Mayor-elect Danny Avula alongside Mayor Levar Stoney at Wednesday’s news conference. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
Hours after clinching his bid to become Richmond’s next mayor, Mayor-elect Danny Avula joined outgoing Mayor Levar Stoney in a news conference Wednesday in which they promised a smooth administrative transition.
Avula, a pediatrician and former Richmond City Health District director, won a five-way race to succeed Stoney, who is term-limited. Avula bested fellow candidates Andreas Addison, Michelle Mosby, Maurice Neblett and Harrison Roday, according to results that remained unofficial Wednesday.
Addressing reporters and supporters in the lobby at City Hall, Stoney said he has pledged to Avula “to do everything that I can to ensure that he and his administration hit the ground running on January 1.”
“We want to ensure that it’s a streamlined transition process, something that we’ve never seen before here in the city of Richmond, that ensures that he and his team are prepared to lead this city into its next chapter,” Stoney said.
Avula said that process is already underway and started with a phone call with Stoney that morning.
“I’m very grateful to Mayor Stoney for his partnership and for his friendship in working together over the years for the good of this city and what that will mean for this transition,” said Avula, who previously shared podiums with Stoney during the pandemic when Avula, then as health district director, reported the latest COVID-19 statistics and safeguard recommendations.
The mayor-elect said he is putting together a transition team that would be announced soon. He added that he is thankful for the team that Stoney has built at City Hall, though he confirmed his intention to conduct a national search for a new chief administrative officer.
Avula has previously said he would not retain current CAO Lincoln Saunders, who was Stoney’s chief of staff before being named interim CAO when the position became vacant during the pandemic. Asked if he still intends to replace the top administrator of Stoney’s team, Avula said he wants to make sure that Richmond has the best talent available.
“There’s been a lot of conversation about the CAO role, and I think we’ve got to do our best job both to see what kind of talent we can attract to the city and who’s going to be the best fit for the next chapter of Richmond’s life,” Avula said.
Stoney said he’s pledged to Avula to help ensure “a streamlined transition process.”
Avula received 46% of votes cast in the mayoral race, compared to 25% for Mosby, 13% for Roday, 12% for Addison and 3% for Neblett, according to the unofficial results that need to be canvassed before becoming official.
Other results showed Andrew (“Gumby”) Breton winning over Paul Goldman and Zac Walker for the First District City Council seat that Addison has held for eight years. Addison’s run for mayor relinquished that seat.
Incumbent councilmembers Nicole Jones, Cynthia Newbille, Ellen Robertson and Reva Trammell came out on top of their competitive races, while Ann Frances-Lambert of the Third District appeared to have lost to School Board member Kenya Gibson in a three-way race.
Sarah Abubaker, also unopposed, was elected to replace Council President Kristen Nye, who did not seek re-election. Incumbents Katherine Jordan and Stephanie Lynch were re-elected unopposed.
In Wednesday’s news conference, Avula congratulated the new council and School Board members. He also acknowledged, as did Stoney, uncertainties at the federal level following Donald Trump’s win in the presidential race.
“As the mayor mentioned, the results of the national election have set a certain tone for us, and I think many of us are concerned, justifiably, about what that means for our city moving forward,” Avula said.
“I think for many members of our community, there are real dangers that are posed by that: members of our LGBTQ+ community, our black and brown and immigrant families, for working families, there’s a lot of concerns about what the shifts at the national level mean for us,” he said.
“But I think, as Mayor Stoney has so steadfastly been committed to during his time in office, what I will absolutely be committed to is protecting the people of Richmond and fighting for justice and equity in everything that we do as a city moving forward.”
Concluding his remarks, Avula added: “It’s going to take all of us, but together we will build a Richmond where everybody’s rights are protected, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and where nobody gets left behind.”
Mayor-elect Danny Avula alongside Mayor Levar Stoney at Wednesday’s news conference. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
Hours after clinching his bid to become Richmond’s next mayor, Mayor-elect Danny Avula joined outgoing Mayor Levar Stoney in a news conference Wednesday in which they promised a smooth administrative transition.
Avula, a pediatrician and former Richmond City Health District director, won a five-way race to succeed Stoney, who is term-limited. Avula bested fellow candidates Andreas Addison, Michelle Mosby, Maurice Neblett and Harrison Roday, according to results that remained unofficial Wednesday.
Addressing reporters and supporters in the lobby at City Hall, Stoney said he has pledged to Avula “to do everything that I can to ensure that he and his administration hit the ground running on January 1.”
“We want to ensure that it’s a streamlined transition process, something that we’ve never seen before here in the city of Richmond, that ensures that he and his team are prepared to lead this city into its next chapter,” Stoney said.
Avula said that process is already underway and started with a phone call with Stoney that morning.
“I’m very grateful to Mayor Stoney for his partnership and for his friendship in working together over the years for the good of this city and what that will mean for this transition,” said Avula, who previously shared podiums with Stoney during the pandemic when Avula, then as health district director, reported the latest COVID-19 statistics and safeguard recommendations.
The mayor-elect said he is putting together a transition team that would be announced soon. He added that he is thankful for the team that Stoney has built at City Hall, though he confirmed his intention to conduct a national search for a new chief administrative officer.
Avula has previously said he would not retain current CAO Lincoln Saunders, who was Stoney’s chief of staff before being named interim CAO when the position became vacant during the pandemic. Asked if he still intends to replace the top administrator of Stoney’s team, Avula said he wants to make sure that Richmond has the best talent available.
“There’s been a lot of conversation about the CAO role, and I think we’ve got to do our best job both to see what kind of talent we can attract to the city and who’s going to be the best fit for the next chapter of Richmond’s life,” Avula said.
Stoney said he’s pledged to Avula to help ensure “a streamlined transition process.”
Avula received 46% of votes cast in the mayoral race, compared to 25% for Mosby, 13% for Roday, 12% for Addison and 3% for Neblett, according to the unofficial results that need to be canvassed before becoming official.
Other results showed Andrew (“Gumby”) Breton winning over Paul Goldman and Zac Walker for the First District City Council seat that Addison has held for eight years. Addison’s run for mayor relinquished that seat.
Incumbent councilmembers Nicole Jones, Cynthia Newbille, Ellen Robertson and Reva Trammell came out on top of their competitive races, while Ann Frances-Lambert of the Third District appeared to have lost to School Board member Kenya Gibson in a three-way race.
Sarah Abubaker, also unopposed, was elected to replace Council President Kristen Nye, who did not seek re-election. Incumbents Katherine Jordan and Stephanie Lynch were re-elected unopposed.
In Wednesday’s news conference, Avula congratulated the new council and School Board members. He also acknowledged, as did Stoney, uncertainties at the federal level following Donald Trump’s win in the presidential race.
“As the mayor mentioned, the results of the national election have set a certain tone for us, and I think many of us are concerned, justifiably, about what that means for our city moving forward,” Avula said.
“I think for many members of our community, there are real dangers that are posed by that: members of our LGBTQ+ community, our black and brown and immigrant families, for working families, there’s a lot of concerns about what the shifts at the national level mean for us,” he said.
“But I think, as Mayor Stoney has so steadfastly been committed to during his time in office, what I will absolutely be committed to is protecting the people of Richmond and fighting for justice and equity in everything that we do as a city moving forward.”
Concluding his remarks, Avula added: “It’s going to take all of us, but together we will build a Richmond where everybody’s rights are protected, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and where nobody gets left behind.”
They just don’t get it… Both Dr. Avula and Mr. Stoney would be wise to choose their words more carefully. Although they may not like Donald Trump or disagree with his policies, the people have spoken and given him a mandate to lead the government. Trump not only accomplished an Electoral College landslide but also received the dominant popular vote in this election, unlike both Avula and especially Stoney. Avula’s words: “many of us are concerned, justifiably, about what that means for our city moving forward” are offensive to those who support Trump and his policies and are in the… Read more »
While Trump certainly won nationally, he only got approximately 20% of the vote in Richmond. Therefore, I think it’s fair to say that a lot of Richmonders are concerned about his election.
And look where Richmond is…. perhaps they should give change a try?
Were you around in the 1980s? American cities were in the toilet. Today, they are doing a lot better, including Richmond.
And many are not in the toilet today?
The mayor-elect was speaking to the citizens of Richmond, of whom 81% voted for Harris/Walz. To say that “many” of his constituents are “concerned” was justified.
While your observation is correct, Richmond is not an island and depends on the vast resources of the state and federal government to survive. Richmond City is a failed experiment caused mainly by poor leadership through the decades. Many Richmonders hope Avula will break the trend. To disparage the popularly elected president before both of their terms begin is not a good start. If one were to poll Richmonders, I suspect more than 70% ( as cited in national polls regarded the US) of the citizens would concede that Richmond is on the wrong track. When an adversarial position is… Read more »
Richmond technically IS an island one just not surrounded by water bc it is an independent city. White flight (housing, retail centers and job centers) to the county is why “Richmond City is a failed experiment”.
Are you trying to say that a Trump led government would cut off their resources for simply disagreeing with him? No wonder they are concerned!
And he would because he held up funds to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
I sure hope, for your sake, you don’t lead a business. Effective persuasion and playing well with others never hurt any relationship.
This is not business, it is government, which, at least in this country, is supposed to work for all people and not just the ones that agree with you.
Government ALSO has to persuade, and part of the persuasion is INDEED working for everyone, which starts with keeping crime down and filling potholes type stuff, showing that you are not wasting the taxpayers money, esp on things like graft and patronage —- THAT is the reason why people move to well run municipalities and even countries, like Switzerland and Norway and SIngapore for example.
I think the argument about disparaging a president or president-elect is going to fall on deaf ears considering that disparaging the opponent has become normalized by the very person you are worried about offending.
Respectfully, I must push back. You keep mentioning “democracy”. One of the hallmarks of democracy is that we have the right to speak out for — or against — any elected official, no matter by how great or small a margin they were elected. This applies to each and every one of us – every citizen – whether or not they be an elected official at the federal, state or local level. That — at least for now — we can speak freely and voice our opinion, feelings and beliefs about the leadership of this country is what sets our… Read more »
Don’t think that both political sides in this country don’t use the power of govt to penalize the other — the left loves to go after right-wing dominated business, while the right merely has to not always bail out mismanaged graft machines, like what Chicago is fearing right now — that they will be allowed to fail due to their ways of governing.
“Concerned” about what – specifically? Avula’s campaign literature was nothing but general promises, and we get that in every election cycle. We’ll see.
Yeah, the lesson in democracy is that less than 16% of Richmond voted for Trump.
Democracy, none the less. It’s a hard fact.
and where were you for the last 4 years after the hard fact that Biden beat Trump
Who cares? What does that have to do with management of the city? Why bring it up? Focus on what you can control and leave the politics behind. He’s mayor-elect now, not a partisan primary candidate. And remember, he’ll need to forge relationships with the Governor and members of the General Assembly for Richmond to achieve its goals.
He WAS most certainly a partisan candidate, although he added the fact that he was a Democrat at the bottom of his yard signs in the smallest available illegible without close examination.
Given the residents of Richmond voted Dem:Rep at a ratio of 5:1, they know who they are talking to.
A lowering tide lowers all ships
Oh, I get it…so now the majority in the country is wrong?
You are not comparing apples to apples; the demographic of the City of Richmond is not reflective of the country as a whole. This is typically true for most urban centers.
was the majority right in 2020?
The constant divisive rhetoric and pandering to certain constituencies will continue to hold this city back if the mayor doesn’t focus on real issues that effect, guess what, everyone. Focus on the city and not on national politics, Mr. Mayor-Elect.
I agree with this. Unfortunately in a lot of urban areas one has to do a lot of genuflecting or at least throat clearing before trying to actually make a place well-run, because, just like with Michelle Rhee and DC Public Education, there are a LOT of people who want to keep the Status Quo the Status Quo while payying occasional lip service to things like Improving Education (usually in ways that won’t be measured, of course — Measurement Bad!)
What about the multitude of marginalized groups that the president elect’s campaign routinely denigrated and outright insulted this past year? How do you think Haitians feel about this? Dr. Avula is offering his support and kindness, and I applaud him for it.
You can revel in victory all you want but the rest of us will support our neighbors and treat each other with respect. It’s a shame that most of the country doesn’t feel the same way.
Maybe if you treated ALL your neighbors with respect, starting with your fellow citizens, you would convince more voters to think you are worthy of trusting?
I, for one, am a big fan of decentralization. Our commonwealth makes this possible by separating the counties from the cities. I will spend money in RVA since they have some very attractive reasons to visit, but I will live in a county where I feel my tax dollars are better managed.
I am not opposed to this way of thinking, but one should remember that THIS IS VIRGINIA, and not some Lost Cause VA or Jeffersonian VA — but pretty much the most FEDERAL GOVERNMENT State in the USA — we may be moreso than even DC if you count NoVA, Hampton Roads and, yes Richmond into this. We also have lots of military bases scattered in VA.
Kay, you’re the one forgetting how democracy works. The beauty of democracy is we are allowed to disagree openly—that’s part of how checks and balances work. Most things that impact us happen at the city level, which is why Avula stated what he did—he wants to care for his constituents and I appreciate him acknowledging our concerns.
Let’s also acknowledge this will be the President-Elect’s third election and second time in office, which means we are not entering the unknown—his agenda is clear and his last term was chaotic.
Whatever else it is, it will be LESS chaotic than before — he not only had a hostile bureaucratic class hindering him, he also had establishment Republicans joining Democrats in resisting him, and not just because there was a “Russian Agent” smear making people afraid to work with him. This time, he will have a team of people who are used to working in government that are hostile to bloat and rule by bureaucrats — so, there will be a DIFFERENT kind of Chaos — one that may just not be great for VA and MD, but, who can say… Read more »
this is all so laughable. With 2 states left to declare their electors, Trump’s “electoral college landslide” is currently less than Biden’s in 2020 over Trump. While Trump does appear to have won the popular vote, how “dominant” is it when he received fewer votes than he did in 2020? Trump’s plan was to depress the vote and he succeeded – 15MM fewer people voted under the current tallies which will likely increase a bit.
Mail in Ballots.
Agreed, Kay. It’s stunning to see on a business website those who don’t understand the need to build relationships with those who hold power (if you want to get things done). This is true in business as well as government. Avula will represent all Richmond citizens and the constituency is dependent on him to work in the best interest of the city-to work with the state and federal government to achieve big things. Creating a decidedly hostile environment is not a way to gain the support and cooperation of these partners. This isn’t about fearing funds will be cut- it’s… Read more »
Trump understands that local political leaders need to mouth things in order to get things done in their own localities and anyway I am sure he won’t even notice compared to to the chest-thumping rhetoric coming out of NYS and IL.
I was in NYS listening to NPR when Trump was getting his capping of Sced A State Tax reductions passed and it sounded like Andrew Cuomo was going to have a stroke — he was literally yelling that he not going to let it happen.
Dr. Avula would be better served and earn the respect of all Richmond citizens to reach out to President Trump and his administration on ways they can work together to solve the pressing problems that have plagued Richmond for decades. Beginning a new administration in an adversarial position is unwise, at best.
You know he worked in the Youngkin administration right? I believe he is very familiar with working together with those that may not share the same ideals as him. Something those they said they are concerned about have not shown. He has talked the talk and walked the walk unlike the president elect.
No local elected official should be worried about the threat the opinions and concerns of their constituents present to the President. They are selected to represent the concerns of the people they were elected by.
Please pause to think about what it means to say that it would be unwise to offend the president as he may withhold federal funding. Power shifts, you may not want to normalize the tools of authoritarianism.
It’s too bad that so many people in Richmond seem to think that they can’t collectively make Richmond better themselves without worrying about getting Washington to somehow solve all their problems. Be the Change.
No local elected official should ever be concerned that representing the concerns of their constituents is offensive to the President. I would caution about celebrating the notion that the President may withhold federal funding for this. Power inevitably shifts, are you sure you want to champion the suppression of the voice of a political minority?
No. I don’t think anyone wants this. But it is true that you draw more flies with honey. As Petersburg shows, if you work with your political opponents where you can and not needlessly insult them before they have insulted you, you can work together in meaningful and MEASURABLE ways to make a place better than you can alone. The Youngkin people poured a lot of money into Petersburg in ways that has really helped, and Trump of course bailed out a lot of HBCUs that he did not have to and did a lot of criminal justice reform as… Read more »
Yeah…. but who could EXPECT him to?
MAYBE he could just talk about getting to work within his actual “Circle of Potency”??? But with a lot of people, not criticizing the other side is akin to treason.
lol, all I heard 24/7 from Mayor Elect is a “ Richmond that works for everyone “!!! Great non starter!! But I would not expect any different in all honesty. This will be another all talk but little real progress administration as they both run on emotion not business plans. The City is one giant cluster to deal with, worst I’ve seen anywhere in Virginia in 40 years.
Why do you need to go down the self-fulfilling prophecy road?
Yes, rhetorically, that IS all we should expect.
Let’s hope he doesn’t Stoney us on the execution/
I’m really looking forward to saying “bye-bye Stoney.”
Agree. Stoney was using Richmond as a stepping stone. He was a shiny, glittering diamond that turned back to coal.
Oh yes.
I am sure he will get some kind of lucritive no-show job though, at least the next one won’t be “Mayor”
Civility appears lost on these folks. For the last 4 years the DOJ has been weaponized in a totally unprecedented fashion to disparage and discredit political opponents. Ending that is frankly the best part of the Trump election. I hope he doesn’t do the same and make it tit for tat. I’m optimistic that he won’t as he refused to go after Hillary Clinton in 2016 saying “that she had suffered enough”. Time will tell.
Maybe he should have prosecuted Hillary Clinton (as she justifiably deserved) and all of the following lawfare may never have taken place. Trump stated that he will not be looking for retribution in his new term. Not sure I agree with that, as the left views this as an open invitation to continue their bad behavior. He should make an example of just one of them.
And that’s why you should have a separate Justice Department from Presidency. This ain’t Russia. Listen at you. Throw a former first lady in jail. Will he throw Pence in jail for the same crime? Fascism at it’s best. The guy ran only to avoid jail. In my eyes, the country might as well have elected Michael Hild. The mayor should work with governor and local surrounding leaders only. Leave federal issues with federal elected politicians. That’s why Stoney hasn’t been that great, looking at the next job instead of doing the one he got elected to do.
Pence is not accused of any crime.
There is plenty of circumstantial evidence that the Clintons and Biden were running pay to play schemes — and also evidence that they thought they had enough allies in the govt to cover for them — it is only little Democrats, and Republicans of all levels, like Bob McDonnald, who have to worry about not being Above the Law.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/two-years-7-million-800-pages-later-gop-benghazi-report-lands-with-a-thud
Sounds like “more of the same.”
The best thing yet is Paul Goldman didn’t win the First District, because there’s no telling what he’d do to hold back the red-hot progress the city has been on the last several years.
Hardly. He is the only one of the First District candidates who understands what city government is all about, and he was a vocal opponent of the ill-conceived Stoney/Addison push for a second round of voting for a casino.
Hardly. He did all of that in a push to get into politics. Yeah I remember him & Wilder pushing for a strong mayor in the city (which in my opinion was long overdue given the conspiracies that plaged the city beforehand) but that’s where the buck stops. Remember the falling out between them afterwards?
I admire both of them for that change but BOTH of them became got in the way of progress to further their own agendas.
Say what you will. I’ll take Goldman any day over “Gumby.”
Yeah, and then you get a Strong Incompetent Carpetbagger Mayor. Richmond has improved IN SPITE of Stoney. Structural forces far beyond city hall’s control have improved Richmond at the private sector level, and it could be double if there was a competent manager in city hall. Hopefully this new guy will be at LEAST this — that is all I expect and hope for, but it would be great if he turns out to be a Great Mayor — which is rare in places run like Richmond — best thing you tend to get is a political boss that runs… Read more »
Please stop.
It was just a dumb comment that has zero substance. What “real dangers” are he referring to? It is interesting that he mentioned working families being concerned. Working families just delivered a landslide for Trump so again, I’m not sure Avula has anything substantial to say about the national election. Just a typical bitter leftist, hopefully he’ll get over it and get to work.
Enough with the pearl-clutching and sensational nonsense. When and where throughout history have there been more rights and protections for the people they claim to have unprotected rights? Where is all the LGBTQ and black and brown people persecution in Richmond, the city where a black mayor handed over the keys to a brown mayor? The immigrant persecution? The border has been literally open for the past four years with tens of millions of unlawful entries facilitated by the government and NGO’s. This is hyperbolic fear mongering nonsense. Only in the U.S. can a man from the largest global majority population (Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi) pose… Read more »
Your best reply ever! BRAVO.
I still like Sheetz though.
So thrilled to be rid of Stoney! What a debacle!
Politicks Shmoliticks. All this talk about Trump and Avula is mindless crap! The real issue here is Richmond is broken. Broken by so-called leadership that hasn’t been present for decades. For anyone who cares about Richmond, it doesn’t matter what political belief system you have. The main goal is to begin fixing the dysfunction. If that’s your main goal and what occupies your attention, you won’t have time to worry about LGBTQ issues, the Electoral College, or the other distractions that signify inept management. The sewer system, the schools, the roads, the administration of the Finance Dept, the crime levels… Read more »
Maybe this guy getting elected is some evidence that Richmond is less broken than it is becoming kintsugi??
With respect to my fellow Richmonders, you just don’t get it. You think the City has made some miraculous economic turnaround when it in fact has benefited from the sole largess of being close to Washington DC, who spends, funded or not, 25 to 30% of our national GDP. People move to where the money is and that is the VA/MD/DC corridor. 25 years ago the wealthiest counties surrounded New York and San Francisco, today those wealthy counties are around Washington DC. While mid level DC workers have to live and commute 60-80 miles away for affordable housing, we are… Read more »
Preach.
Which of Addison or Roday entered the mayoral race first? Because I can’t imagine how the second of the two to enter really thought he had any shot at doing anything but splitting roughly the same voting block…
The fact that Roday didn’t start out by running for 1st district boggles my mind, and frankly makes his decisions seem questionable.
I don’t get the non-commitment on Lincoln. He is either OUT or you are keeping him. All the senior leadership/at-will employees need to, at a minimum, all re-applying for their current positions. Youngkin been Gov for two years, he and Stoney do NOT agree on anything, but monies still coming in. Stoney 1st term was Trump’s too; and??? Avula and team need to focus on the basics of good city government and less on national politics. Yes they need to watch Washington but can we start by oh I don’t know WATCHING our own Finance department to ensure correct billing… Read more »
Yes.
I remember when deBlassio said that his job as Mayor of NYC was NOT to be a manager but a political change agent. Andddd…… now there are a lot more problems without any political change other than illegal immigrants attacking people on 5th avenue and religious conservatives joining with communists to threaten Jewish NYers.