Jon Baliles at the Richmond Mayorathon (Photo by Jay Paul)
Outgoing 2nd District councilman Charles Samuels on Tuesday endorsed West End councilman Jon Baliles’ bid for Richmond mayor.
Samuels, who has represented part of the Fan, Carver and Jackson Ward on City Council for eight years and spent two years as council president, announced his support for Baliles in a YouTube video. The pair served on council for four years together. In May 2014, they came out against Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ Shockoe Bottom baseball proposal, resulting in its withdrawal for lack of council support.
“I’ve seen what’s inside City Hall. We need someone there that’s going to be able to hit the ground running from day one to make the improvements we as a city say we need,” Samuels said in the video.
He added later, "A lot of politicians in an election will make promises and tell you of their vision for the future of our city. But only Jon has backed up that vision with an actual plan, a plan so good that others have adopted it as their own."
A recent poll showed Baliles running fourth in the field of seven candidates, with 6 percent of the vote citywide.
Watch the full video below.
