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Former Richmond mayor and Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder unloaded criticism on his successor at City Hall, Dwight C. Jones, while fondly — and perhaps selectively — remembering his own successes in the office in a Sunday commentary piece.

The missive has been met with an unusually unified response from those currently in office: near silence.

From Jones to City Council and School Board members, many acknowledged reading the piece, but few were willing to engage.

Jones’ press secretary, Tammy D. Hawley, offered a one-sentence statement.

“One of the great things about America is that everyone is entitled to express their opinion,” she wrote, attributing the comment to Jones.

A follow-up email asking if the mayor didn’t want to offer a more substantial response to some of Wilder’s specific criticism — that he hijacked a school building program for pet economic development projects and was alone responsible for the meltdown in the city’s finance department — was met with no response.