My heart is saddened to see our current Mayer make a decision, against the will of the people, to have the Stonewall Jackson statue removed. Certainly, there was an immense crowd of people observing this unusual event: however, the will of the citizens of Richmond was decided and recorded in the 2018 Monument Commission Report. Mayor Stoney made a decision not to comply with the requests of the very diverse group he commissioned.
My decision to run for mayor was made on June 12th after reading ‘The Richmond Times-Dispatch’ headlines: “With Davis Statue Down, Stoney Vows to Finish the Job”. Apparently, Mayor Stoney is following through with that vow. In my opinion, this is comparable to a dad or mom telling their kids after they have pitched a temper tantrum with crayon marks all on the walls of their home, things thrown everywhere and the parent says, “OK kids, step out of the way, I am going to finish destroying our home”. Many people might wonder if the parents cared about their kid’s discipline or their home.
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I tried to communicate privately to Mayor Stoney via email twice. I encouraged him to be a leader to all Richmond residents. Mayor Stoney had selected a very diverse team in 2017 to address the Monument Avenue dilemma. This team spent a year on the best solutions for this internationally known avenue. Online there are over 100 pages of the results of this team’s effort. I asked him to implement ‘The 2018 Monument Commission Report’. The commission report consensus was to ADD, not remove, statues and to add context. Apparently, he decided to do it his way, which in my opinion, has resulted kicking some of our Richmond family to the curb. In other words, he demonstrated lack of consideration as well as ignorance of the wishes of a highly qualified team. Any civic leader or official who is not going to demonstrate fairness to the entire group he or she is given charge of should reconsider becoming a candidate for that office.
Yes, I am throwing my hat into the ring. Love for God and my country, specifically Virginia, has spring boarded me to expand my horizon and run for the Office of Mayor of the city of Richmond. Recent developments have caused me to see a great opportunity for Richmond, BUT we must first return to the basic things that have caused this Country to become great, love for God and love for our fellow citizens. Therefore, the theme of my campaign is: