In the Running
Who says there's no civic participation in Richmond?
As of late last week, more than 30 people had expressed interest and worked toward filling the proper paperwork to represent the people of Richmond on the School Board, City Council and in the mayor's office.
Though it's not the highest number of people who've ever run for local office, it does indicate a great interest in bettering the city
Candidates have until 7 p.m. today to file their paperwork, which includes numerous signatures that must later be verified by the city registrar's office. Mayoral candidates have to return the most signatures: 500, with at least 50 from each of the city's nine districts.
Richmond General Registrar J. Kirk Showalter said in an email that it adds quite a bit of work to check all the paperwork associated with this many people filing.
"However, it is all in a days work for us," she stated.
In the mayor's race, nine people have indicated they want to be mayor and are each seeking 500 signatures. Just last week, former City Councilwoman L. Shirley Harvey announced she was running, and Robert J. Grey Jr ., a partner at Hunton and Williams law firm, said Friday he wanted the job.
Current Mayor L. Douglas Wilder said last month he would not run for re-election.
Other candidates for mayor include state Delegate Dwight Jones , current council president Bill Pantele (2nd), attorney Paul Goldman , architect Lawrence Williams , resident Donnie "Dirtwoman" Corker and general contracting company owner Rodney D.C. Barnes .
On the City Council side , every incumbent but has filed to run again except for P antele , who must give up his 2nd District seat to run for mayor.
Newcomers Tyron Bey , a mortgage counselor at SunTrust Mortgage, and Charles R. Samuels , an attorney and former president of the Fan District Association, are seeking Pantele's seat.
Incumbents Reva Trammell (8th), Ellen Robertson (6th)m Doug Conner (9th) and Chris Hilbert (3rd) also have competition this year. Eric W. Hunter Sr. is seeking Trammell's seat; Jonathan Davis is after Hilbert's seat and Rickey L. Johnson is seeking Robertson's seat.
Conner is facing challenges from former councilman Eugene A. Mason Jr ., whom he unseated two years ago, and Adrian R. Preston .
Marty Jewell (5th) is also facing two challengers -- Mark E. Brandon , a Richmond Realtor and property owner, and Lee Shewmake , Woodland Heights Civic Association president.
On the School Board, two incumbents aren't running for re-election, which has drawn more interest from residents. Current School Board Chairman George Braxton (4th) and member Keith West (7th) are stepping down.
So far, three people have filed to seek Braxton's seat, including Bert Berlin , Jonathan C. Mallard and John T. Lloyd . In the 7th District, Harry H. Bradley , Torey J. Edmonds , Carletta Wilson and Ronald L. Bond have filed, seeking West's seat.
Newcomer Kimberly B. Gray has filed to run against incumbent Alice "Lisa" Dawson (2nd) and in the 3rd District, incumbent School Board member Carol A.O. Wolf has competition from Norma H. Murdock-Kitt .
In the 8th District, incumbent School Board member Joan Mimms has yet to file, but three other people already have, including Dawn C. Page , Charles Willis and Carolyn Lolita Edwards .
A big change this year for all offices, which will occur as a result of the city's change in government, is that representatives will serve four-year terms rather than two-year terms.
Showalter doesn't know how long it will take to verify the paperwork because she's unsure how many people will file their information today.
"We hope, of course, to have a final count by Friday," she said.
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