Six seek 7th District seat on Richmond City Council

The political shuffling that began when Dwight C. Jones was elected Richmond mayor last year will end Nov. 3 with a special election for the 7th District seat on the City Council.

Six candidates are vying to represent the East End: Ronald L. Bond, Clarence Kenney, Deanna Lewis, Cynthia I. Newbille, Garry F. Powell and Robin D. Robinson.

The winner will replace interim Councilwoman Betty L. Squire and finish the four-year term that Del. Delores L. McQuinn won last year. McQuinn surrendered the council seat early this year after winning a special election to represent the 70th District in the House of Delegates. Jones vacated the House seat after he was elected mayor.

While there's no incumbent in the race, Newbille is attracting attention and criticism from other candidates, in part over her backing from McQuinn and another former 7th District council member, state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III.

Newbille was a leading candidate for appointment to the council seat early this year until she withdrew amid controversy for having moved into the district to meet requirements for the position. She acknowledged renting a home on 27th Street but also pointed to her deep ties to the district, including being raised there, managing the city's East District Initiative and now serving as acting director of the nonprofit Family Resource Center.

"I am a person who has demonstrated they can deliver for the people," said Newbille, who also worked as chief of staff to then-City Manager Calvin D. Jamison. "I have proven experience and leadership."

But other candidates are trying to turn Newbille's prominent supporters and experience into liabilities.

"She's been in a position to do things, and she hasn't done very much," Kenney said of Newbille. "We need to cut off that little power that Henry Marsh has had since he left office, because our district has gone down."

Newbille said she is pleased to have the support of McQuinn, Marsh and others but insisted she would carve her own niche by collaborating with civic groups and others to address crime, housing, school performance and other issues. She cited her work to get the Capital Area Health Network established for East End residents.

One pressing issue for the 7th is Echo Harbour, a proposed high-rise development that has drawn opposition over concerns that it would block views of the James River from Libby Hill Park.

Newbille said she would not take a position on the project until a final proposal is submitted. "Any project that would preclude views or access [to the river] is not the project for us," she said.

Other candidates are touting their experience in the district and ideas.

• Bond, a lifeand health-insurance field underwriter, said he would combat crime by opening schools for recreation in the evenings and summers. He called for improving the East End library and boosting incentives to spur business investment along 25th Street. He said he would listen to residents on Echo Harbour.

• Kenney, a former city parks employee, said he would root out wasteful spending in schools and use savings to start a laptop loan program for students. He called for increased efforts to promote commercial investment, as well as work with the state to halt alcohol sales at convenience stores that cause neighborhood problems. He would seek a compromise on Echo Harbour, allowing the development and preserving the river view.

• Lewis, an artist who buys and restores old homes, said the district's high concentration of public housing needs to be broken up and integrated into mixed-income communities across the city. She called for a city liaison to guide small businesses through regulatory hurdles, as well as for more police attention to drug dealing, prostitution and other crimes. She opposes the site for Echo Harbour and proposes a swap with city property on the south side of the James.

• Powell, a human-resources coordinator for Patient First, said he would give residents better access to the council and help the district get fairer treatment from City Hall. He said the district needs more police on streets, as well as more attention to speeding and other crimes that hurt a community's quality of life. He said the Echo Harbour site should be publicly owned to preserve the views.

Robinson, an instructional assistant at Metropolitan Day School, said the 7th needs more tutoring programs, as well as after-school programs to teach citizenship and responsibility. She said Shockoe Bottom needs a movie theater and skating center to help the city attract families and tax base. She opposes Echo Harbour and called for an expansion of property tax-relief for seniors and for upgrades to the East End library.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .