Vote Local

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: This could be the most important election of our lifetime. Cliche or not, it’s a fact that voters in the city of Richmond have a lot of consequential decisions before them. While ballots in the counties will focus mainly on the national races, River City residents have a chance to choose all new local leadership from among five mayoral candidates, 18 City Council hopefuls and 16 School Board contenders. Below, we look at who could succeed Mayor Levar Stoney, the most important issues facing the city and even the 2025 races. If you want to hear from the mayoral candidates directly, among the last of this year's debates and forums is the Oct. 23 Mayorathon, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. And remember: Your vote is your voice; vote on or before Nov. 5.

Andreas Addison

The Councilor

Councilmember Andreas Addison has some ideas for the city of Richmond. 

Eight years representing the 1st District on City Council and 16 years in City Hall have made him something of a policy wonk. He says he’s running for mayor to improve quality of life for Richmond citizens through the use of creative but proven methods. 

“Housing is my top issue,” Addison, 42, says. “Rent prices are directly correlated to markets, but what I will do as mayor is look to the Washington Housing Conservancy model in Washington, D.C.” 

Addison has twice invited Kimberly Driggins, CEO of the nonprofit organization Washington Housing Conservancy, which buys existing affordable homes and keeps rent prices down, rather than modernizing the homes and renting them out at market rates, to speak at City Hall. 

The program also affects the larger market, as the lower rents are part of the calculation that property managers use when setting their own prices. “It’s a way to lower rent prices, but not artificially,” Addison says. 

To fill empty storefronts and offices in the city, he suggests increasing how much a small business must gross before it is taxed.  

“Two years ago, on City Council, I raised that threshold to $250,000,” says Addison, who also owns and operates the Pure Fitness gym in Scott’s Addition. Previously, it was $100,000; he wants to see the threshold raised further. 

“In Henrico and Chesterfield, that threshold is $1 million,” he says. “We’re not competitive in the region. Until we’re competitive in the region, we’re going to see the vacancy rates we have now.” 

Addison also wants to create a local Department of Transportation, which, among other tasks, would build high-frequency Pulse bus routes in more locations. 

He credits Mayor Levar Stoney for focusing on education during his tenure, and he plans to continue that work. But the public information scandals that have plagued City Hall in the past year, says Addison, would not happen under his administration. He says he would publish city finances and expenses publicly, including building contracts and employee credit card expenses. 

“That information doesn’t need to be private in the first place,” Addison says. If citizens have the right to request the information, he asks, why is it not already online? “That could be done in the first month. It’s transparent. It’s trust-building.” —D. Hunter Reardon

Dr. Danny Avula

The City CEO

Dr. Danny Avula and his wife, Mary Kay, live in Church Hill, where their five children are products of Richmond Public Schools. 

“I want to invest in a city that I love, that I’ve lived in for over 20 years, and bring my experience and executive leadership to City Hall,” Avula, 46, says.  

In 2009, Avula became deputy public health director for the city of Richmond. In 2016, he was promoted to director and later merged Richmond’s health department with the Henrico County division. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, Avula became the face of the local pandemic response, and then Gov. Ralph Northam tapped him to lead the vaccination effort statewide. 

“We ended up becoming the 10th most vaccinated state in the country, from being 49th out of 50,” he says. “I had a remarkable experience of government coming together, partnering with the private sector, and really listening to communities and understanding their hesitations and challenges.” 

Avula continued his public service under current Gov. Glenn Youngkin as commissioner of social services.

“I learned to lead at a significant scale, at a $2.6 billion state agency serving over two million low-income Virginians,” he says.  

A pediatric hospitalist at Chippenham Hospital, Avula says his track record in local and state government makes him especially qualified to be mayor. “I’ve spent 15 years building teams, improving services and understanding how to actually operate in the constraints of government to better serve the public.” 

On the campaign trail, Avula says the biggest concerns he hears from residents are about affordable housing, better schools and public safety. But to address these issues, he says, City Hall must first be more open, more responsive and better functioning. 

“There are examples of lack of accountability around credit card usage, poor administration of the [7.5% restaurant] meals tax, residents getting utility bills that don’t make any sense, or people calling City Hall and never getting anyone to pick up the phone,” he says.  

According to Avula, the upcoming mayoral election is the opportunity for citizens to hire what is essentially the CEO of a $2.8 billion agency. “It’s so important that we elect somebody who has the executive leadership needed to help City Hall move forward — and I want to be part of that,” he says. —Laura Anders Lee

Michelle Mosby

The Familiar Face

For Michelle Mosby, this mayoral race is personal.  

“I’m a Richmond native. I’ve lived here my whole life — this is my community and people,” Mosby, 55, says. “Whether in public office or not, I’m connected to and deeply care about the city of Richmond’s success and the ability to serve everyone.”  

Mosby has a visible public record in her hometown. She served on the Richmond City Council for four years and was elected City Council president in 2015, becoming the first Black woman to serve in that role.  

Mosby prides herself on having made a positive impact during her City Council tenure, which she says includes building new schools and working to launch Bus Rapid Transit (now Pulse). She ran for mayor in 2016. When asked what drove her to run this time, Mosby pointed to the real estate market. “We need someone that can really lead the charge to build partnerships that will really help us in this housing crisis that we’re in,” she says. 

The owner of International Hair Salon and founder of the Help Me Help You Foundation, Mosby also wants to transform Richmond into an inclusive and flourishing place. Her plan is to create pathways that would finance good-paying jobs, support small businesses and invest in affordable housing. “[I would] seek strategic partnerships and investments to help economic growth, both as a city and Richmond region, to bring additional revenue to support needs and dreams,” she says.  

Other priorities include working to ensure efficient customer service at City Hall and increasing opportunities for all residents, whether through education, housing, employment or health. 

Mosby is aware of Richmonders’ worries about the trustworthiness of public offices, especially thanks to the credit card usage concerns plaguing the current Stoney administration. “Transparency is the cornerstone of public trust,” she says. “You can’t get anything done if people don’t trust you.”

A Mosby administration, she says, would implement strict financial oversight, ensure expenditures are publicly documented, and create an online system that allows easy and regular engagement through public forums and reports. “We want a city that sees and treats residents and businesses as if they matter,” she says, “[a] city government that’s trustworthy, accountable, and providing services and access.” —Rachel Kester

Maurice Neblett

The Advocate

Maurice Neblett is a product of the most challenged neighborhoods in Richmond. After losing his mother at a young age, he was placed in the foster care system. Neblett, 35, attended numerous Richmond public schools and graduated from Virginia Union University. In his 20s, he was wrongly convicted of a crime and subsequently evicted from his apartment — an experience that sparked his determination to push for systemic change.  

His experiences growing up made him intimately familiar with some of the biggest challenges faced by the city. Now, the community organizer, entrepreneur and owner of Neblett LLC says he’s ready to make Richmond a better place.  

“I’m running for mayor of Richmond to address the challenges I’ve faced and seen others endure in my hometown,” Neblett says. “My experiences growing up here, including the loss of my mother and becoming a ward of the state, drive my commitment to tackling economic inequality, improving education and ensuring affordable housing.”  

The biggest challenge faced by the city right now, he says, is inequality — specifically, economic inequality. 

“Tackling the disparities in housing, education and job opportunities, especially for our marginalized communities, is crucial,” he says. “I’m committed to addressing these deep-rooted challenges to ensure that every resident has a fair chance to succeed.”  

In 2015, Neblett — a criminal justice major at VUU — sued the Richmond Police Department for $2.3 million, claiming an illegal search of his apartment the previous year, battery and common law conspiracy. When Neblett was charged with felony assault of two officers, he was evicted from his apartment complex and became homeless for several months. The charges were dismissed soon after the incident; the lawsuit was dismissed in 2016 due to a missed filing deadline. 

“That challenging time opened my eyes to what people in our community endure under similar circumstances, especially those who may not be able to advocate for themselves or [who] lack the necessary resources,” Neblett said in a separate email. “It became clear that we need major reforms to fix the system.” 

“My goal is to strengthen the connection between our police and the community,” he says. “By leveraging my background and the lessons I’ve learned, I’m committed to leading our city into a future where everyone feels safe and supported.” —Sarah Huffman

Harrison Roday

The Accountant

A native of Henrico County, Harrison Roday graduated from William & Mary. Roday, 33, has worked for Morgan Stanley and American Industrial Partners and founded software company Third South Capital. He also established Bridging Virginia, a local nonprofit that helps minority-owned small businesses obtain capital. He’s currently campaigning full-time.

“I am really excited to be campaigning on change for Richmond that gets things done,” Roday says. “I have an action-oriented track record of solving problems in the private sector and in the nonprofit space in our community. I will bring a listening-first mentality and be a champion for residents across our entire community.” 

Roday has served as a White House intern and advance director for Sen. Tim Kaine, but he notes that his finance background is deeply critical to what he brings to the office.   

“One of the mayor’s key responsibilities is creating and authoring the budget for our city,” he says. “If any taxpayer money is being inappropriately used, there needs to be consequences, period.” 

Roday mentions a recent report that revealed the city of Richmond took 118 days on average to get back to residents regarding issues with their personal property taxes. The city’s goal was 60 days.  

“We need a City Hall that supports residents and small businesses, not one that makes it harder for someone to pay their taxes or open a second location,” he says. 

One of Roday’s first steps toward change and accountability would be to audit all city departments. “We really can do better,” he says. “We need genuine goal setting with a performance plan for how we will achieve those goals in partnership with the people who work in the building.” 

Roday says high-priority issues facing the city are affordable housing, community safety, neighborhood investment, public schools and access to reproductive health care. 

“We have a phenomenal opportunity to truly make Richmond a city that works for everyone,” he says. “It’s an exciting time, with more folks moving here and investing in the city. We need to use this opportunity to invest in correcting the systemic inequalities that have existed here for decades. I want to work together with the City Council, the School Board, the 4,000 city employees and stakeholders outside the city’s government to accomplish that.” —Laura Anders Lee

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Mayoral Duties

Richmond’s charter lays out several obligations for the chief executive officer of the city to ensure the proper administration of city government. They include:  

• Appointing a chief administrative officer who is subject to council confirmation. The mayor can participate in the hiring and removal of heads of administrative departments, but “ultimate responsibility” rests with the chief administrative officer.
• Attending all City Council meetings. The mayor or a designee attending in their place may speak but cannot vote.
• Updating the council on the city’s finances and future needs. They can also make recommendations regarding how the council should take action.
• Overseeing the preparation and submission of the annual budget to the council.
• Issuing regulations that are needed to implement the mayor’s duties and powers. The mayor can veto a city ordinance, but the council can override his/her decision.  

Constitutional Amendment

Virginians will consider expanding a tax exemption for a principal residence currently only available to the surviving spouse of any soldier killed in action. If the constitutional amendment passes, spouses of those who died in the line of duty will also be able to claim it. The question will be phrased this way:  

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended so that the tax exemption that is currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action is also available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty? 

Voting Dates & Deadlines

There’s more to participating in the democratic process than showing up to vote. Make sure you’re registered and double check your polling place, which may have been changed in the 2022 redistricting, at vote.elections.virginia.gov. If you have moved recently, be sure to update your address and that you have a current photo ID. 

Important dates to keep in mind:

• Sept. 20-Nov. 2: In-person early voting at your local registrar’s office
• Oct. 25: Deadline to apply for a mailed ballot
• Oct. 26-Nov. 2: In-person early voting at voter registration offices
• Nov. 5: Election Day

Petersburg Casino

In addition to its City Council and School Board elections, Petersburg will decide whether to allow codevelopers Bruce Smith Enterprise LLC (run by the NFL Hall of Famer) and The Cordish Companies to build the $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia in a southern part of the city. Voters will be faced with the following question:  

Shall casino gaming be permitted at a casino gaming establishment in Petersburg, Virginia, located on an approximately 92.5-acre development site located off lnterstate-95 at Wagner Road along Brassfield Parkway in the City of Petersburg as may be approved by the Virginia Lottery Board?  

National Races

In addition to the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, there are congressional seats to consider. The following races will be on local ballots:

U.S. Senate: Hung Cao (R), Tim Kaine* (D)

U.S. House of Representatives: 

• 1st District: Leslie C. Mehta (D), Robert J. Wittman* (R)
• 4th District: Jennifer L. McClellan* (D), William J. “Bill” Moher III (R)
• 5th District: John J. McGuire III (R), Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)
• 7th District: Derrick M. Anderson (R), Eugene S. Vindman (D)

* Incumbent

2025 Elections

Next year brings another set of consequential elections in Virginia, including all 100 seats of the House of Delegates. While the fields are far from set, several candidates have officially thrown their hats in the ring:  

• Governor: U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th; Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R)
• Lt. Governor: State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield; Barbur Lateef, Prince William County School Board chairman; state Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach; Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney
• Attorney General: Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor (D); former Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk