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The Mayoral Debate

On Tuesday evening, five candidates came to the Renaissance Conference Center in the trendy Downtown neighborhood many Richmonders know as home to festive art walks on First Fridays.

The five hopefuls stood behind podiums in a second floor ballroom that comfortably swallowed up the 300 to 350 people who came to see what the men running for mayor looked like under fire, and to hear what they had to say. 



The topic for the night's talk-fest was billed as The Future of Downtown .



After opening statements, the candidates were questioned by a trio of rather mild mannered inquisitors, seated stage left: Ed Slipek ( Style Weekly ); Jimmy Barrett ( 1140 WRVA ); Aaron Gilchrist ( NBC12 ).



In his opening statement, Paul Goldman tossed off a couple of red meat campaign promises to the audience, "There will be no baseball stadium downtown. There will be no Echo Harbor project, either."



Next to speak was Robert J. Grey, Jr ., who told the listeners he thinks, "People want professionalism, they want a leader who can deliver results."



Del. Dwight C. Jones said flatly, "I support the Master Plan ... the river belongs to the people."



William J. "Bill" Pantele said, "The future of Downtown Richmond is 24/7 -- we'll make Downtown an entertainment center." He didn't say how that will be done.



Lawrence E. Williams, Sr ., said a number of times, "Richmond has to be livable."



Asked about vacant buildings, Goldman talked about teachers. Later he got a laugh when he sounded a little bit like Joe Pesci, while saying, "Looking back on it, we shouldn't have let the mayor teach at VCU. It's a conflict."



Baseball on The Boulevard, or elsewhere, came up several times. Of the speakers, Robert Grey seemed to have the best understanding of the baseball aspects of lining up a new team.

But, as far as building a new stadium is concerned, Grey also appeared to be the candidate most open to considering a site other than somewhere near The Diamond's location.



That, while Williams was obviously the least interested in talking about baseball at all.



Regional cooperation was discussed, which gave Jones a chance to remind the audience that he represents parts of Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield in the House of Delegates. Of his ability to work with various interests and people with different backgrounds, Jones quipped, "I can dance at both parties."



The event was sponsored by STYLE Weekly, the League of Women Voters and three other groups. Jason Roop, STYLE's editor was the moderator.

Below the stage there was a table for three invited bloggers, who covered the mayoral debate live. They were: Ross Catrow of RVANews ; John Sarvay of Buttermilk & Molasses ; Jeff Kelley of Tobacco Avenue .



Pantele claimed the counties won't participate in regional funding of a new ballpark, unless it's on The Boulevard. He said the key to creating a regional mass transit system is to go to the General Assembly for help, because the surrounding counties don't want to pay their fair share for it.



Asked about trash collection, Williams obliquely called for every councilperson to have a "dump truck and cherry picker" for their district.  



Jones, with a smooth baritone voice, seemed the most comfortable on his feet speaking into a microphone. Then again, he was also the blandest of the men standing for questions.



Pantele smiled more than his rivals. With several of his answers he found ways to tout some political accomplishment of his. Thus, in the outright bragging race, Pantele beat Goldman by at least half a length. Of the five, the upbeat Pantele came off as the man who has been, and would be, the friendliest to developers.



Williams wandered off topic frequently and mentioned building three new schools pretty much no matter what the question was. But, when it came to talking about how buildings get built, Williams sounded like he knew more about it than the others.



Like Jones, Goldman said he supports the Downtown Master Plan. There were no big gaffes or big laughs. The audience was well behaved. The candidates were not allowed to question one another.



Those assembled, who follow politics closely, were probably entertained by the night's program. But nothing happened to change many minds. Undecideds probably left the room the same way they came in.



If the reader would like to hear what was actually said, it will be carried by WRIR-FM 97.3 on Fri., Sept. 27, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.



At this writing, four more mayoral candidate debates are scheduled: Sept. 29 at the Jefferson Hotel (not open to the public); Oct. 9 (7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m.) at Willow Oaks Country Club ; Oct. 14 (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) at the Virginia Historical Society ; Oct. 28 (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) at the Library of Virginia .