The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a series of articles about our prospects for mayoral candidates this November. This will be Richmond’s second election whereby a popularly elected mayor will be chosen and a cantankerous former governor will be an option for voters.

My feelings are that we gave ornery and cantankerous a chance in 2004 to “clean up the cesspool” of Richmond city government. Unfortunately our mayor has seen fit to spend his time waging war against city council and the school board, attacking the city school administration , and among other hobbies harassing and frustrating the Richmond Braves into leaving the city . A good mayor he has not been and his lofty expectations are not met.

So far Doug Wilder, Paul Goldman and Jackie Jackson have declared their candidacies. The latter candidate, Jackie Jackson is now my favorite but that could very well change as more candidates throw their hat in the ring. Jackson proved herself as a capable, professional and dedicated public servant when she served on city council. Her reputation and experience in public service is outstanding and she would bring positive change to a city hall that has fallen victim to the increasingly paranoid and delusional culture of the current mayor.

The TD spoke with other potential candidates for mayor, my favorite being Secretary of Administration Viola Baskerville. She declines the opportunity in favor of focusing her attention on her job in state government. My other favored candidate City Council President Bill Pantele remains open to the idea. Bill would be an excellent mayor, a strong candidate and an advocate for Richmonders.

We’ll see what develops over the next few weeks as it seems to be candidacy declaration season in the capital city!

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