Westhampton Citizens Association

• Why do you want to represent the citizens of the 1st district on City Council? 

For fifteen years I have been a community organizer because I enjoy connecting people to each other and to the legislative process. I am honored to be a resident of the First District because we are a community that believes in this city. Many of us have options of where to live and we choose to be a part of Richmond’s story and to contribute to the city’s future success.

I want to help ensure that Richmond remains a city that is vibrant, healthy, safe and beautiful. 

• What previous community involvement has prepared you to serve on City Council? 

Recent positions I’ve held include:

-        Chair of Richmond City Democratic Committee
-        State Board Member and Chapter Lead of Progressive                      Massachusetts
-        Chair of Fundraising for Mary Munford Elementary School PTA

My commitment to policy advocacy began in 2008 with the foreclosure crisis. I was a UVA grad working for BlackRock on a mortgage portfolio team. People were losing their homes and the government was bailing out banks. At the time I believed that we could have kept families in their homes and reduced the damage of the recession. I was so disappointed by the policy response that I quit finance to go to Duke for Economics to try to promote better policies.

Since that time, though my day job is data engineering, I have spent my free time as an organizer - hosting candidate forums, educating voters, mobilizing volunteers, and lobbying for better legislation in Richmond VA and Boston MA. My work is always focused on connecting people to the legislative process and promoting better outcomes.

• Please describe how you will foster cooperation with the new Mayor and other Council members.

I was encouraged to run by other candidates across the city who value my commitment to respectful dialogue, listening, and understanding. I believe that it is not enough to be right about something, it is necessary to find agreement to achieve anything.

My previous city-wide involvement has allowed me to create relationships with many councilmembers and mayoral-candidates already. These relationships will be crucial to making progress on public safety, school quality, home prices, and good governance.

• If elected, what are your top three priorities?

It can be hard to pick just three!

1.  Transparent, effective city services. If we want to cut waste and increase our revenue base, we need to invest in improved systems and retention of top talent. This not only requires budgetary investments and legislation, but also requires that the council do the work of administrative oversight.
2.  Public safety. In our district this means addressing pedestrian safety by reducing speeding. Switching to a dedicated Dept of Transportation will allow us to focus on safer & smarter street designs and keep our neighborhood safe & walkable.
3. Lower housing costs. Home prices, assessments, and taxes are hurting families up and down the income scale. We must deploy multiple tools to reduce pressure on home owners across the city.

• What are your perspectives on traffic in the 1st district? How would you address citizen concerns that traffic is leading to unsafe streets? 

We need to fund the creation of a new, dedicated Dept of Transportation, with a specific mandate to focus on safe street design.

We all want safe streets for children and pedestrians, but distracted drivers drive too fast on neighborhood streets. The reality is that it takes physical traffic-calming street design to change driver behavior, and the current DPW is not equipped or specialized to focus on safe street design.

A previous council has passed a resolution calling for a new DOT. In the wake of recent pedestrian deaths in the city, as Chair of the Richmond City Democratic Committee, my first act was to usher through a resolution calling for a dedicated DOT as well.

My home, on the corner of Westmoreland and Cary, has had multiple cars crash into my front yard. We cannot wait for another tragedy before making these investments.

• If you could change one thing in our zoning code, what would it be and why?

• How will you engage residents in the decision-making process in the 1st district?

My goal is to get information to our residents frequently and promptly through three main channels: Frequent email newsletters, periodic mailing, and close contact with the civic associations, who are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood.

Most importantly, this information will contain the necessary information on how to participate in the city’s decision-making process for upcoming issues, whether it is a survey, a meeting, or a commission. I believe empowering residents with information early is the most important thing their council member can do for them.

There is also an exciting new method for residents to have direct input into funding local projects which is the Participatory Budgeting process ( www.rvapb.org/ ). This new program is slated to grow each year and is designed for direct, local engagement.

• What neighborhood do you live in? How long have you lived in the 1st district?  Where are your favorite places to spend time in the 1st district and why do you love living here? 

My wife and I live across the street from Mary Munford Elementary, on Cary Street Rd, with our two children who attend Munford. Our first Richmond apartment together was on N. Cleveland St in the Museum District in 2008. We moved to our current home in 2020 after a chapter in Boston and can’t believe our luck to live in such a wonderful location.

My children and I are grateful for access to the safe, low-traffic streets of nearby Windsor Farms, where we can ride bikes away from dangerous traffic. My wife is a competitive runner and she loves the straight, flat roads of the Near West End. In fact, our neighborhood is a destination for runners from around the city!

The community that Principal Greg Muzik has created at Mary Munford is stellar. I have been thrilled to be a part of the Munford PTA to raise funds for such a high quality public city school.  The Munford playground is a premier playground in the city, but I must admit that visiting St Christopher’s campus each day for Summer Saints camp has also been a joy for our family. The setting is picturesque and the programming was excellent.

A personal favorite place of mine is the VMFA After 5 Fridays in the Sculpture Garden. This is a must-visit weekly event in the First District! We ride our bikes there with a picnic blanket and have a blast bumping into neighbors and friends - often to the good vibes of a great DJ!