by Dick Hall-Sizemore
The editorial page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch today has a blistering critique of outgoing Mayor Levar Stoney. Stoney has spent the last few weeks in office in a “Faring Well” tour touting “the remarkable strides Richmond has made over the past 8 years” under his leadership. There is little doubt that this idea will occupy a prominent place in his campaign for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. At this point, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, Stoney has a significant lead in fundraising over his opponents in the Democratic primary election.
The headline of the editorial neatly summarizes its thesis: “Yes, Richmond is faring well. But not because of Stoney.” Since 2016, when Stoney took office, real estate tax revenues have doubled, from $230 million to $460 million. That is thanks to an influx of new residents, mostly young professionals, all of whom have led “to a stronger retail base and overall economy, fueled RVA’s growing rep as foodie town, an arts and cultural destination on the East Coast.”
Like his predecessors, instead of trying to deal with the “dysfunction and incompetence” that Richmond city government has come to be known for, he got distracted by the “shiny object.” First, he “carried water for the business community” for the proposed $1.4 billion Navy Hill project that would have diverted city tax revenues. As the RTD put it, before the city council killed the project, “Navy Hill angered just about everyone who didn’t stand to profit from it.” Then it was a casino. Unwilling to let it go after being narrowly defeated in a referendum, Stoney succeeded in getting a “do-over.” It was defeated by a larger margin in a second referendum.
In the meantime, Stoney’s finance department was screwing restaurants, one of the bright points in the recent economic recovery of the city, over the collection of meals tax revenue. (That is a long, complicated story that Jon Baliles has documented on this blog. See, here, for example.) His staff was running up large, questionable credit card charges. Hiring in the top echelons of the city administration reeked of cronyism.
So, Richmond is a significantly different city than it was eight years ago. From July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2023, its population increased by almost 12 percent. There is a lot of construction underway. Whole commercial areas, such as Scott’s Addition, have undergone a significant transformation. In Manchester, south of the river, high-rise apartment buildings and condominiums have taken the place of warehouses. There are lots of high-end restaurants that are busy. But, most of this is in spite of Stoney and his administration, not because of it.
The editorial is another example of the value of local journalism. Despite its shortcomings, the Richmond Times Dispatch has been diligent in covering city hall. It provided extensive coverage of the Navy Hill proposal. See here for example. The newspaper and its reporters have been so persistent that Stoney was reduced to complaining about their coverage.
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