Election Day is three weeks away, and this year, it’s a five-way race for Richmond’s next mayor.
Richmond voters will decide between City Councilmember Andreas Addison, physician Danny Avula, former councilmember Michelle Mosby, community advocate Maurice Neblett, and nonprofit founder Harrison Roday.
The candidates responded to questions from BizSense about their priorities for Richmond, how they’ll support business growth and economic development, and other topics that will shape the city’s future.
Each day this week, we’re presenting their responses, with candidates presented in alphabetical order.
Today’s candidate is Harrison Roday, founder of Richmond-based nonprofit Bridging Virginia and a former investment banking analyst for Morgan Stanley. The 32-year-old chairs the board of nonprofit Foodshed Capital and has a bachelor’s in government and finance from William & Mary.
Previous candidate Q&As appear at the end.
Richmond BizSense: What are your economic development priorities for Richmond? How do you plan to support business growth in the city?
Harrison Roday
Harrison Roday: We need to change our approach to economic development in Richmond. My experience in finance and management brings a unique perspective – one that will directly benefit the people who live here. Three critical focuses will define my administration’s approach to economic development.
First, we will address the cost of housing, the largest cost in most of our families’ budgets. This is critical for not only providing workforce housing for businesses looking to move to or expand in Richmond, but also for the people who already live and work here. In order to support business growth in the city, it is vital that we further invest in and increase the supply of affordable housing so that everyone who lives and works here can afford to do so.
Second, we will invest in living wage jobs and support our small businesses. When it comes to new economic development, I am focused on smart initiatives and projects that will move the ball forward in meaningful ways, because that is a more reliable and sustainable approach than looking for mega projects. We will grow our economy with development focused on our residents and small businesses, not corporate giveaways. I have seen firsthand that this approach works. I started a nonprofit that supports dozens of small businesses in our community. Put simply, when everyone has access to opportunities which should be universal, people thrive.
In order to better support small businesses, we need to address the challenges that they still face when it comes to even basic city services. We need to make sure neighborhood amenities and utility needs are met, because businesses rely on the city to follow through on its obligations no matter how big or small. Additionally, we need to improve businesses’ experiences interacting with City Hall, ranging from finance matters and tax payments to permitting and city requirements. Our goal should be to create an environment where every small business wants to operate, and that starts with lifting up and supporting our small businesses, not overburdening them.
And third, instead of chasing shiny objects, our economic development policy will focus on what makes Richmond special: a world-class river, a thriving arts and culture scene, amazing restaurants, tourism and a diverse and growing group of talented people in our community. We don’t need to spend taxpayer money to try to turn our city into some other place. Let’s build on what we already have, starting with our people.
RBS: What do you see as the No. 1 challenge holding back Richmond’s growth potential? How do you plan to address it?
HR: Addressing the rising cost of housing and displacement is the No. 1 challenge our community faces, as the lack of affordable options is holding back Richmond’s growth potential. In order to do this, we need to lower costs, protect renters, and expand our supply of housing, especially affordable housing.
Between high rent and rising property tax assessments, there are too many Richmonders who are struggling to stay in their homes. I support Mayor Stoney’s RVA Stay proposal, which will lower the cost of housing for the seniors and hardworking people who need it the most. RVA Stay, which is made up of the Gap Grant Pilot Program and the Richmond Freeze Program, is a fair approach to lowering housing costs for both homeowners and renters, while still protecting future revenue for our schools and city services. As mayor, I will make sure our city’s workers have the tools, training and infrastructure to implement this program.
The majority of Richmonders are renters. We don’t spend nearly enough time talking about how to protect those residents who are increasingly being priced out, with many living in poor conditions. Additionally, we must reduce the number of evictions happening in Richmond. To do this, we will create a tenant advisory board, continue to fund the Eviction Diversion Program, and increase tenants’ access to free eviction mediation and legal counsel resources. We should welcome landlords in Richmond who are fair and invest in the future of the city while holding bad actors accountable if they mistreat their tenants.
My administration will invest $100 million in housing in the next four years. This money will go towards eviction prevention and incentives for the building of new homes that are genuinely affordable. Let’s create a housing fund that attracts hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. This has been done in other cities and we can do it here. We need to financially incentivize the creation of affordable units. There are several existing programs administered by state and local entities to incentivize the creation of affordable units, including the Affordable Housing Performance Grant Program, which is a collaboration between the city and Economic Development Authority. We must continue to leverage these programs as well as create public-private partnerships with flexible capital, including municipal dollars, that support the growth of affordable housing. This has been proven to be successful across the country, and I have seen firsthand that this model works. It’s the model that I used to start the nonprofit Bridging Virginia, which provides long-term loans for small businesses, and it has the potential to attract significant private dollars.
Furthermore, Richmond has a tremendous opportunity to reimagine zoning across the City and make serious progress toward expanding the housing supply. We must use this opportunity to move away from the restrictive, outdated zoning policies that have impeded growth, forced Richmonders to become over-reliant on the special use permit process, and exacerbated disparities throughout the City. Within this rewrite, we should focus on changes that will increase density around transit corridors and Priority Growth Nodes to facilitate effective economic and housing development in these areas.
Secondly, we need to allow for less-restrictive zoning, such as expanding the zoning of single-family housing to zoning that allows for a greater number of units in places that make sense to balance development with preservation of neighborhood character.
Thirdly, we should find opportunities for more mixed-use developments that align with neighborhood housing, commercial and recreational needs. Throughout all of this, we must continue to engage with the public and ensure Richmonders living in impacted areas of change are part of an open dialogue so that we can simultaneously preserve historical and community character, prevent the displacement of long-term community members, and grow our housing supply. At the end of the day, we can both grow and preserve a neighborhood’s character, because it is a balance, not either or.
Finally, lowering the cost of housing also requires lowering the cost to build. I am committed to improving the performance of City Hall operations and services, particularly when it comes to addressing permitting and inspections. When these processes cause unnecessary delays, it can drive up the costs of projects and make it harder, or even less desirable, to build in Richmond.
We are dealing with a two-fold problem in the permitting process that prevents the development of homes from keeping up with demand: a performance issue and an accountability issue, both of which are intertwined. While the public sector is not the private sector, I have seen this many times in large companies that do not have accountable leadership structures (and have matrixed organizational structures like the City does).
RBS: Are you satisfied with the plan for the Diamond District development? Do you support the plan to redevelop the City Center area and replace the Coliseum?
The Diamond District Deal is moving forward, and as Mayor, I will work with all parties to ensure its success. The Squirrels games are among the best-attended games in the minor league, and I’m glad the project will include the construction of more housing, including affordable housing.
The “current deal” contains both important commitments to our small business community as well as a financing strategy for the stadium itself.
Starting with the stadium financing, I did not agree with the process the city used to switch from a privately-financed process to a taxpayer-financed process. In the beginning of the project, the city said they wanted to do a private financing process, then backtracked and did a public financing process on a very short timeline. We as taxpayers are on the hook for tens of millions of additional dollars as a result, and there were not ample opportunities for the public to have their voices heard when the city pivoted on how to finance the project.
The fact that the stadium is financed by taxpayers does matter – every dollar we use for stadium financing impacts our overall borrowing capacity (which we also use to invest in important priorities like constructing schools) and our future interest expense (every future dollar of interest expense lowers the amount we can invest in our operations each year).
Furthermore, many promises have been made about involving women- and Black-owned small businesses in the overall process. For example, the project is supposed to make a good faith effort to achieve 40% Minority Business Enterprise participation in the project. The city has set similar goals for union participation. We need to make sure these goals are met.
Finally, and most importantly, if the city can invest in shiny objects like stadiums, we also need to invest in communities that have been disinvested in. We have other priorities that deserve more attention than the stadium, from strengthening our schools to attracting grocery stores in areas that face food insecurity.
When it comes to redeveloping the City Center area and replacing the Coliseum, we have two developers at the finish line with the requests for proposal process, and I think it’s important to conclude that work. In general, I am supportive of these redevelopment efforts and look forward to working to bring new growth and investment into this central part of our city.
RBS: How will you address recent increases in real estate tax assessments in the city? Is more tax relief needed for small businesses and residents?
Roday interned at the White House in 2010 and has worked for U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine. (Image courtesy Roday for Richmond)
HR: The more costs increase and long term community members are displaced, the more Richmond risks losing its identity. As I discussed in Question 2, I strongly support Mayor Stoney’s RVA Stay proposal, which will lower the cost of housing for the seniors and hardworking people who need it the most.
It is of the utmost importance that we find and implement meaningful solutions to prevent the displacement of long-term residents. I support efforts to provide property tax relief for long-term, low-income residents. We need to provide real estate tax relief to protect our seniors on fixed incomes from being displaced. I would also advocate for the state to allow our city to create real estate tax relief for people who own homes who have seen their incomes go down and their assessments go up; the RVA Stay proposal is a step in the right direction.
The success of businesses, particularly small businesses, is close to my heart with the work I have done with Bridging Virginia. We put too many obstacles in place of the success of our small businesses. Our goal should be for Richmond to be a place where every business wants to operate and to be the best city to own a small or mid-sized business. In addition to improving business’ interactions with the City and the delivery of services that businesses rely on, we should also lessen the burdens associated with operating and doing business in Richmond, particularly for small businesses, to encourage entrepreneurship and economic growth. Over time, we should increase the threshold for business taxes so that our small businesses that earn less than $1 million per year pay a flat fee, similar to the policy in Henrico and Chesterfield.
RBS: Are you satisfied with the current approach to encouraging housing affordability in the city? What would you do differently to address Richmond’s declared housing crisis?
The fact is, we have not invested enough in growing the supply of affordable housing. As Mayor, I will be committed to ensuring that we have enough housing supply to ensure that Richmonders at all income levels can afford to live, work and raise a family in the city.
As I discussed in Question 2, we have two problems to solve: protecting our renters and having more housing that is genuinely affordable. My administration will invest $100 million in housing in the next four years to support eviction prevention efforts and incentives for the building of new homes that are genuinely affordable.
While my views on this were mainly addressed in Question 2, I will add one more element. When it comes to reviewing Planning and Development Review (“PDR”), Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”), and Department of Public Works (“DPW”) during the city-wide audit, I will be keenly focused on cutting down review times and identifying the structural, operational and technological changes needed to improve. Additionally, I will implement a “shot clock” to cut down on unnecessary wait times as well as help these departments remain focused and accountable.
RBS: Do you support how City Hall has been responding to issues surrounding meals tax collections, the finance department, and permitting and plan reviews? What else needs to be done?
HR: These challenges facing City Hall have serious consequences for Richmonders. At the end of the day, in order for Richmond to be a city that works for everyone, we need to build a City Hall that works for everyone. Change management is hard and it starts with the basics: auditing for accountability and goal-setting while working together with our frontline workers. My first action as Mayor will be to conduct a top to bottom review of every department with a clear goal: providing results and setting the stage for accountability. Out of this process, we will develop a five-year operating plan for every facet of our government and deliver quarterly progress reports to the public to provide enhanced transparency around performance data.
A crucial part of this review will be to examine the strengths and areas for improvement when it comes to City Hall’s customer service, the delivery of core city services, and operations. In doing so, we will identify the structural, operational and technological changes that need to be made to enhance core city services for all Richmonders, regardless of what neighborhood they live and work in. Additionally, as part of this audit process, we will ensure that necessary financial controls are in place to prevent unnecessary waste and overspending.
I’ve implemented plans like these with organizations as large as the city government as well as with meaningful nonprofits that measured success by impact. There’s no reason we can’t do it at City Hall. It just means thinking differently and looking at challenges with a fresh perspective. We can focus on delivering timely and high-quality services to residents in every neighborhood while partnering with our City Hall workforce – and our residents – to ensure an open, transparent and responsive government.
I’m proud to be endorsed by SEIU and the Teamsters, who represent our frontline workers. Together, we will work side-by-side to tackle the pressing challenges facing City Hall. By partnering with our workers, we can find the right long-term, sustainable solutions for City Hall.
RBS: You’ve said that you would not retain the current chief administrative officer if elected. How will you keep leadership changes from disrupting city initiatives that are already underway?
HR: I have direct experience with leadership transitions. During times of change, communication and transparency are critical. In order to prevent leadership changes from disrupting city initiatives that are already underway, my administration will ensure continued communication during the transition process of all roles, including regular briefings and updates on core functions of each government role and initiatives underway from both outgoing city leaders and staff who will be continuing to work in their respective agencies.
Additionally, we will lean on our talented city workforce to ensure that, as city government leadership changes, the day-to-day execution of city services and initiatives continues to be successful. This will require clear goal-setting at the outset of the administration and close attention from my administration and the new, incoming leaders in City Hall.
Links to previous Q&A’s: