CITY OF RICHMOND
Jim Hester tried to retire once. After 25 years of assessing property in Petersburg and seven in Charlottesville, he was ready to do consulting, maybe relax a little, when the job of city assessor opened up in Richmond. “I knew the problems they were having here. And I thought: ‘Well I can go up there and fix some things, get the office back on track,'” he says. “But it was worse than I imagined. A month after I’d been here I thought it was the biggest mistake I’d ever made.” Ten years later, Hester is retiring for real this time. He marked his last day in the office Thursday, June 30, when Style met with him to discuss his 44-year career becoming the most tenured real estate assessor in Virginia.
Richmond City Council passes on school funding measures
A Richmond City Council committee delayed action Thursday on a trio of ordinances that would have dedicated a range of city revenue streams to schools. The decision was made amid opposition from Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration and reluctance by at least one council member to make major shifts to the school funding formula in an election year that will deliver a new mayor and at least four new council members. “I just would like to see these papers either withdrawn or continued because I don’t feel comfortable telling my successor what they have to do for four years. I just don’t think that’s the right approach,” said Councilwoman Kathy C. Graziano, the chairwoman of the finance committee.
CHESTERFIELD
Trumpeter: James Lane ushers in a new era
If nothing else, new Chesterfield school superintendent James Lane has one feature that makes him stand out among his predecessors: He’s likely the only one who’s been inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Awards Hall of Fame. As a trumpeter for the group The Castaways for nearly a decade, Lane and his former band were inducted by the Myrtle Beach-based organization in 2014. That isn’t Lane’s only recent accolade. In May, he was named Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. Now, as of last Friday, he’s in charge of Chesterfield County Public Schools, a school system with 8,000 employees and nearly 60,000 students.
Summer tourneys draw thousands, generate millions
Even for the head of the Richmond region’s dominant family-owned hotel chain, there was no room at the inn. Neil Amin, chief executive officer of Chester-based Shamin Hotels, recalled fielding a phone call from his uncle in early July. He planned to visit and needed a hotel room for the weekend of July 15-17. Amin accessed his company’s online reservation system, certain he could find a vacancy at one of its 32 metro Richmond hotels. He was wrong. Amin was shocked to discover that each of Shamin Hotels’ 4,200-plus rooms between Ashland and Colonial Heights had been booked for the weekend.
Board action could weaken controversial bikeways plan
Eight months after a lame-duck Board of Supervisors approved a plan for building a countywide network of bikeways and shared-use paths, the current board is considering two actions that could effectively limit its implementation. Under a proposed ordinance amendment, citizens would have the right to appeal to the Planning Commission if the county decides to locate a bike path or trail on their land. The board also directed staff to draft a policy stating that the county will not use the power of eminent domain to acquire private property for the purpose of building such facilities.
School Board approves prototype for new schools
In the first School Board meeting with new school system superintendent James Lane at the helm, there seemed to be a difference in tone. At the special meeting, held in the School Administration Building’s conference room instead of the larger Public Meeting Room where School Board meetings are normally held, former Dale magisterial district planning commissioner Bill Brown questioned the meeting’s transparency. Brown criticized the location of the meeting – because it was in the conference room, there was no video or audio recording – and the fact that he couldn’t open one of the agenda documents on his computer. Lane addressed Brown’s concerns, saying that he wants to live-stream all future School Board meetings online and asked Brown to meet with him after the meeting to figure out why the documents wouldn’t load on Brown’s computer from BoardDocs, a Cloud-based service that the school system uses to provide documents to the public. In past meetings, interactions at School Board meetings haven’t always been as cordial, with a heated exchange between Brown and School Board member Rob Thompson taking place after a meeting in May.
GOOCHLAND
Hanover’s Budesky appointed Goochland County administrator
Goochland County looked to one of its neighbors when hiring a new county administrator. The Board of Supervisors this week selected John A. Budesky, a Hanover County deputy county administrator. His hiring is effective Aug. 1. He replaces Rebecca T. Dickson, who retired March 31 for health reasons.
HENRICO
Henrico names Hinton deputy county manager for community services
Henrico County has selected W. Brandon Hinton to succeed Jane D. Crawley as deputy county manager for community services. Hinton, 35, has served as director of the county’s office of management and budget since 2012 and assistant deputy county manager for community services since April. His career with Henrico began in 2004 as a budget analyst. In his new role, Hinton’s yearly salary will be about $129,850.
POWHATAN
County sells $49.4 million in bonds to fund CIP
Powhatan County recently received a better-than-expected package deal on $49.4 million in lease revenue bonds to help fund capital improvement program projects, an outcome that is estimated to cost the county about $9 million less than projected over the life of the bonds. The bonds sold on the open market on Thursday, June 30 and closed last week, at which point a total of almost $55.4 million was transferred to the county, said Pat Weiler, county administrator. The $55.4 million included the $49.4 million in bonds that was purchased and a net premium of almost $6 million from Wells Fargo, which was the winning bidder on the bonds. The bonds will be used to finance projects such as the renovation and rebuilding of Powhatan Junior High School, a public safety radio system, and a joint transportation system for the county and the school district, she said.
STATE
State budget shortfall tops $266 million, defers public employee raises
Virginia came up more than $266.3 million short of its revenue forecast in the last fiscal year, which will force the state to defer promised raises for state employees, teachers, college faculty, sheriff’s deputies, and other state-supported local employees. The shortfall, reported to Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday by Comptroller David Von Moll, also will force cuts in expected revenue for the two-year budget that took effect last week and require the state to revise the revenue projections on which it based spending plans through mid-2018. The state fell short of its projections by 1.8 percent of major revenues — income, sales, and corporate taxes. One percent is the trigger both for the mandatory reforecast and deferral of raises included in the budget on Dec. 1 for state employees, faculty, teachers, and state- supported local employees.
Virginia loses ground as a top state for business
Virginia continues to slip in a prominent ranking of the best states for doing business. The state came in at No. 13 on this year’s list of America’s Top States for Business, released late Tuesday afternoon by business-focused news channel CNBC. It was ranked the third-best place for business in 2012. “The Old Dominion stands superior for workforce and business friendliness, but high costs and weak infrastructure hurt,” CNBC said on its website.
New study ranks Virginia No. 9 in the country for retail real estate development in 2015 Development and construction of new commercial real estate, including office, industrial, warehouse and retail, continues to be a powerful contributor to the U.S. and state economies, supporting about 3.2 million American jobs and contributing $450 billion to U.S. GDP in 2015, according to a new report released by the NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association) Research Foundation. According to the report, 429.4 million square feet of commercial real estate space was built in 2015. Retail and warehouse construction both saw strong gains. Warehouse construction saw a fifth strong year of increased expenditures in 2015, gaining 10.8 percent, while retail expenditures were up 8.2 percent from 2014.
NATIONAL
Race strongly influences mortgage lending in St. Louis, study finds
In the two years since the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the nation has come to learn much about the stark socioeconomic differences between black and white neighborhoods in the St. Louis area. Now, a new study says that mortgage lending appears to have played an important part in reinforcing segregation there. Federal data has long shown that the black neighborhoods of St. Louis have been almost devoid of mortgage lending in recent years. A major reason for the dearth of lending is that the incomes of many black residents may be too low to afford a house or qualify for a loan.
ELECTIONS
Mayor hopefuls in their own words on schools, CAO, debt, stadium, Redskins
The Richmond mayoral contenders were asked for their positions on some of the major issues. Here are answers on their initiatives, schools, debt, taxes, the city’s chief administrative officer, stadiums and the Washington Redskins.
Baliles says experience sets him apart from other candidates
In an election year when, at one point, 18 people were contemplating a run for Richmond mayor, Councilman Jonathan T. Baliles acknowledges the safe move would have been to run for re-election to his seat representing the city’s West End. He said his decision to commit instead to a long-slog mayoral run is a testament to how bad he thinks the alternatives are. “I think it’s indicative of how badly this city needs somebody that knows how the City Council works and is willing to work with them and understands the frustration of not having information and transparency coming from the mayor’s office,” he said.
Jack Berry said he’d never given much thought to running for public office. But Berry, a career government official turned nonprofit director, said he grew increasingly frustrated watching Richmond’s government struggle to complete such basic tasks as leaf collection. After surveying the field of potential mayoral candidates, Berry concluded he was better qualified to fix the city’s problems and resigned as executive director of the downtown advocacy group Venture Richmond to make a run.
Junes says he will work ‘to get the city back on track’
Bobby J. “BJ” Junes wants to make city government more efficient. “We’ve got to get everybody on the same page with similar strategy,” he said. Junes, 60, is running his mayoral campaign with a platform of reconnecting citizens with city government and “cleaning up city politics.” Although Junes touts himself as “no rookie on the bench here,” his government service background is scant, except for stints on the Henrico County Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and the county’s Board of Real Estate Evaluation Review.
Morrissey says mayoral run has been ‘several years’ in the making
As Joe Morrissey was serving in the House of Delegates, he said he often found himself cringing at the news coming from across the street. “I love cycling,” Morrissey said. “It’s great. It’s good for cardio. I’m all in. However, spending $15 million on a bike race that brought zero revenue to the city — I had a moment.” Like many of his opponents, he cites as mistakes most of the big-ticket projects pursued by Mayor Dwight C. Jones: the Washington Redskins training camp deal, the economic development package that brought Stone Brewing Co. to Richmond, and the Shockoe Bottom stadium proposal.
Mosby emphasizes City Council experience in bid for mayor
Michelle R. Mosby is the lone woman in a crowded field of mayoral candidates — a fact that she says will help guide Richmond out of financial turbulence and into a promising future. “Because I’m a woman, I’m able to have people work and like working for me,” Mosby said from inside her office at International Hair Salon, of which she is the owner. “Once we get the right people in finance, then we’ll begin to see a different turnover in our finances and we’ll be able to pay persons salaries they deserve. But, until then, I believe that I am the candidate that can hire people, and they’ll want to work for me.”
Stoney says watching Richmond’s struggles moved to run for mayor
At least in political circles, Levar Stoney’s plan to run for mayor was one of the worst-kept secrets in Richmond for the better part of a year. Now that his campaign is well underway, Stoney says it’s hard to pin down the precise moment he decided he would seek office. But he says he knows what motivated him to make the leap. “This is a city where a quarter of its residents live under the poverty line,” said Stoney, who lives downtown.
Tyler hopes to restore trust, engagement if elected mayor
For Bruce W. Tyler, it’s time for the city of Richmond to treat residents like customers. “We need to make everyone feel like they’re a part of our city. After all, they invest in our city when they make the decision to live in our city,” he said. Tyler is running his mayoral campaign on the basis of serving residents and generating trust in city government.
Making his third bid for mayor, Williams calls for school, budget changes
A career architect, Lawrence Williams has an eye for cost-cutting when it comes to construction projects that he says would help curb excess spending in Richmond’s government. “Most of the money that the city is wasting is in capital improvements and, as an architect, I’d be able to cut that in half,” Williams said. “And the average … mayor is not going to have the skill set to do it,” added Williams, one of two candidates for Richmond mayor who are architects — the other is former Councilman Bruce W. Tyler.
Attorney General Mark Herring leads rivals in fundraising in first half of year
Attorney General Mark R. Herring, the Democrat who is running for re-election next year, outraised the two GOP candidates who hope to defeat him in the first half of the year. Herring, who was barred by law from raising money during the 60-day General Assembly session that ended March 11, raised a total of $443,737 in the year’s first six months between his One Commonwealth PAC and his campaign committee. Herring’s One Commonwealth PAC began the year with a balance of $242,164, and his Herring for Attorney General committee started the year with a balance of $50,462. In the two committees combined, he had a balance of $590,585 as of June 30 after expenses.
Ralph Northam edges Ed Gillespie in 2017 gubernatorial fundraising, both campaigns report more than $1 million on hand
Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam leads Republican Ed Gillespie in early fundraising for Virginia’s 2017 gubernatorial race, but both campaigns say they’re raising money at a faster clip than their predecessors. Both campaigns announced Wednesday that they have more than $1 million on hand halfway through 2016, with Northam’s $1.44 million beating Gillespie’s $1.05 million. At the same point in 2012, Democrat Terry McAuliffe had $1.04 million. Republican Ken Cuccinelli had $627,337. Northam, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, reported raising $1.03 million in 2016 as of June 30 between his Stronger Together PAC and campaign committee. Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman who ran a surprisingly strong race in 2014 against U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., raised roughly $852,000 in that same period.
In 2017 bid for Virginia lieutenant governor, Jill Holtzman Vogel raises $560,000
Virginia state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel has raised $560,000 to fund her 2017 bid for lieutenant governor since announcing her candidacy in March, bringing in a near-record amount for this stage of the campaign. Only former Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) raised more than Vogel (R-Fauquier) over a comparable period, taking in $727,000 over the first six months of 2008. And that was when Bolling was an incumbent seeking a second term as lieutenant governor in the 2009 election, with only token opposition for the GOP nod. “I am grateful to the hundreds of supporters across the Commonwealth who are inspired by our message of bold conservative leadership,” Vogel said in a statement.
Field Notes: Cash Flow (and Ebb)
The eight remaining candidates in Richmond’s mayoral race reported raising a combined $294,000 from June 3 to June 30. Candidates’ finance reports, detailing donors and campaign expenditures, were due last Friday. We sifted through them so you don’t have to. Here are our five takeaways.
Tim Kaine leading contender for Hillary Clinton’s running mate, AP reports
Richmond’s Sen. Tim Kaine has emerged as the leading contender to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, The Associated Press reported Thursday night, citing two Democratic sources who cautioned that Clinton had not made a final decision and could yet change direction. As speculation mounted, multiple media outlets reported that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, is the other leading contender. “I’m glad the waiting game is nearly over,” Kaine told reporters Thursday after an event in Northern Virginia, deflecting questions about whether he was about to join the ticket.