owned small businesses and working to recruit minority and women owned small businesses. 

KENYA GIBSON

The Squirrels have become iconic to Richmond, and the Diamond District provides opportunities for good union jobs and public infrastructure. Since the plan has passed, we need the project to succeed. Especially since the project debt is secured by city operating funds.

We’re frequently promised that these deals have no risks, now the city must make good on its promises. We were also promised robust public engagement, adherence to labor commitments, and that the demolished Arthur Ashe Center would be replaced with another student athletic facility.
My job as city councilwoman will be to ensure those promises are upheld.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

Agreed the community should be in the forefront of this development project. I will continue to hold the Developer and the city administration accountable for all aspects of this project.

9. One of the reasons many people visit our city is because of the profusion of locally owned businesses, particularly our breweries and restaurants. As any restaurateur will tell you, making a profit in this sort of business is extremely difficult. Some Richmonders, instead of supporting our restaurants, head to Henrico because of our exorbitant meal taxes. With the recent development along Arthur Ashe Boulevard across the road from the Diamond, three new restaurants have appeared. All of them are chain restaurants of one kind or other. What will you as a City Council member do to help our locally owned businesses? And how will you streamline the permitting process for new locally owned business owners?

MARIA CARRA ROSE

Locally owned businesses are the backbone of our economy and we need to work harder to support them and to make their lives easier. We need to improve – significantly – the processes in city hall. We need to ensure that if city hall tells a business owner something, they will stand by it, not show up months later with an overdue bill.  We need to streamline and expedite the permitting process, eliminating unnecessary steps, hiring more personnel and ensuring those personnel have support and training. City hall needs to appreciate our small businesses, our restaurants and our unique attractions and support them, provide help and assistance and not simply be there to collect fees and then penalize them. As the owner of a small business it was evident that we need more support within city hall to provide business owners with the resources that they need to succeed. 

KENYA GIBSON

Local businesses support organic development that helps grow our economy more stably. They are a vital part of our community.

Yet, small businesses are facing uphill battles to keep doors open. Getting a permit is a trial. The city miscalculated meals tax and handed businesses outrageous penalties. It’s audacious. 

The core issue is that city services are understaffed and under-resourced. Outsourcing to out-of-state for-profit corporations isn’t solving the problem. We need adequate permitting staff to expedite the process. And across all city departments we need to have documented systems in place to ensure that the city works for us all.

ANN-FRANCES LAMBERT

Permitting Process - needs to be constantly reviewed to improve the system and make it more user friendly. I will push to use online technology and improve timelines, fees etc. to improve the process, while making sure building/safety guidelines are maintained.