After numerous people accused former Richmond City Council employee Tavares Floyd of filing false paperwork in his own run for public office, authorities seemed uncertain over who had the power to do anything about it and what exactly could be done.

After he watched the Floyd controversy unfold, Del. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, has introduced a proposal that could lead to a clearer process for enforcement of Virginia’s currently loose campaign finance rules. 

“I just think it’s a farce,” said Jones, a former member of the Richmond City Council. “Someone can come in and make a mockery of the entire electoral process and get away unscathed.”

Floyd — who failed to unseat incumbent Councilor Ellen Robertson in last year’s 6th District contest — was accused of inflating his fundraising numbers by listing contributions from several donors who insisted that, in reality, they hadn’t given him any money. On a separate form listing his financial and business interests, Floyd indicated he was making substantial income from owning a funeral home, but a representative for the business said he had only worked a part-time job there.

For the 2025 General Assembly session, Jones is sponsoring a resolution asking for a legislative study to identify gaps in campaign finance enforcement and consider the possibility of creating a new independent agency. That agency would potentially be empowered to take a more proactive role in policing money in politics and how it’s reported.

“I don’t want anyone to be caught up in a scandal. But when it’s that egregious, something has to be done,” Jones said. “If it’s not the commonwealth’s attorney, if it’s not the registrar, it has to be somebody. I think the state should weigh in on who and how it should be and how it should happen.”

The Jones proposal calls for the state’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, to conduct the study and issue a report by Nov. 30 for possible General Assembly action in the 2026 session.

Filing false information on election-related paperwork is considered a felony offense in Virginia, and the forms candidates file include warnings saying false statements can lead to criminal charges.

When the Floyd allegations surfaced last fall, former Richmond Registrar Keith Balmer, whose office receives campaign finance reports for local elections, said he had no power to investigate whether the information on those reports is accurate. Though Attorney General Jason Miyares set up a state-level election integrity unit, his office indicated local officials have jurisdiction over campaign finance issues. Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin, who has broad power to enforce laws in the city, initially indicated she too would not get involved because no election officials had filed a formal complaint or request asking her to look into the matter.

However, McEachin confirmed last week that an investigation is underway into the Floyd allegations.

Efforts to reach Floyd for this article were unsuccessful. Before running against Robertson, he worked for her as a City Council aide.

It’s unclear how much support the campaign finance study proposal will have in the legislature, which has recently shown little to no willingness to change or even examine the current system no matter which political party is in the majority. 

In 2021, the General Assembly approved the creation of a joint subcommittee to study campaign finance. That subcommittee barely met and expired at the end of 2022 after doing little to no work.

Jones said he hopes his proposal can restart the conversation.

The exaggerated paperwork Floyd filed, Jones said, seemed to lead some groups to back him as a viable candidate, resulting in “a whole lot of egg on people’s faces.”

“Nobody should be able to falsify campaign information to that extent and not have anyone say ‘Alright, this is in our wheelhouse. We handle it,’” Jones said.