McAuliffe’s former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia Levar Stoney has announced he is in fact running for mayor despite weeks of brushing off rumors.



McAuliffe’s former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia Levar Stoney has announced he is in fact running for mayor despite weeks of brushing off rumors.

Stoney, a NY native who grew up in York County, VA, has deep roots in the state’s democratic party dating back to 2004 with work as a fellow in Gov. Mark Warner’s administration.

“I rose through the ranks from Fellow in then-Governor Mark Warner’s office to becoming the first African American Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Stoney in a press release that was literally just a collection of first person quotes which is something I’ve never seen before. “There, I ran the largest, oldest, most public-facing office of the Governor’s cabinet. I was the driving force behind restoring civil and voting rights to more than 18,000 Virginians.”

Stoney’s time in the McAuliffe cabinet came to an abrupt end recently when he announced his resignation earlier this month.

Up to that point, my favorite rumor was McAuliffe was going to ride Clinton’s coat-tails to the White House and Stoney would come with?

Anywhoo… Stoney went on to say his lifelong commitment to politics would make him perfect to take RVA “to the next level, but we will not get there with the status quo.”

Like the many other candidates, he echoed concerns about city schools, saying he was the first in his family to graduate high school:

“Money in our schools is money in our pockets. But it isn’t just about economics—it is the right thing to do… we need to ensure that each and every child in the city of Richmond has a ladder to opportunity, and a foundation for success.”

He also promised a fresh approach to government, as well as transparency and everything else everyone else has been promising.

“I am running for Mayor of Richmond because our city is on the rise, but we find ourselves at a crossroads,” he said. “We cannot afford to have more of the same in City Hall. We need a new leader who will harness our momentum. We need a leader with new ideas, a new approach, and new energy — for a new Richmond.”

Editor’s Note: I’ve met Stoney a number of times – he seems like a decent guy. He is a McAuliffe-politician, which means he’s a Clinton-politician. Personally, I think he lacks the RVA-civic connection you’ll get from some of the other candidates (like City Councilman Jonathan Baliles Richmond or former Venture Richmond ED Jack Berry).

I wasn’t as aware of the last Mayoral race, so I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure you need pretty specific communities to win this town, and that’s what current Mayor Jones managed to do. I’m not sure if Baliles or Berry can pull that off, but maybe Stoney can.

We’ll see what happens as the weeks lead up to a Nov. election date.