Council’s first step: Replace McQuinn?

One of the first assignments for the next Richmond City Council will likely be picking a replacement for one of its members.

Council members will have 45 days to appoint a representative from the 7th District if longtime Councilwoman Delores L. McQuinn wins a Jan. 6 special election for a seat in the General Assembly.

McQuinn is running unopposed in the House of Delegates' 70th District after winning Saturday's Democratic primary. The strongly Democratic district includes parts of the city's East End, as well as eastern portions of Chesterfield and Henrico counties, and it's currently represented by Mayor-elect Dwight Clinton Jones.

If McQuinn jumps to the legislature, the council will pick someone to fill her seat until a special election can be held in November, City Attorney Norman B. Sales said.

The winner of the special election will serve the rest of the four-year term McQuinn easily won last month. Potential appointees must be qualified to vote in the 7th District, Sales said.

If a majority of council fails to make the appointment within 45 days, the responsibility falls to the Richmond Circuit Court.

Jennie Dotts, who works in historic building preservation and ran for the 7th District council seat in 1998, confirmed she's interested in the appointment. James Minor, McQuinn's son, said he might be interested.

The potential vacancy comes as two major development proposals are being considered for the 7th District -- a ballpark project in Shockoe Bottom and the Echo Harbour condominiums along the James River east of downtown.

The council has made several interim appointments in recent years, but they've typically come under unfortunate circumstances.

In 2004, Lewis Coates was appointed in the 9th District to replace Gwen C. Hedgepeth after a federal jury convicted her of bribery and other charges. Also, Robert B. Jones Jr. was appointed in the 4th District to replace Peter R. Grimm, who resigned and later died of cancer.

A year earlier, Jones was appointed to replace 4th District Councilman Joseph E. Brooks, who had died, and former Mayor Walter T. Kenney Sr. was tapped in the 6th District to replace Councilman Sa'ad El-Amin, who resigned before pleading guilty to federal tax charges. Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .