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Who's Running for Council?

Every Richmond City Council seat is up for grabs this November and so far at least two districts have multiple challengers.

One of the differences with this year's race, however, is that representatives will be elected to serve four-year terms instead of the current two-year terms. The move was part of the city's change in government when it switched to an elected mayor form of government nearly four years ago.

Of the nine council districts, every representative is running for re-election except council president Bill Pantele (2nd) who announced last Wednesday that he was seeking the mayor job. Since he cannot run for two offices simultaneously, the seven-year council veteran is giving up his council seat.

Tyron K. Bey , 28, filed his intent to run for Pantele's seat, which represents the lower Fan and parts of Boulevard and Broad Street, earlier this week. The Carver resident is a mortgage counselor with SunTrust Mortgage and grew up in Richmond, graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School.

"The bottom line is to be a voice for folks who have been voiceless for a while," Bey said.

"That's not to suggest that Bill didn't speak up at times, but the city has really adopted this strong VCU- and developer-proponents. I live in the Carver section of the community and we've been inundated by developers, going against the original wishes of the people."

The Carver community designed a plan for mixed income-affordable housing 25 years ago, he said, and as time as progressed, the area has become a victim of its own success. Improvements in crime reduction and curb appeal have resulted in more residents and developers in the area who don't always respect the neighborhood's desires, he said.

But he has other concerns as well.

"We need to move toward finding creative ways to fund schools, and educate our youth," he said. "I want to be able to fit in on City Council and get beyond the rhetoric and hating on each other for no reasons. The same old, same old, and not coming up with viable solutions."

Bey considers his district the most important in the city because it has both some of the richest and poorest communities.

"What I want to do is take time and let's combine those two entities, the rich folk on Monument Avenue and the poor folk in Gilpin Court. Let's come together and show the city how it should be done, show the world how we can live together in harmony."

In the third district, which covers the North side of town, incumbent Chris Hilbert faces challenges from residents Jonathan Davis and Rickey L. Johnson . Neither of whom could be reached for comment this week.

In the ninth district, which covers the south central part of the city, incumbent Doug Conner also faces two challengers, one of whom is a former councilman. Adrian R. Preston and Eugene A. Mason Jr. have both filed a notice of intent to seek the council seat. Preston could not be reached for comment.

Mason, 66, represented the ninth district on the School Board for a decade before being elected to council. He lost his seat to Conner two years ago.

"Again, as always, (I'm running) to make a profound difference in my community and the community at large," Mason said. "With the City of the Future, I honestly believe that the future is now in reference to building schools.

"Education is the top priority and construction of new schools; after school programs; addressing the high school dropout rate; whatever we can do to make sure a child succeeds once they get to school because it has a definite impact not only on their future, but the future of the city and jobs and it all comes back around to education."

The retired sales consultant for a home improvement company said that when he was on the School Board, they built three new elementary schools and one new middle school. This shows that when everyone works together, he said, they can get things done.

"We need form of government where council and the mayor are able to come together and work collaboratively to make that happen," he said. "Collaboration would definitely bring about a better city, working with businesses and the community, all of that needs to come together and be focused to be a better city. That's the bottom line. How can I make difference for my constituents, make a difference for everyone? I believe I can do that."

In other council districts, incumbents Bruce Tyler (1st), Kathy Graziano (4th), Marty Jewell (5th), Ellen Robertson (6th), vice president Delores McQuinn (7th) and Reva Trammell (8th) have all filed paperwork seeking re-election.