Mayoral hopefuls consider future

Richmond's mayoral candidates looked last night to the future of downtown, and several of them balked at the idea that it could include a new ballpark in Shockoe Bottom rather than along North Boulevard.

Paul Goldman, William J. Pantele and Lawrence E. Williams Sr. emphasized different points but all said they favor keeping baseball on the Boulevard near The Diamond if Richmond can lure a franchise to replace the Class AAA Braves.

Robert J. Grey Jr. and Dwight Clinton Jones didn't object to the Boulevard site but indicated a need for flexibility.

Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, who isn't seeking a second term, suggested this week that the Bottom, not the Boulevard, should be considered for a new stadium as part of the city's review of development proposals for both areas.

Grey said locking into a site now with so many unknowns, including the amount of private financing, "is just politics of the past. You've got to be able to present an idea . . . but it still has to work at the end."

Goldman shot back at his first chance, saying, "I don't think it's politics of the past to tell you where a candidate stands instead of giving you gibberish. I don't think it's politics of the past to show you priorities." Goldman had called for investing in schools before baseball.

The forum attracted an estimated 350 people to the Renaissance Conference Center on West Broad Street and was part of the Richmond Decision'08 series organized by the League of Women Voters, Style Weekly and other groups.

The candidates mostly avoided taking swipes at each other as they answered questions on how they would approach such issues as trash pickup, regional cooperation and continued expansion by Virginia Commonwealth University.

Goldman and Jones said they support the proposed Downtown Master Plan, which is pending before the City Council.

Pantele, the council's president, didn't mention the master plan but said he would work to create a lively downtown, with an emphasis on housing, tourism, entertainment, public access to the James River and a trolley system that connects attractions. He also said he would redevelop the public housing in Gilpin Court by pursuing a plan for a much larger area that would include housing for all of the displaced residents.

"This city is plagued by playing small ball," Pantele said. "We shunt off the decisions to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority so that we don't have to face up to the decision."

Addressing how he'd approach problems associated with vacant buildings with absentee owners, Jones, a state delegate, said Richmond must improve how it approaches state lawmakers for additional policing powers.

"As it stands now, the mayor has a lobbyist, the City Council has a lobbyist, and so we're on Capitol Hill with two different stories," Jones said. "And that's why sometimes we can't get anything done."

Williams said VCU needs to be more responsive to neighborhoods as it grows and he suggested assigning each council member a dump truck or a cherry picker to combat trash and blight.

"Cleaning up neighborhoods fast -- that gets votes," he said.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .