Mayor Levar Stoney (File photo)
Mayor Levar Stoney began his second State of the City address on a somber note, asking for a moment of silence to honor two Richmond stalwarts: Walter Kenney, a City Council member for nearly two decades and two-term mayor who died earlier in the week, and community organizer Lillie Estes, who died Thursday morning.
“Both Lillie and Mayor Kenney represent the best of Richmond,” Stoney said Thursday evening at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture to an audience of more than 100 people in the auditorium, as well as those watching live on Facebook. “They were 150 percent dedicated and devoted to moving Richmond forward.”
Stoney then thanked museum President and CEO Jamie Bosket for hosting the event, noting that “the museum is working hard to change the way we talk about our past and tell a more complete story of who we are and where we come from.” The statement set the tone for the night’s address, which included the announcement of an initiative to reduce housing evictions by hundreds of cases per year. Here are five takeaways from the mayor’s address:
1. ‘We are definitely on the map’
After two years in office, “I’m gonna tell you: ‘I’m still excited,’” Stoney said, reiterating the administration’s focus on addressing core constituent services, demonstrated by repairs spanning 175 miles of road, 2,900 alleys, 3,200 sidewalks, “and yes, 50,000 potholes.”
He also highlighted the launch last year of the city’s Office of Constituent Services and the RVA311 app, which allows residents to make calls for service from their smartphones. In the first six months after opening, Stoney said the office received more than 98,000 calls for service.
“The city that operated the first electric streetcar entered the 21st century,” the mayor said, a nod to the launch of the GRTC Pulse in June, which, he said, “shattered ridership records” and has created more opportunities for residents “to connect to jobs, grocery stores, family and all that is great about our city.”
More people are working in the city, Stoney said, pointing to the 2.9 percent unemployment rate, in addition to increases in median household income — “with gains topping 5 percent, among the highest in the nation.” He noted that In addition to ongoing projects, “the city has had more than $1.5 billion in investment over the last two years.”
The mayor also pointed to the reopening of the renovated Monroe Park and 17th Street Farmers Market.
This year, Richmond also will become the first city government in the South to have a lactation policy for female employees who are nursing babies, Stoney said, noting the proclamation last August of Black Breastfeeding Week RVA to encourage a friendly environment for nursing mothers.
Other changes came in different forms.
“Before I took office, Richmond’s score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index — which measures a locality’s responsiveness to LGBTQ issues — was 46 out of 100,” Stoney told the audience. “Last year, working with council members Parker Agelasto and Ellen Robertson, we passed and launched our city’s first Human Rights Commission ... and we raised our score to 94, achieving the greatest score increase of any city in the country and allowing us to claim the highest municipal index score in the commonwealth of Virginia.”
The announcement was met with enthusiastic applause, and Stoney continued, stating that Richmond is an “emerging sports destination,” and this May will host “our first Diversity Sports Jubilee,” which will bring LGBTQ athletes from across the country to the River City — which, he also noted, was rated a “Top Ten U.S. Travel Destination,” “One of the 10 Coolest U.S. Cities to Visit,” and one of “18 Must See Cities” in 2018.
“This is what makes us more competitive and opens the door to new opportunities,” he said. “We are definitely on the map.”
2. The Year of Reconciliation and Civility
Seated before the mayor were the nine members of City Council, whom he lauded for their work on some of Richmond's difficult issues, such as the future of Confederate statues on Monument Avenue and whether to rename the Boulevard in honor of tennis champion and civil rights activist Arthur Ashe, a proposal before the council for the third time in as many decades.
“Ladies and gentlemen, unpacking the baggage of our complex history — and owning it — will take time,” Stoney said. “But, there are some matters of historical significance I believe need to move forward now — such as the renaming of the Boulevard after a native son and humanitarian, Arthur Ashe, [who] is one of Richmond's true champions, and he deserves to be honored.”
Stoney then, in his first shout-out of the evening, said he appreciates the work of 2nd District Councilwoman Kim Gray, who introduced the ordinance last year, “and I urge the council to pass this ordinance at its next meeting on Feb. 11.”
As for the long-elusive Navy Hill ordinances?
“We need to approach the redevelopment of our downtown with careful deliberation no matter how long it takes — acting only when the “i's” are dotted and the “t's” are crossed,” Stoney said without pause, adding, “We will only move forward when we are assured a development is in the best interests of the city,” a statement reiterated by his chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, to Council previously.
“That is why, if council reaches a similar conclusion following its own deliberations,” perhaps a nod to Gray’s recently passed ordinance calling for a commission to vet the proposals, “the proposed Navy Hill development could represent a transformative opportunity.”
In other neighborhood news, Stoney debuted “the establishment of the Shockoe Alliance, a collaborative effort charged with guiding the design and implementation of concepts and recommendations for the future of the Shockoe area,” which will include input from the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, an organization that advocates for a Shockoe Bottom memorial park encompassing the African Burial Ground and the site of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail and recognizing the long-lasting effects of slavery — with more to come later in the spring.
“It is fitting we begin this significant work in 2019 — which has been proclaimed the Year of Reconciliation and Civility — and during the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia,” Stoney said.
3. The personal is political
Here, Stoney invoked his grandmother, Mary Stoney, who raised him.
“She grew up in the Jim Crow South and spent the majority of her working life as a maid,” Stoney said. “She's gone now, but I truly believe she would want me to see this work through, not just for her, but for all the Marys out there — and their children, and their children's children, who need to see and hear and learn the truth about our history.”
The personal informs the political in other ways, too. Later in the evening, Stoney again invoked his kin, some of whom were seated in the front row watching the address.
“My father, Marvin Stoney, was a returning citizen who worked incredibly hard as a high school janitor until 2011 when he passed,” Stoney said. “He worked hard every day to put food on the table and a roof over our heads, and I'm forever grateful.” He continued, “Dad constantly reminded me we were one paycheck away from being on the streets — a reality I know is also true for too many of our families in Richmond,” to audible acknowledgement from some members of the audience.
Stoney, who as secretary of the commonwealth under Gov. Terry McAuliffe is credited with reinstating voting rights to more than 200,000 ex-offenders, pivoted his attention to workforce development initiatives — pointing to the successful first-year pilot of a partnership program with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities that provides former offenders reentering society a pathway to employment.
“Creating opportunity for our residents is a critical strategy in how we address the systemic issues that have challenged our city for generations,” Stoney said. “I have always believed access to a stable, well-paying job is the greatest pathway out of poverty, and away from crime.”
The mayor noted that last year, the city experienced an 8 percent reduction in violent crime, including a 20 percent reduction in the homicide rate —crediting efforts by former police Chief Alfred Durham during his three-year tenure in Richmond. On Thursday, Stoney’s office announced the administration is seeking community input on the selection of the department’s next police chief. Stoney also reiterated the police department’s commitment to ensure 100 percent of officers are certified in crisis-intervention training within the next two years.
“Someone who understands that the job is not just about locking people up; it's about lifting people up,” Stoney said, a nod to Durham’s partnership with former felons to start a summer basketball league and work in creating opportunities for kids to have after-school activities, no matter where they live.
4. School facilities continue to be a focus
Stoney recognized the Richmond Public Schools students involved in the evening’s event, paying thanks to the Huguenot High School Jazz Ensemble for playing the prelude and Binford Middle School eighth-grader Jalia Hardy, who was the winner of the Virginia Municipal League’s ‘If I were Mayor’ essay contest, for the introduction.
The address follows Monday’s Red for Ed march and rally at the State Capitol, with thousands of education supporters demanding more state funding for schools.
“My dad, along with my grandmother, ensured that I had access to an education and a supportive community, that would give me a ladder to success,“ Stoney said. “That is why a year ago, I stood before you and asked for your support to make a $150 million investment in our kids, and the schools they attend.”
Stoney referred to his proposal that led to an increase in the city’s meals tax from 6 percent to 7.5 percent, with the additional funds being used to renovate and replace deteriorating school facilities. He noted by name the seven members of City Council who voted in favor of the measure.
“That commitment and collaboration allowed us to break ground in December on three new schools that will open to students in the fall of 2020.”
Stoney credited Cuffee-Glenn and schools Superintendent Jason Kamras and their teams for helping make the “aggressive timeline” on new school construction a reality.
“Last December, I also presented an $800 million plan to fully fund the school facilities needs that have been identified by RPS over the next 20 years,” Stoney said. “I want to thank all nine members of City Council who signed on as co-patrons of this plan and unanimously approved it this past Monday.”
5. There’s more work to do
“But we cannot rest on our laurels,” Stoney continued, stating that creating opportunities for all the city’s residents of all walks of life is still an urgent priority, and, “access to a stable well-paying job is the straightest pathway out of poverty.”
On the heels of the Creighton Court heating crisis last winter, a study by Princeton University’s EvictionLab was the basis of a New York Times article that ranked Richmond and four other Virginia cities in the top 10 in the country for highest eviction rates.
This, the mayor said, is unacceptable, and on Thursday, he announced a partnership between the city, Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Housing Opportunities Made Equal and the court system to launch an eviction diversion program.
“Few things are more stressful on a family than not having a stable place to call home,” Stoney said, adding that under the pilot program, “tenants will get the benefit of a clean slate, financial literacy education, access to supportive services and landlords would also get the rent owed and avoid the expense of the eviction and finding a new tenant.”
The program will be the first of its kind in Virginia, and hinges on a four-pronged approach:
- Financial assistance to support eligible tenants;
- In-court mediation between landlord and tenant;
- A payment plan to ensure landlords receive the tenants' rent due in a timely fashion;
- Use of pro-bono attorneys, “some of whom will have offices right in the John Marshall Courthouse, to support tenants facing eviction,” Stoney said. “Through this program, our goal is to cut Richmond's eviction numbers down by hundreds of cases each year.”
An ambitious counterpart to the mayor’s affordable housing agenda — having pledged to create 1,500 affordable units over five years — noting new developments in Jackson Ward, Church Hill and the South Side, where the first phase of Port City apartments recently began leasing units, of which 300 will be income-based.
“However, despite our best efforts to create more housing that is affordable, there are still an unacceptable number of our residents living on the margins,” Stoney said. “This is not just my job as your mayor. This is personal to me. [Residents should not be] merely surviving — but thriving in all aspects of life — I want Richmond to be more than a Top 10 place to visit. I want it to be a Top 10 place to live.“
