Run through the tape. That’s the message written on a markerboard by Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s office. It likely refers to his busy final days in office, which included a “Faring Well” tour, “exit interviews” with local news outlets, in addition to his usual responsibilities. It could also be a reminder that he needs to keep up the pace, as he prepares to focus on another race that’s already started. 

 “I began my campaign for lieutenant governor back in April, but I have not been a full-time candidate,” he said. “I think my first day out of office will be considered the first full-time day on the campaign.” 

The 43-year-old seems built for this, and not just because of the salad and bottled water he was finishing up when reporters visited his office Dec. 16. Stoney has been mayor for the past eight years, and it’s easy to forget that his political career has progressed quickly. After working for the Democratic Party of Virginia for several years, he became the Secretary of the Commonwealth under Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2014. Just two years later, he was sworn in as the youngest person to serve as mayor, at 35 years old, after coming out on top in a crowded race. 

A lot has happened since then. The mayor, now a husband and father, shepherded the city through the pandemic, navigated a changing political climate and attempted to balance economic growth with social equity, among other challenges. The road hasn’t always been a smooth one, but the mayor hasn’t broken his stride often and kept his eye on his next goal. 

RFP: What will you miss about being the mayor? 

Stoney: The people. I know as a candidate, the people will not be far away, or as the next lieutenant governor, people won’t be far away, but I’ll miss the day to day interactions with people from all across our community who make the city just a great place to live. I’m going to miss the folks who not only cheered me on, but also the folks who, you know, may have been critical now and again. 

RFP: What won’t you miss? 

Stoney: What won’t I miss? You know, when you become mayor, you lose your privacy, no matter where you are … 

RFP: You’re the mayor. 

Stoney: You’re the mayor, right? I could be at the gym. I could be eating dinner with my wife. You know, I could be at a restaurant with some friends, but you’re the mayor 24/7 and so you lose privacy. I thought when I became mayor at 35 that I could continue life as a 35-year-old, you know, unobstructed. But that’s not the case when you’re the mayor and you’re the chief executive of the city, and so I will not miss not having a private moment. 

RFP: Were there any campaign promises that you feel you fell short of fulfilling? 

Stoney: You know, one campaign promise that I think that, you know, we may have gone in a different direction, but we were still able to fulfill it, but just not in the same light that I wanted it in — was what I wanted to do with public housing. Creighton Court, Gilpin Court … 70 and 80 years [old], respectively. And I just think that beyond the notion that we should not be concentrating poverty in just certain places around the city, but the conditions in which you live in are inhumane, was the driving reason why I wanted to see those parts of the city redeveloped. We have made tremendous progress on redeveloping Creighton Court with the Armstrong Renaissance and the development that’s occurring there on the site today. And I know that we have a development in the works for Gilpin as well. But I had hoped that we would have done more. 

RFP: Is there a particular moment that you’re most proud of, when you look back on your term? 

Stoney: The one that I know that historians will always tag me with will be the removal of Richmond’s Confederate monuments. This was the former Capital of Confederacy, and to remove monuments that stood for over a century is no small feat and it’s not until this moment of reflection, toward the end of my tenure, that I can really take full account of what we did. Many cities haven’t done what we did. And the fact that I am still experiencing a number of our Black residents who grab me by the hand and say, ‘I would have never thought in my time, in my life, that I would ever see those monuments come down. You’re always going to have my vote,’ that warms my heart, but also to know that my daughter is living in a city in which her great-great-grandparents grew up in, and it’s going to be a totally different city, a city that will not have those monuments. 

RFP: The Richmond Coliseum is an iconic venue in the city’s history. Do you think it was a missed opportunity there to keep that venue open and to develop that space? 

Stoney: I work too damn hard to have any regrets about my time as mayor. But with the wisdom of hindsight, I wish that we could have done something about Navy Hill and the Coliseum site. I wish that we would have found success there, because it is iconic and is very significant and important to the Black community. One of the reasons why I led with that as my initial economic development endeavor was because I wanted a project that would reach all corners of the city, but also people from all different walks of life. So I led with that, thinking this was something that would pull our community together. And is there not a moment that goes by when folks still say to me, ‘Mayor, we need that Coliseum, Mayor, we need that Coliseum.’ And I was like, ‘Man, that is, we have run our course on that project,’ and I know that Henrico’s endeavoring to build an arena. I hope they do that, because I believe this region deserves such a venue. 

RFP: What would you say to people in the city who feel they’ve been displaced due to gentrification? 

Stoney: I’m a big believer that we can’t put up walls around our city. We have to avail ourselves to growth and investment and over the course of the last eight years, we’ve been able to reduce poverty by a third because we’ve been able to bring together economic growth and economic opportunity. But with all this opportunity that might be coming into the city, with all this investment that’s coming into the city, the one thing that we should try our best to prevent is displacement. Neighborhoods renewing, I think, is a good thing, right? That means that many of those who have seen their property values rise when they are able to pass this property off to the heirs, they’re able to actually gain some value in terms of generational wealth. However, we know the flip side of that is rising taxes and rising assessments. We should do everything we can to ensure that “Ms. Jenkins,” who who got us through the ’70s the ’80s, that the crack epidemic, white flight — she should be able to stay here as long as she can, and that’s why I’m glad that the City Council joined me in adopting our RVA Stay plan that freezes their assessments at a certain year … for a lot of our seniors, but also offers relief to our renters and homeowners alike. We need to be more creative, not just as a locality, but as a state, on how to protect long-term homeowners. 

RFP: Any advice for the next mayor? 

Stoney: Advice for the next mayor is to be bold and continue to be audacious. Over the last eight years, we’ve been able to buck the status quo here in the city. I heard a lot of couldn’ts, shouldn’ts when I first was elected mayor, and I don’t take too kindly to people in general, telling other people what they can’t do or what they shouldn’t do. And so we have to learn how to be comfortable with pushing the envelope. And it’s my hope that Dr. Avula’s administration does exactly that when it comes to the issue of housing, economic opportunity and closing the inequality gap that we have in the city. You have to be bold. You have to be audacious. And so my request from the next administration, and also the next iteration of City Council, is to continue to push the envelope. 

 Mayor Levar M. Stoney looks ahead as his term nears its end.
 Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press