With more than a year to go until the election, the Richmond mayoral race already promises a tense and tight competition. Buoyed by a premature endorsement from the Richmond Progressive Alliance, Councilmember Eduardo Martinez has already set up a campaign finance committee, public records show. In a race that will determine his political survival, Martinez braces for a potential challenge from Vice Mayor Demnlus Johnson III, who told Richmond Confidential he is considering a run. Councilmember Nat Bates, who is…
Less than two years after being named Richmond city manager, Laura Snideman will leave the position with more than $300,000 in severance and other payments, according to a separation agreement that Mayor Tom Butt shared publicly on Tuesday night. The City Council approved Snideman’s termination during a closed session earlier this month. Snideman’s last day as city manager is Dec. 1. A caveat of the agreement is that she has seven days from the time it was signed to withdraw…
In an e-forum blast Tuesday, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt said a nearly two-year investigation into allegations against him has concluded after finding no evidence of wrongdoing. “Read it and weep,” Butt said when introducing the letter, which was addressed to him and the City Council, from the city attorney. Marked “confidential,” it outlines the investigation’s origins and findings. Multiple complaints were filed by a city employee, according to the letter, accusing Butt of abuse of power and conflict of interest….
Richmond City Attorney Teresa Stricker has resigned, Mayor Tom Butt announced Thursday in his newsletter. The announcement comes after months of Butt lambasting the attorney and city manager for their purported role in investigating him over allegations that his architecture firm accepted city work, which would be a conflict of interest for the mayor. Butt has denied the accusation, which hasn’t been made publicly, and claimed that Stricker and City Manager Laura Snideman have used city money to investigate him,…
Gas stoves and fireplaces may be a thing of the past in Richmond under a proposed ordinance that would shut natural gas out of new buildings. Richmond City Council could vote next month on the proposed ordinance by Councilmember Eduardo Martinez that closes a loophole in the city’s natural gas ban, which applies to new structures and major renovations. Gas-powered appliances and fireplaces are now exempt from the ban but would not be under Martinez’s proposal, which would leave electricity…
Richmond will be using the recently released 2020 U.S. census data to redraw the city’s political boundaries and is inviting residents to help. Three public workshops already have been held online and two more are scheduled in January and February. But anyone who wants to participate can submit maps and suggestions by email. The census triggers a redrawing of political boundaries across the country every 10 years. In Richmond, City Council representation likely will be reconfigured as a result. The…