Richmond’s next mayor will be Levar Stoney, a 35-year-old Black man and former state Cabinet official who rose above a crowded field of candidates, including a disgraced former lawmaker who polls favored through much of the campaign. In a crowded field, where a run off was expected, Stoney won outright.
Stoney’s victory belied polls during most of the campaign that favored Joe Morrissey, a former state lawmaker who was jailed last year on charges he slept with a 17-year-old African-American female. He later married the woman, who had worked at his law firm, and they have two children.
Morrissey, 59 and White, had positioned himself as a champion of the low-income population in a minority majority city. And many in the Black community still supported him, not in spite of his flaws, but because of them. As a result of the relationship, a grand jury later indicted Morrissey on felony charges including indecent liberties with a minor and possession and distribution of child pornography.
Even though he was eventually sentenced to a six-month jail sentence on the count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, after his release, he ran as an independent and regained his seat in the Virginia House. He was ahead in the polls leading up to the mayoral election, but he ran into the “Stoney Snowball.”
“This guy and his campaign have put together a well-articulated message, but at the end of the day, it’s really who Levar is that started this ball rolling,” Jenson Larrimore, a Stoney supporter. “Like any good snowball rolling down a mountain, it starts small, but it continually picks up more and more. I would’ve been shocked if it had gone any other way.”
“In the beginning of this race, people told me that I should wait my turn. People told me that I am way too impatient. Tonight I will tell you that impatience is a virtue,” Stoney said to an election night crowd of supporters. “I was impatient because we have been unable to deliver basic services like broken sidewalks, fixing potholes, collecting the leaves, cutting the grass. Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t apologize for being impatient. You, the city of Richmond, we’ve been patient for far too long.”
Stoney served in the administration of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe as secretary of the commonwealth. The job often goes to a close political adviser and involves assisting in the appointments of unpaid state board members. But the role also calls for restoring voting rights for felons, a major issue that both Stoney and McAuliffe champion.
While many of Stoney’s opponents have criticized his lack of experience, Dana Henry saw Stoney’s age and his connection to the community as a big plus.
“He’s young, he’s creative and I think he will bring some great change to the city,” said Henry. “Definitely to improve Richmond public schools. They’re having some issues there so I would definitely like to see some improvement there.”
