Election: Decision 2020

North of the James reached out to candidates for several local elections—Mayor, and 3rd District Council and School Board representatives. We asked each of them to give a brief platform state. Here’s what they had to say:

Mayor

Levar Stoney

Mayor Levar Stoney is committed to making Richmond a city that works for everyone. For Levar, facing Richmond’s challenges as mayor is personal. A product of Virginia public schools, Levar was raised by his grandmother and father, a janitor. Levar grew up on free and reduced lunch before becoming the first in his family to graduate high school and college. As mayor, Levar has fought to give all Richmonders a better shot at success, whether by investing the most money in RPS in over a generation, expanding afterschool programs to every elementary and middle school, advocating for police reform and gun safety legislation, or fixing our city’s ailing infrastructure by paving 500 miles of road lanes and filling 70,000 potholes. During his second term, Mayor Stoney will continue this work by offering universal Pre-K for every child in the city, giving every child the opportunity to succeed. He will transform and redevelop public housing while ensuring every family in a unit today will have a unit tomorrow. Levar will address inequities in the city further highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic and racial unrest by building generational wealth in Black communities. Using programs like progressive tax abatements and expanding tax deferral programs, he will ensure continued city growth without displacing families that have been there for generations. These next four years will decide Richmond’s future and we need steady, experienced leadership to lead us through these unprecedented times. Levar Stoney will be ready on day one to get the job done.

Kimberly Gray

Kim Gray is a committed mother, civic leader, and public servant who for over 25 years has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all Richmonders through her involvement in government, non-profits, and civic organizations. She served in the administrations of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in the areas of social services and transportation. She was the 2nd District representative on the Richmond School Board for two terms and is currently finishing her fourth year on the Richmond City Council.

 Kim understands that Richmonders want and need a leader who will be transparent and accountable while working to improve Richmond’s communities and neighborhoods. Kim will focus on improving the lives of all citizens by working hard to secure more affordable housing and housing equity, safer neighborhoods, fully funded schools, and a government that actively encourages citizen input.

Kim is a bridge-builder, and her many years of public service prepare her to hit the ground running when she is elected. She is a voice of conscience and common sense for the City, and her strong sense of justice compels her to advocate always for what is right, no matter how difficult the task.

Richmond needs a Mayor who can build coalitions in the community and on Council to accomplish what the city needs to do in an uncertain post-COVID-19 era. Kim Gray is that person and looks forward to serving the City of Richmond and all Richmonders in that capacity.

Justin Griffin

Richmond has long been the capital of mismanagement and misplaced priorities. The administration of the City has always been a mess. Each new leader brings high hopes and then with each new leader eventually we are left disappointed. This is because instead of prioritizing fixing core services, the mayors of Richmond focus on huge projects to make themselves a legacy.

I am running for mayor because I believe we deserve better: better schools, better roads, and better city services. However, due to the events of the last 4 months Richmond is now at a major crossroads. Due to the unrest, vandalism, and spike in violent crime Richmond is on the brink of losing much of the progress it has made over the last 20 years. People and businesses are making plans to leave, and the city’s economy is drying up.

Before we can begin to address the countless ways in which our city government fails us, despite us paying higher taxes than the surrounding counties, we must restore confidence in the safety of being in the city.

Once that is accomplished, I will use my background as a small business owner, attorney, and accountant to root out all of the waste, mismanagement, and corruption in City Hall. Instead of seeing your tax dollars wasted, I will make sure those dollars get invested in our schools and neighborhoods.

In this election we must decide, do we accept more of the same or do we demand better.

Alexsis Rodgers

I grew up in Hanover County, and have lived and worked in Richmond since graduating from VCU. I’ve spent my career fighting for underrepresented groups of people. For Richmond to become a world-class city, we have more work to do to improve the quality of life for residents.

Decades of divestment has led to decline, crime, underperforming schools, inadequate infrastructure and lower health outcomes. My platform is centered on a just, equitable and sustainable city that works for every Richmonder.

As mayor, I am committed to:

•Fully-funded schools so students have a safe and productive learning environment, teachers and personnel are supported, and our education system doesn’t leave anyone behind.

•Inclusive and affordable housing that removes redline-era restrictions so every Richmond resident - renters, homeowners and the unhoused - has a clean, safe, and affordable home.

•Police reform that reduces the scale and scope of policing and creates safe neighborhoods through resources for social services, after-school programs and mental health services.

•Environmental justice, greenlining initiatives and sustainable projects that improve health outcomes for residents, increase food security and achieve climate resilience.

•An accessible and robust transit system through a new Department of Transportation that connects people and centers reliable, safe and affordable transportation.

I am running a progressive campaign driven by community voices and policies that uplift those who historically have been left behind. Richmond needs a leader who will show up for our communities, fight for everyone in the city and be a champion at the state level.

3rd District Council

Ann-Frances Lambert

Greetings, My name is Ann-Frances Lambert, and I ask for your vote on Nov. 3rd. As the daughter of the late Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert, III who represented the City of Richmond as a Delegate and Senator, my background, experience, and knowledge of the district separates me from my opponents.

My experience includes being the 1st CIty Council Liaison for the 7th council district represented by Del. Delores McQuinn (D-70). I also gained experience as the Sr. Policy Analyst in the City’s Intergovernmental Relations office.  Our responsibility was to present the City’s Legislative Agenda to the Richmond Delegation before each General Assembly Session. That experience, as well as, my experience working on Capitol Hill for Rep. Robert C. Scott, and for the Committee on Education and Labor has prepared me to begin the job on Day 1!

My vision for the 3rd district is to have a safe, united community where you can live, work and play. 1. I will vote to NOT raise property taxes especially for our seniors on a fixed income. 2. I will amend or abolish any ordinances dated before 1970 that promoted disenfranchisement of lower income residents. 3. I plan to eliminate the food desert by incorporating vertical farming in my development plan for North Jackson Ward. 4. I support full-funding for our schools and programs that are addressing the social and mental health services needs we have within RPS. 5. I support a statewide Police Bill of Rights, eliminate qualified immunity and debtor’s prisons to address social justice inequality. 

Elaine Summerfield

Richmond has been my chosen home for the past eighteen years, during which I have dedicated my time to creating connections, empowering communities, and making a positive difference. As a volunteer, I co-created HandsOn Greater Richmond (HandsOnRVA.org) to engage people in service across Richmond. Everyone should have the opportunity to share their talents and time with our community. These are values that I have instilled in my son, a fifth grader at Holton Elementary. Professionally, I worked at the Community Foundation for twelve years partnering with community change makers on a variety of issues facing Richmond including education, housing affordability, economic development, and health care. My breadth of policy knowledge and experiences within our community position me to approach City leadership in a people-centered, strategic way that will benefit all areas of the 3rd District.

Creating equity in opportunities in Richmond is the primary driver for my run for City Council. We are at a pivotal moment: COVID-19 has magnified the racial inequities in our city. People are demanding change and it’s going to take thoughtful, collaborative leadership to translate this momentum into long-lasting and equitable policy solutions. My priorities reflect what I’ve been hearing from constituents: fund our public schools, make city services efficient, expand safe and affordable housing options, and promote environmental sustainability. We need city leadership that is accountable and accessible to the people. I will be that leader for the 3rd District and include the voices and vision of constituents while serving on City Council.

3rd District School Board

Kenya Gibson

 My name is Kenya Gibson. I’m a proud parent, a longtime public education advocate, and currently serve on the school board representing the 3rd District. This reelection campaign is a grassroots project of parents, students, and educators dedicated to the fight for public schools that put our children and community first.

In 2017 our campaign team fought to put an independent community voice on our public school board. We won with the belief that schools are community cornerstones. We were demanding more transparent, democratic governance in a time of rapidly diminishing resources. That message resonated across the northside and citywide.

In the three years since my election we’ve seen some incredible wins:

● We passed a resolution to enhance teacher free speech and successfully advocated for

teacher retention as a measurement in our strategic plan.

● We won the construction of three new schools.

● We won enhanced transparency in governance with live-streamed board meetings and

policy changes to make board documents available to the public sooner.

● And as our mayor pushed for the redirection of 80 blocks of valuable downtown real estate tax revenue to fund the Dominion Coliseum redevelopment plan, we successfully lobbied for a resolution opting RPS out of any funding loss as a result of the “Navy Hill” proposal, and successfully lobbied against the deal in its entirety.

These wins level the playing field for parents and teachers who were fighting for a meaningful say in school governance. They’ve expanded the horizon of what is possible and laid the foundation for our path forward. Three years ago I couldn’t have imagined the challenges we face today: a reliance on distance learning, an unprecedented public health crisis, and the unthinkable ensuing pressure of our schools to meet the disparate needs of children across the city without direct, daily contact. Now more than ever, we see what schools mean to their communities. The past three years have been a game changer. The next four bring both tremendous need and opportunity. I hope you will join us.

Sabrina Gross

Sabrina is a single mom, the PTA President at Barack Obama Elementary School, and has over 10 years experience working in children's services. She currently works at the Virginia Department of Education and is an expert in special education law.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, she is the daughter of a professor and the product of public schools. She graduated from the College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts with a degree in psychology and a teaching certificate. She spent a year teaching Special Education and then moved into Behavioral Health. The majority of her career has been in the public service sector, with much of that focused on education.  Sabrina also has a law degree.

Sabrina believes that the biggest challenges facing RPS are equity (school to prison pipeline), a lack of supportive services for students, and a lack of trust between the community and the schools. 

The school to prison pipeline must be dismantled.  Sabrina will create policies that will strengthen instruction, and she will commit to achieving a culture of equity within our schools by creating an equity committee. 

Providing more supportive services happens by developing a community-based approach to education. Sabrina will prioritize policies that will ensure smarter & more efficient uses of city resources, and she will advocate for a fully funded strategic plan.  

Finally, it is imperative that a culture of transparency, support, and trust at every level within Richmond Public Schools be created and maintained. Sabrina will lead by example through building coalitions within the third district community, ensuring every voice is heard.

Sabrina has been a parent, a teacher, and an administrator and believes that when we work together, we can create a system where every child's needs are met and every child receives an education that will set them up for success in life.