Question and Answer
Candidate's responses are published as submitted, without edits.
Root Causes: Often, studies tend to focus on the individual characteristics of offenders, while neglecting ethnic and racial differences associated with neighborhood contexts...like resource scarcity, redlining practices, disparate treatment in legal settings, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Can you talk about the root causes you've identified as the precipitators of violence in our region?
The root causes to violence/crime in this city are multi faceted. Poor living conditions, poor education, unchecked mental health conditioning, the lack of job opportunities, access to illegal drugs and weapons and institutionalized racism are some of the causes that make people commit crimes of violence. They all want a better way and they think that that is the only way to get it.
Systemic Solutions: Research tells us that race or ethnicity are not violence indicators. They are markers highlighting external social contexts differentially allocated by racial, ethnic, and economic status. Segregation by these social contexts disproportionately exposes members of these racial, ethnic, and lower socioeconomic groups to key violence-inducing or violence-protecting conditions. What are some systemic solutions that will consider these factors?
The educational system needs to be streamlined to students individual success is secured. There must be a change in mindset that says that a student needs to go to college to be successful in life. True workforce development must be put in place that will allow people to become qualified to acquire a true living wage job.
Immediate Solutions: Motions, Resolutions, Ordinances, Referrals, Deferrals - and all policy changes can take time. What immediate solutions do you propose that will invite our neighbors and your constituents across Richmond to co-create and jointly implement efforts to change the trajectory of violence in Richmond?
The Gun Violence Intervention program that's being touted by RISC and other groups should be implemented immediately.
Climate Policy: After nearly 6 years of community engagement and climate analysis, the RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Action Plan was adopted in early 2023 as the City of Richmond’s official sustainability plan. As Mayor, will you fully execute this plan and seek to exceed the goals set out with respect to carbon pollution reduction and community climate resilience?
Yes
Tell us more: As Richmond makes progress, what is the City getting right and what actions will you as the next Mayor take to overcome any challenges?
The city must make RVA Green 2050 an ordinance and not just a resolution that can be ignored.
Environmental Justice: Richmond has just begun to repair some of the lasting harms of racially motivated redlining, highway construction, and disinvestment in low-income and Black and African American communities. Today, models like the City of Richmond Climate Equity Index, the Trust for Public Land ParkScore, and the White House’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool show disparities across neighborhoods in community resources, environmental quality, health outcomes, and economic opportunity. Do you see a relationship between climate action, poverty, and justice in Richmond?
Yes
Tell us more: If so, how would you describe this relationship and what actions, policy-related or otherwise, do you feel are necessary to address these issues?
When you see heat islands in red lined communities, a crumbling infrastructure and a lack of green spaces in said communities, they're all contributing factors to keeping people in poor and unjust conditions.
I would also like to increase the number of green spaces across Richmond and improve the evenness of their distribution. For starters, that includes improving the equity of Richmond’s tree canopy and supporting the work of organizations like Southside ReLeaf. In order to combat urban heat island effects, improve the city’s flood resiliency, and promote more accessible public spaces, I believe the city should adopt a long-term goal of guaranteeing residents a right to accessible parks and meeting that goal through methods like the creation of parks in areas that lack sufficient park coverage, as well as improved transit that allows people access to our parks.
Equitable Energy Transition: Richmond Gas Works is owned and operated by the City of Richmond. The Department of Public Utilities is facing financial and logistical challenges maintaining the network of 100-year-old gas pipes. The aging system has had nearly a thousand known gas leaks, with each jeopardizing public safety and the health of local residents. When leaked, methane is a potent climate pollutant that has a significant impact on climate change. When burned indoors in stoves and heaters, people can be exposed to fumes containing carcinogens like benzene, formaldehyde, and nitrogen oxides. If elected, would you work to develop a plan to phase out Richmond Gas Works in a financially responsible manner?
No
Tell us more: How can low and median income households be protected and supported throughout an energy transition? *
I have serious concerns about the impact of RGW on future Richmond City budgets and on the environment. However, our approach to transitioning to a cleaner local economy must take into account the financial and other practical impacts on working- and middle-class Richmonders. One policy to speed the transition away from reliance on gas that I would oppose would be a withdrawal by the city of natural gas to households where the financial burden of upgrading individual homes from gas to electric was placed solely or mostly on the households' residents. We have to build out the infrastructure to make it affordable and practical for regular Richmonders to electrify their homes before the city implements a de jure or de facto mandate for that energy transition. A moratorium on the expansion of RGW's service and of gas hookups to new builds here and in the counties is a different question. Also worth mentioning in this section is that there are some underutilized state and federal programs, notably the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, to which I would support dedicating some city resources to both make more eligible Richmonders aware of the program and to help them access it.
Local governments are responsible for land use and zoning, impacting housing supply and the various types of housing that gets built. With Richmond Planning Department beginning the work of rewriting their zoning code, are you supportive of the citywide zoning code rewrite?
Yes
Tell us more: What kinds of zoning changes would you support to allow for a variety of home types?
I believe that the social fabric of the city is strengthened when everyone has a place to live. Every resident matters, but it is worth noting that the social fabric is especially strengthened the more residents we have who decide to put down roots in Richmond. For that and other reasons we should make it more practical and affordable to live in Richmond at every stage of life. One large gap in the city's available housing stock is affordable housing that is spacious enough for a multi-generational household, particularly for families with kids in K-12 schools or those living with older family members in the household. I therefore would support removing de facto or de jure barriers in the zoning code to the construction of more multifamily housing buildings, some individual units of which would accommodate a wider variety of family sizes. For example: I support relaxing zoning-based constraints to allow for more variation in minimum lot sizes and in the maximum square footage of a building on a given lot, and relatedly relaxing the current rules about setback requirements. This year, Virginia initiated the process to legalize single-staircase, small apartments by way of Senate Bill 195, and if elected to the city council I would look to remove unnecessary hurdles in Richmond's zoning code to the construction of that style of apartment building.
Do you believe each district in the City should develop its fair share of affordable housing?
Yes
Tell us more: How would you implement that?
On Council I would push for more transparent and community-driven development that would allow the community as a whole to better be able to give informed consent to what development does or does not happen. I think that to meet the city’s housing goals and fight displacement of existing communities we should encourage more medium-density housing developments instead of top-down ‘mega’ projects, and believe that wealthy neighborhoods should not be exempted from this trend.
In 2023, Richmond City declared a housing crisis. Should the city make it easier to build more housing?
Yes
Tell us more: Cities across the country are starting to repeal provisions of zoning regulation that make it harder to build - especially for small and part-time builders. Richmond, by eliminating parking requirements in 2023, has started down this path. What types of rules would you support relaxing or eliminating and why?
In addition to the specific policies outlined in the previous sections to encourage more medium-density housing, there are also some clear opportunities for denser and larger development than that, primarily in Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, as well as transit-oriented development along commercial corridors similar to the kind the city has been encouraging along the Broad Street Pulse. Within the Sixth District, I would support implementing a North-South BRT route, with Hull Street and Semmes Avenue / N 9th Street being the most natural candidates for a new BRT line. Richmond should continue to encourage the revitalization of Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods to make them the beating heart of the city, rich in job availability and well-connected internally and externally by the GRTC and other-than-car transportation options. Housing developments of this density level would benefit even more than low-to-medium density areas from increasing the prevalence of mixed-use zoning (for example, going beyond the level of mixed-use permitted in the 'node'-based approach to development in the Richmond 300 plan) to encourage broader distribution of jobs and commercial amenities throughout the city and to reduce the number of longer and/or car-based trips are necessary for most residents. As a prime example of what I'm talking about: While I think that Manchester has generally been overdeveloped with too little consideration to green space access, there is a real need to bring better grocery options to that area, and if mixed-use zoning makes it easier to bring in a grocery store to that area, then I am all for it.
Leadership in Transportation: Following decades of planning around primarily one mode of transportation - vehicles - residents and businesses have increasingly called upon Richmond leadership to retool its transportation system to work for many ways of getting around, including walking, biking, public transportation, rideshare, bike share, scooters, and beyond. Do you support expanding funding and implementation of a multi-modal transportation system in Richmond that prioritizes safe, walkable, and bikeable streets and frequent and far reaching public transit?
yes
Tell us more: What legislation and funding will you support to meet the challenge of providing seamless, interconnected multimodal networks for the communities you serve?
In 2020 I was one of the first people to advocate for free public transit in Richmond in response to the pandemic. The cornerstone of my transportation plan is my support for keeping GRTC access free without compromising the coverage or frequency of service. Furthermore, I support making significantly-higher investments in pedestrian, cycling, and bus infrastructure throughout Richmond than the city government is currently appropriating.
Equitable Transportation Funding: Richmond has a history of inequitable investment in sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, and bus stops. Zero fare GRTC Bus service has resulted in a ridership boom, lowering barriers to mobility and increasing access to jobs, health care, and schools. Yet, the state grant for zero fare is ending soon, leaving a funding gap. Many low-income Richmonders rely on equitable transportation solutions, and they need consistent leadership to deliver equitable transportation policies and programs. Will you prioritize equity in funding and implementation of transportation projects?
yes
Tell us more: What projects or programs would best support equitable transportation access in your district as well as others? If not, how will you ensure all Richmond residents have access to essential transportation options?
I support expanding mixed-use zoning to allow people to live closer to where they work and shop, which makes more transportation options practical and reduces the number of traffic-creating trips that people need to make in the first place.
There needs to be an increase of routes, their frequency, and their reliability to ensure every citizen has sufficient access to public transit no matter where they live in the city.
Transportation Infrastructure: Richmond Connects – the City of Richmond’s recently-adopted multimodal transportation plan – was developed through years of deep community engagement and prioritizes equitable investment in roadways, bike, pedestrian, and essential public transit infrastructure over the next several years. Meanwhile, Richmond has developed strategies to address transportation safety through the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program and Vision Zero. Will you continue to fund the implementation of the Richmond Connects plan?
yes
Tell us more: What Richmond Connects projects would you like to see implemented in your district as well as others?
The city has so many needs to address. I would definitely prioritize pedestrian safety improvements along the new Manchester developments. I would also prioritize Bus stop infrastructure and streetscape improvements throughout the district
Emerging Adults: What kind of future do you envision for young people coming out of school today and transitioning to adulthood? What are your priorities to ensure they are set up for success?
My priority would be to see that their education meets their needs. Every child is not college material and they need to be taught that there are other avenues to success beyond going to college. Their education should emphasize the other options.
Youth Centered Question: As students, so much of our lives revolve around school; because of this, the lingering fear and dread we face when doing basic everyday things in school is more than just debilitating. Everyday we fear that while doing our school work or walking down the road, a senseless act of gun violence will take our life. Virginia and Richmond specifically needs to do better, not just for the current teenagers directly affected by the gun violence, but for the small children who grow up and see the same things we do, with little to no explanation or understanding of why. We see what happens in our neighborhoods; in our state; in our country as a whole. We need change but we have to start here, at home. We need you to promise to help us make that change. Tell us your plan and overall strategy for addressing gun violence, including but not limited to, allocating funds and leveraging resources to support violence prevention, intervention, and crisis response?
Gun violence prevention has to have a three pronged approach, involving the community, the police and service providers
Community members must deliver a credible moral message against violence to the community .Law enforcement puts groups on prior notice about the consequences of further group-involved violence for the group as a whole. And support and outreach providers make a genuine offer of help for those who want it. City council must ensure that the proper funding is in place to support these efforts
Family Centered Question: Access to year-round high-quality childcare, education, afterschool and summertime activities, and family-oriented community resources are key priorities voiced by families in our community. How do you propose the Mayor’s Administration and Council should work to ensure that every child (birth – 18) has access to high-quality care, education, wraparound services, and safe spaces to thrive in?
They both must ensure that the appropriate funding is available to run these programs. They also need to fully staff these facilities with quality staffing that will bring about the desired outcomes of said programming.