Dear Mayor Stoney,
You are almost six months in, and your spring training is over.
As a guy who likes to win, you don’t want me on the mayor’s softball team (I played right field. Need I say more?), or on a YMCA basketball team, since I have a knack for scoring for the opposing team. But I am a devoted spectator, and I will let you know, loudly from the bleachers, how I think you’re doing.
Since you played three sports in high school and like to keep track of the city’s weekly wins (see Mark Robinson’s story, page 90), I’ll offer this offensive strategy:
Keep ambition in check. You’ve said you want to run for higher office, but don’t let that desire get in the way of taking stances and doing something unpopular that may pay off in the long run.
Give residents real talk. I know you’re a glass-half-full person and try to walk on the sunny side of Broad Street, but drop some of the scripted platitudes in your speeches, and speak from your heart.
“Do you want to be loved or do you want to make change?”
Keep Chesterfield and Henrico close. The fact that you are meeting with county managers Joe Casey and John Vithoulkas every month says volumes about your collaborative nature. Keep at it and share outcomes.
Invest yourself in one revitalization. You’re well aware of the poverty cycle and our city’s history with public housing. There is a well-developed plan for Creighton Court. Gather far-sighted development experts and get it done, without waiting for federal money. We need leadership here.
Keep an eye on Shockoe Bottom. First, someone new needs to lead the slave market memorialization process. Will it be you and a new nonprofit? Second, the city’s new glass train shed could go the way of the overly subsidized Sixth Street Marketplace. Let’s be careful.
Be intentional. Remind us often of your goals, and we’ll hold you to them.
Finally, I watched you “play” during ChamberRVA’s InterCity visit to Pittsburgh in April. You kept your head down, asking questions, blending in with the crowd and listening. And I trust you heard the advice offered by former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy:
“The mayor is the best job in America, but more people than not are afraid to use their power. … Ask yourself: Do you want to be loved or do you want to make change?”
Use your power. Make change. Create a place of hope.
