The questions below were sent to each candidate competing in the race for City Council.
Andrew "Gumby" Breton
What does your district need most right now — and how will you help?
Our residents need more safe routes to more public spaces.Residents of this district must cross major traffic arteries in order to reach their nearest parks, their favorite restaurants, or even their assigned public schools! They chose this neighborhood for its walkability but don’t feel safe walking to destinations that could be a 5-10 minute walk away.
I support funding the creation of a new, dedicated Dept of Transportation, with a specific mandate to focus on safe street design. The reality is that it takes physical traffic-calming street design to change dangerous driver behavior, and it will take a dedicated department with that specialty and focus.
In order to create more safe public spaces I aim to integrate more underutilized city land into the Parks & Rec portfolio, and partner with neighborhood associations to create “Friends of” groups to take care of and steward the new public areas.
How will you engage your constituents on policy issues?
My goal is to get information to our residents frequently and promptly through three main channels: Frequent email newsletters, periodic mailing, and close contact with the civic associations, who are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood.
Most importantly, this information will contain the necessary information on how to participate in the city’s decision-making process for upcoming issues, whether it is a survey, a meeting, or a commission. I believe empowering residents with information early is the most important thing their council member can do for them.
What's your top citywide priority?
My top priority is lower housing costs. Home prices, rents, assessments, and taxes are hurting families up and down the income scale. We must deploy multiple tools to reduce pressure on residents across the city.
The affordability crisis is causing homelessness for many, displacement for others, and difficulty with tax payments for others still. Housing instability in turn can lead to difficulty maintaining employment and challenges for children trying to learn in school. The people who made this city the great place that it is will soon be unable to live here. To address it, we need to attack housing affordability on multiple levels, including zoning reform for the market-rate market. For deeply affordable units we need investments in land trusts and project-based vouchers, direct subsidies for deeply-affordable housing units, and speedier approvals for shorter, cheaper build times.
How can you help restore trust in the city and its services?
Improved services are important, but transparency is paramount and more urgent. As Chair of the Richmond City Democrats, the second resolution I presided over was a call for strict FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) compliance and a culture of transparency. Once our residents trust that they know the truth, they will trust us to get to work making improvements.
When it comes to making those improvements, if we want to cut waste and increase our revenue base, we need to invest in improved systems and retention of talent. This requires budgetary investments and legislation by council. It also requires that the council do the work of administrative oversight and asking the right questions, before lawyers and journalists are forced to.
Residents and spectators should be cognisant that with increased transparency comes more awareness of problems. We must be mindful of scale and perspective and remember that every large system has problems to address, and that not every problem is a scandal. We must reward transparency, not punish it.
What steps can council take to ensure more affordable housing — not just publicly subsidized housing — is accessible to residents?
More affordable housing at all levels is core to my platform and is one reason I have received many of my endorsements, including my endorsement by Sierra Club - Falls of the James Group. Creating more homes within the city not only creates more market affordability, but reduces the regional sprawl that contributes to pollution, greenhouse gasses, and poorer quality of life.
I am excited to codify better zoning in the city in accordance with the Award-Winning Richmond 300 Master Plan, including the priority growth nodes that should alleviate pressure on market-rate prices.
Outside of the growth nodes I also hope to encourage “gentle density.” Currently our single-family-zoning is leading to too many small home tear-downs, replaced by single-family “McMansions” in the Near West End. Residents lament that these massive homes (which are the easiest thing to build by-right) are unaffordable to average families. Allowing “missing-middle” duplexes (that can look like single-family homes) in these plots would allow more families to live in these highly-coveted areas, for a lower cost of entry, without disrupting the fabric of the block.
What's your perspective on term limits for council representatives?
Term limits are usually beneficial but they are not a priority of mine. In most institutions, it is valuable to set a term limit that is enough to encourage accountability without falling into pure incumbency advantage. I believe that limiting political donations in Virginia would do more than term limits to keep our leaders accountable to voters.
Paul Goldman
What does your district need most right now — and how will you help?
We need a member of Council who represents the interests of the residents in our district. For example, the current Council representative supported the Casino, supported a 100% taxpayer funded baseball stadium, refuses to cut the property tax rate to the rollback rate in state law, and has never helped Tim Kaine and myself enact our plan to modernize our school facilities. His plan on affordability housing doesn’t work: an effective plan requires changes to the Virginia constitution, state law and to the Richmond City Charter. He isn’t running again.
By contrast, I am the only candidate running this year who opposed the Casino, opposed a taxpayer funded baseball stadium, who wants to slash the property tax to the rollback rate, and of course backs Senator Kaine’s plan to fix our schools. First district residents overwhelmingly supported my anti-Casino campaign and I know from talking to them they agree with me in my opposition to the baseball stadium, my advocacy for cutting taxes and my working with Tim Kaine. And they know I am a long time people’s lawyer who knows how to get the affordable housing legal changes needed to help renters and first time home buyers.
Bottom line: by electing me, the people of the First District will finally have somebody who they can trust to represent their interests.
How will you engage your constituents on policy issues?
I have a proven record of working across party and racial lines to develop solutions to difficult problems. They have been three books already written containing chapters discussing my success in improving civil rights, women’s rights, voting rights and educational rights for all the people of Virginia. The best way to engage residents is to have regular meetings with your constituents. In that regard, I'll be the first member of Council holding weekly meetings open anyone to ensure I am up-to-date on the how my constituents feel on the issues.
What's your top citywide priority?
The management of our city government is a complete shambles. My opponents give Mayor Stoney passing grades. I gave the Mayor a grade of F when asked at the last debate. City spending is out of control. So is patronage hiring. Combining his record spending and record high taxes has produced a city government the people cannot afford. Such continued fiscal recklessness will drive property taxes, indeed all city taxes and fees, far higher than they are now. I'm an expert in public finance. I helped devise the state constitutional budget reforms that led to Virginia being rated the best fiscally managed state. If Richmond doesn't get control of its finances, the cost of government will continue to soar, and any hope of dealing with issues like affordability housing or lower taxes or cost effective services will fade away.
How can you help restore trust in the city and its services?
RVA’s leading voting rights group, the Richmond Crusade for Voters, supports me. So do the organizations representing Richmond’s firefighters and the police. So does Manoli Loupassi, the former President of City Council and my district‘s leading Republican. I am a former Chair of the Virginia State Democratic Party. Senator Tim Kaine and former GOP Senator George Allen support my proposal to modernize the crumpling school facilities in Richmond using a unique public/private partnership approach that will save Richmond upwards of $300 million. Accordingly, I’m the only candidate with a proven record of building biracial, bipartisan coalition to achieve real change.
What steps can council take to ensure more affordable housing — not just publicly subsidized housing — is accessible to residents?
Let me cut to the chase: the proposals of my opponents - which they have been championing for years - have not worked because they can’t possibly work. Why? Surely they know why: because in order to effectively and fairly address the issue of affordable housing, we need to make fundamental changes in the Virginia Constitution, the Richmond City Charter and state law. As a lawyer who has spent decades successfully fighting for the rights of people, I understand the legal defects holding us back. Since my opponents are not lawyers, I’ll give them a pass on that.
The Virginia Constitution restricts the options available to a locality to specifically address affordable housing issues. The constitution only allows general approaches which don’t work on specific affordable housing difficulties.
Current state and local law give the developers far too much power in the land development process. I have proposed an Office of Neighborhood Advocacy inside the City Attorney’s Office to give all citizens, including renters for the first time and homeowners, a dedicated advocate whose job is solely to represent the interest of the people and the neighborhoods: right now in all the city processes only the big developers have the lawyers and the experts which gives them a huge advantage. That must end. Thirdly, the City Charter likewise favors the big developers, not the interest of ordinary citizens. We need to fix these Charter issues at the 2025 general assembly session since all charter changes can only be made by the state legislature.
What's your perspective on term limits for council representatives?
I support limiting a council member to eight consecutive years on the Council. Indeed, the current four year term should be reduced to two. This will make members more accountable to the public.
I have pledged to only serve this one elected term. I will not seek re-election. This leaves me free to speak the truth about the mess in our city government without having to be concerned about whether it will affect my chances for reelection.
Zac Walker
What does your district need most right now — and how will you help?
What my district needs most right now is improved traffic controls and infrastructure. While the city is making progress, we need to double our efforts in this area. I will increase transparency regarding residential concerns, ensuring that community feedback directly informs our infrastructure projects. This approach will lead to more effective and efficient solutions, ultimately benefiting all residents.
How will you engage your constituents on policy issues?
Engagement is critical for local government. As a past president of the Monument Avenue Park Civic Association, I understand the value of civic involvement. I plan to meet regularly with all civic associations to discuss policy issues and gather feedback. By doing so, I will ensure that the voices of all constituents are heard and considered in the decision-making process.
What's your top citywide priority?
My top citywide priority is ensuring the city works for everyone. I believe the best way to achieve this is through fiscal responsibility. By prioritizing fiscal responsibility, we can accomplish many goals, such as improving infrastructure, enhancing city services, and funding schools.
How can you help restore trust in the city and its services?
I believe accessible leaders can help restore trust in our city. As a city leader, I will focus on delivering city services effectively. By prioritizing outcomes over talking points, we can rebuild trust and ensure that residents see real improvements in their daily lives.
What steps can council take to ensure more affordable housing — not just publicly subsidized housing — is accessible to residents?
With the current affordability crisis in our country, the most economical solution is multi-family housing. I believe we should refit downtown to include more housing options. One of my priorities will be to encourage the establishment of a grocery store downtown. This addition would make downtown more attractive for people to live, work, and play. By promoting mixed-use developments and incentivizing private investments in affordable housing, we can ensure that more affordable housing — not just publicly subsidized housing — is accessible to residents.
What's your perspective on term limits for council representatives?
I support term limits for city council members. Two terms provide enough time to achieve meaningful goals and positively impact the city. Additionally, term limits encourage growth and the introduction of new ideas.