The following is an extended version of the candidate interview that appears in the October issue of Richmond magazine and has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo by April Greer
Richmond magazine: Why did you decide to run for mayor?
Alexsis Rodgers: I have been working in the community as an organizer and policy leader for the last eight years. I grew up in the Richmond area and recently, I was really disappointed by the mayor's response to real calls for police reform in Richmond. [We’ve] all seen over the last few months a very vocal cry for change here in Richmond in response to George Floyd's viral murder. This was not the first time that Richmond got loud about the need for police reform and police accountability. We saw it in the aftermath of Marcus-David Peters’ murder here in the city, and for our mayor to continually push back on those demands or say that ‘it's not that simple’ or ‘I'm not responsible for enacting these changes’ was really disappointing for me. I think that we need a mayor who's going to be proactive about advancing meaningful policy change for the city to make sure that our government is really serving the interests of working people in communities of color. That's why I got into the race and I'm really excited to be a candidate.
RM: How has the pandemic impacted your ability to campaign and meet Richmonders?
Rodgers: We are still very cautious since the public health emergency is very much still ongoing. In a traditional sense, I would be knocking on every door I could and talking to voters face to face, but we want to keep everybody safe. Our really robust team of volunteers and organizers has been making phone calls to voters for the last two months or so. We're really excited that people are receptive to our positive message [of] moving Richmond forward. It's also important that we're being good listeners. During this time, a lot of people are hurting and frustrated by the lack of leadership in City Hall, so there is a real burden to demonstrate my ability to be a listener [and] to work to resolve that mistrust in City Hall and the city government.
RM: How would you lead Richmond out of COVID-19 relief and into recovery over the next four years?
Rodgers: We have to make sure that we are addressing the root cause that got us to this crisis. Certainly, Richmond already was ripe for a crisis to hit us in this way because of the amount of concentrated poverty we have in the city, and because about 40% of our population are Black folks and historically, access to health care and good jobs [with] paid leave policies and policies that help keep you safe have not been as accessible to working Black people. To me, when I think about the recovery process, I want to make sure that we're getting people retrained for the jobs that we have. A lot of people, especially [in] communities of color, who were in the service industry or other jobs which just aren't there anymore because of the nature of the pandemic [are out of work,] so making sure that we're partnering with the community college system and other organizations to make sure that we're able to get people back to work [is important] so they can continue to be contributors in our economy and keep food on the table and a roof over their head.
RM: How would you help small and minority-owned businesses recover from the pandemic?
Rodgers: We had a great forum with the [Metropolitan] Business League where we were talking about some of these issues. No. 1, we have to make sure that we're making it easier for businesses to work with City Hall. I've heard countless stories from business owners and managers who say it's difficult to navigate the permitting process, [and that it] can be difficult to figure out the right ways to pay your taxes. Just doing normal business with City Hall has already been a bit of a nightmare for a lot of business owners. We want to fix that because, certainly, as we look to recover and people start trying to either reestablish their business or start a business for the first time because they're out of their traditional work, we want to make sure that City Hall is accessible to folks. I'm also really interested to explore micro-loans and grants for business owners, not just for startup funds, but also cash that can help keep a business going. That's something I would explore when I'm mayor.
RM: Alongside the pandemic, this summer’s protests have brought disparities related to race and policing to the forefront. What would you do to reshape policing in the city?
Rodgers: I've had multiple friends who have been tear gassed by the police during peaceful demonstrations, and that is completely unacceptable. We've had medical leaders [and] doctors speak out about the devastating impact that tear gassing people can have in the middle of a pandemic, [and] I agree. I listen to doctors and I agree that we should not be using tear gas. Certainly not against peaceful protesters and not in a pandemic when we know that could encourage the spread of the virus. For me, when I'm thinking about how we bring change to policing, we have to start from a place of understanding that there is a problem that traditional law enforcement and policing have disproportionately impacted Black and brown communities. I want to make sure that we're reducing law enforcement interaction with communities of color. To me, that means making sure that we're not sending them out to do a law enforcement response when it's a mental health emergency [and that] we're not sending them out to respond to suspected weed use. The way that we are able to address that is by decriminalizing marijuana, legalizing marijuana and making policy decisions both at the local and state levels that eliminate and reduce the interactions and the overpolicing of Black and brown communities.
RM: What are your thoughts on demands raised by protesters to defund the police?
Rodgers: We do need to reduce the scale and scope of policing in Richmond and really, across Virginia. What that means is divesting from systems that have traditionally incarcerated and disproportionately negatively impacted Black and brown communities, and instead investing in systems of care that address the root causes of crime to address the root issues of poverty. We're talking about, in that instance, mental health services, education services and workforce training so that we can uplift Black and brown communities and not put them in jail.
RM: Although it was overshadowed by COVID-19, the Navy Hill redevelopment plan was one of the biggest local stories of the last year. What lessons did you learn from that process, and how would you improve the Navy Hill area in a more equitable way?
Rodgers: We need to develop downtown, but we can't do it if it's going to push Black and brown communities out of the area and price [them] out of the market. For me, any kind of economic development deal — whether it's downtown, along the Boulevard or anywhere else — has to start with the voices of community at the table first. To me, what I saw in the Navy Hill deal was a project that was really dreamed up with corporate interests and the interest of Dominion [Energy] and rolled out to the community under the guise of public input and wanting feedback, when really, it was a done deal before we even got to see the paper introduced. That's a no-go. When I'm mayor, whether it's an economic development deal, changes to bike infrastructure in a community, or any kind of neighborhood growth, I want to make sure that the communities [are at] the table first so that we're putting those interests into the proposal as we roll it out.
RM: Kids across the city are returning to remote learning this fall, but parents have raised concerns around widening learning gaps in the virtual setting. How would you address those concerns?
Rodgers: In my day job [as Virginia director for Care in Action], I'm obviously really focused on making sure that everyone has access to family care, eldercare but also childcare, making sure that people have access to paid sick leave so they can stay home from work if they are sick or need to take care of a loved one. I know that as kids return to virtual school, those policies are going to be so important to make sure that families and young children don't get left behind. Something that I really [plan to] prioritize as mayor is making sure that we're coming up with some collaborative partnerships with Parks and Recreation, our community organizations and certainly, with our local universities to try to wrap community support around our students and families who need it. We're going to see some families, neighborhoods and communities band together on their own and create pods for learning. We want to make sure that every young person has access to support so that they don't get left behind.
RM: Richmond schools face a bevy of challenges that existed well before the pandemic like racially segregated student bases and low graduation and accreditation rates. How would you work to improve the city’s schools during your next four years as mayor?
Rodgers: [First], I would build strong relationships with our school board members, and I bring some of those relationships to the table having already worked with some of these folks as a leader in the Democratic Party and having worked on some of their campaigns in 2016. As I think about how we serve our students, teachers and families best through our school system, it has to start with building and fostering a culture of advocacy within the school system. I've been so inspired by the Support Our Schools movement and Red For Ed and teachers, students and families all coming together to make it clear [that] they need for the school system to work for them. I would be a full partner as mayor, listening to our teachers and our families to make sure that they are getting what they need out of our school system. I will be a leader in the fight to fully fund the schools and not waver when we're looking at economic development deals or other projects as far as undercutting that funding for the school system. For me, it's got to start with listening and making sure that we're taking an equity lens through everything that we do, whether that's how we fund the school system [or] where we recruit our teachers. I want to make sure that we're being equitable in all our schools and education policies.
RM: How would you work to curb evictions and expand safe and affordable rental housing in the city?
Rodgers: Housing has been a huge problem in the city. Not only are we rated the second-highest when it comes to evictions, but we've been an unaffordable city [for] housing for working-class people. You have to open up more inventory for affordable housing, and the way that you can do that as mayor is work with city council to rezone parts of our city that are currently banning apartments, essentially. There are areas of our city that are primed for greater density, prime for apartments, that are currently zoned for single-family units, actually about two-thirds of our city. I want to make sure that we're opening up more of the city for apartments. That allows for a more modern city with more affordable housing for folks.
I also want to make sure that we're continuing to invest in the Maggie Walker Land Trust Fund, which would create more permanently affordable housing for people in Richmond. The last thing I'll just mention is that we see all too often in the city, especially legacy Black families getting pushed out of their homes because of a death in the family or a crisis that hits, and they just can't keep up with maintenance or the property taxes getting too high for them to maintain. I would enact policies that would help keep Black families in their homes and keep that equity in the family.
RM: After years of debate, most of the Confederate statues are gone from Monument Avenue. What do you think the city should do to replace them and tell the story more fully?
Rodgers: Richmond is a super creative city, it's one of the things I love most about Richmond being [my] home. I would really like to continue having artists lead the reimagining of Monument Avenue, and frankly, we still have a lot more Confederate streets and symbols across the city [and] school buildings that we need to rename. I want to make sure that we're bringing together artists, historians [and] community activists and coming up with the best path forward. I don't think that we have to be so stuck on naming things after human beings. For example, I love what Kehinde Wiley did with "Rumors of War," where it's not a monument to a particular person but the idea of Black empowerment, and I think that is something that we can replicate across the city.
RM: What makes you the right person for the job?
Rodgers: My background's in community organizing and policy, and I have always been fighting for working people, particularly communities of color in my work, whether that was fighting to make college more affordable, or working to expand access to birth control and reproductive healthcare at Planned Parenthood. Currently in my role, I'm fighting to protect workers' rights for nannies and cleaners and homecare workers. In all of these roles, the policy outcome is always trying to figure out ways that we can secure greater opportunities for communities of color, particularly women of color. When I think about what kind of leader Richmond needs in this moment, it's someone who is going to be absolutely showing up every day to work hard for people, not because they're interested in serving corporations, not because they're interested in making a name for themselves, but showing up to work every day trying to solve problems for our people. I just love Richmond so much. I've been working here in the city bringing people together to serve this community better for years, and I would be honored to have the job of mayor.
