Funeral home job is latest in many disputes over accuracy of Tavares Floyd’s campaign paperwork

Additional people are disputing elements of Richmond City Council candidate Tavares Floyd’s official campaign paperwork, adding to an avalanche of allegations against Floyd in the 6th District race.

On a legally required form laying out his financial interests, Floyd wrote that he or an immediate family member has an ownership stake of McClenny & Watkins Funeral Home that generates more than $250,000 in gross income.

In a phone call with The Richmonder, founder Robert McClenny said Floyd works part-time for the funeral home, but neither Floyd nor any of his family members have a share of the business.

The signature line on the financial form includes a warning making it clear to candidates that intentionally false statements can bring Class 5 felony charges.

Floyd’s listed expenses on another form, meanwhile, include $36,457.98 spent with “Atlanta Digital Marketing Agency.”

The CEO of the agency at the listed address, Brown Bag Marketing, told The Richmonder that the group has not worked with Floyd.

Phone calls and a text to Floyd were not returned on Tuesday. His email box returned messages with a note that the mailbox was full.

Richmond Registrar Keith Balmer said he was awaiting guidance from the state on how to proceed in handling the allegations of incorrect information on Floyd’s campaign documents filed with the registrar’s office.

Floyd’s early campaign paperwork lists Chenice Brown as his treasurer. Reached by phone Tuesday, Brown said she no longer works for the campaign and hasn’t for months.

“I don’t want to say anything bad about Tavares,” she said. “I don’t want this comment to come off like I have anything bad to say about Tavares, and I don’t want to cause harm to Tavares. I just know that I am no longer his treasurer.”

Brown said she did not handle any financial transactions or financial reporting related to the campaign during her time as treasurer.

Floyd, meanwhile, launched an attack of his own in a Tuesday email to supporters, alleging one of his opponents "is under FBI investigation for alleged kickbacks, and I’ve been interviewed along with others as part of that probe." He did not elaborate.

The allegations

Three articles this week from the Richmond Times-Dispatch and VPM called into question aspects of Floyd’s résumé. 

The Times-Dispatch reported that Floyd’s prolific fundraising – he reported raising more than $140,000, which is rare for a city council race – may not be what it initially seems.

The paper found five donors who said they did not make the donations they were reported to make.

One of those contributors was listed as Daisy Shaw, of the Jackson, Tenn.-based Stephenson-Shaw Funeral Home. A representative for the funeral home told the Times-Dispatch that Shaw formerly co-owned the funeral home with her husband, but she died in 1984.

Meanwhile, VPM reported that Floyd, who lists himself in some bios as a “civil rights attorney,” appears not to have passed the bar in any state, though he did graduate from law school.

“I certainly was a legal consultant and advisor in Virginia, as a lawyer,” Floyd wrote in response to a reporter with the outlet. “I never said I was an attorney in Virginia. Nor did I practice law in Virginia. I’m a lawyer in Virginia. Get your facts right. Anybody who graduates law school & moves to anywhere is a lawyer.”

VPM’s article also raised questions about Floyd’s location of residence, which he referred to as “fake news.”

The Times-Dispatch also quoted Floyd’s sister, Ashley Floyd, as saying that Floyd is not a cousin of George Floyd, as he has claimed to be.

Tavares Floyd defended the allegations, and shared pictures with the paper that he said showed he was at a 2020 memorial event for George Floyd in his hometown.

Asked about the allegations that he is not a practicing lawyer, Floyd told the newspaper’s reporter to “get a life.”

Responses from the other candidates

The three-way contest for the 6th District seat includes Floyd, longstanding incumbent Ellen Robertson, and Willie Hilliard. Floyd previously worked for Robertson.

Robertson, who has remained largely silent while this has played out, emailed a statement to The Richmonder on Sunday:

“Richmond voters and the 6th District especially, deserve and expects truth, transparency and accountability in their elected leaders. What I have read is very troubling and I call on anyone who is trying to earn the public trust to clear up any discrepancies in their filing,” she wrote.

Hilliard sent out a press release on Monday calling on Floyd to exit the race.

“The evidence against Tavares Floyd is damning,” he wrote, adding that he wants Robertson to address what role Floyd played at City Hall and “if there was any unethical behavior while he was in her office.”

What’s next?

In 2020, there were 10,341 votes cast in the 6th District City Council race, which Robertson won.

As of Monday, there have been 16,171 early votes cast citywide. If those votes are evenly distributed across the nine districts (which is unknown), that means about 17% of the vote is already in.

How this will impact the race remains to be seen. Floyd put two statements on his Facebook page seemingly indicating he won’t be backing down.

“Let God elevate you & make you stronger,” he wrote. “He’s unbreakable. When it’s all said & done, HE will stand.”

Floyd also wrote: “Y’all literally hate it so badly that I’m for the ppl & won’t let up on you. And I’m NOT.”

The Richmonder’s Graham Moomaw contributed to this report.