Oct. 2 Newsletter: Mayoral candidates say how they’ll fix City Hall’s service problems
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On this date in 1925, a train tunnel collapsed in Church Hill while a crew was conducting repairs, killing two men. A train engine and cars remain in the tunnel.
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Mayoral candidates say how they’ll fix City Hall’s service problems
Graham Moomaw asked all five candidates for mayor how they'll fix one of the biggest issues facing the city right now.
- Dr. Danny Avula and software investor Harrison Roday, both of whom are newcomers to city politics, are highlighting their experience overseeing big budgets and organizations while promising to bring better management to City Hall.
- Former City Council president Michelle Mosby is putting up banners and billboards around the city with the slogan “Back to Basics,” while arguing someone with City Hall experience is best equipped to fix its problems.
- City Councilor Andreas Addison (1st District) is also running on experience, saying he has tried to improve things from within both as a city employee and a two-term city council member. But he says he could do more with a promotion to mayor.
- Community organizer Maurice Neblett is running as a true, people-focused outsider, saying “financial accountability” is key to his platform.
Read more from all five candidates, and hear from current City Hall leaders making the case to keep their jobs. They say too much change could be damaging as the city tries to fix its issues.
RPS leaders want to revisit state performance agreement, saying Richmond is 'held to a different standard'
Richmond school leaders criticized an academic improvement agreement the school division entered into with the state in 2017 as setting unfairly high expectations and providing few measurable goals, Sarah Vogelsong reports.
Richmond has been operating under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) since 2017, which mandates regular meetings and allows for state oversight of spending. It remains in effect until all schools are fully accredited.
"I’ll put it to you this way," Kamras said. "Neither Henrico nor Chesterfield have 100% of their schools fully accredited."
A Virginia Department of Education spokesperson said that Richmond still has more schools rated at "accredited with conditions" than any other district in the state.
Read more about the MOU, and why Kamras believes an upcoming change in rating schools is an opportunity to reset.
Related: RPS graduation rates increase, are well past pre-pandemic rates
Richmond officials planning to redo crumbling Cherokee Road
South Richmond’s Cherokee Road already feels like a narrow country road. In some parts, it’s getting narrower as pieces of the road come off and crumble into a steep ditch.
At a community meeting this week, city officials unveiled plans for what they might do about it. All the designs would lead to a wider roadway with bigger shoulders, the addition of a sidewalk, a curb and gutter design or some combination of those features.
Officials said they expect construction to occur in 2026 and 2027 and take somewhere around 18 months to complete.
See all four potential options and read the full story here
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Permits and Inspections counter closed indefinitely due to leak
On Friday, the city announced it was closing its Permits and Inspections Counter, a place on the first floor of City Hall where citizens could go to handle permit and inspection issues in person, "until further notice."
Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders said "there was a water leak in the ceiling that caused us to close the space until we can get it remediated."
Read more, including online options for submitting permit requests.
In other news...
- Virginia Rep hits emergency fundraising goal, expects to remain open (BizSense)
- Reports of crime at VCU increase after undercounting discovered (Times-Dispatch)
- Watch last night's VPM/NBC12 Mayoral Forum (YouTube link)
- Truck that caught fire on Varina-Enon Bridge Monday was carrying paper products (Times-Dispatch)
Editor's desk
Today's two featured stories are both deep-dive looks into important local issues. Graham Moomaw's piece gets all five mayoral candidates on the record about how they would fix City Hall's dysfunction, while Sarah Vogelsong looks into the now 7-year-long agreement between the state and RPS (the state doesn't seem particularly sympathetic to the school board's arguments).
As always, we thank you for your support of local journalism.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
