Richmond mayoral candidates discuss government efficiency and approval processes

RICHMOND, Va. – All five mayoral candidates took the stage at the town hall debate on Tuesday.

The debate took place at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) and was co-sponsored by Richmond First, VMHC’s John Marshall Center, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and WTVR CBS 6.

Moderator Greg McQuade and panelists Bob Holsworth, Chris Coates and Reba Hollingsworth 11 questions for the candidates – Andreas Addison, Danny Avula, Michelle Mosby, Maurice Neblett and Harrison Roday.

The sixth question of the debate was: How do you plan to streamline the city’s permitting process and change the perception that Richmond government is doing nothing?

Andrew Addison

Well, I feel for this resident because I too had to contend with a building permit process that delayed my opening of my gym by 18 months. One of the things we need to focus on is providing a front door option for anyone who wants to invest in our city, whether that’s getting planning permission for a patio, adding an extension to the back of a house or opening a shop front or build a large apartment building to address our housing crisis.

Everything starts with a building permit.

Basic level access requires a point of contact: a person you can call, email, text, and receive updates on the status of your request.

I didn’t have that and obviously neither did the citizen who asked that question.

As mayor, I will strengthen the Economic Development Authority as a front door and focus on putting these resources right in front of you so you know exactly who to call and who to get your answers from. This is the type of information we need to show if we are concerned and focused on investing in our city. There shouldn’t be a black hole. One should understand exactly what is expected, the next step and help you along the way. In doing so, I want to ensure that the City of Richmond is viewed as open for business and ready for your investment.

Danny Avula

Improving the permitting process and so many other processes at City Hall really requires two things: first, process improvement and second, accountability from leadership.

When I took over as Commissioner of Human Services, we faced a challenge: the turnaround time for background investigations was eight weeks or more. Many businesses across the Commonwealth were struggling because our department was taking too long.

I met with the department, worked with the team to outline the process, and we realized three things. We had to streamline the process, hire more staff and invest in technology.

We did those three things and within six months we went from eight weeks turnaround time to less than five days turnaround time. And it required leadership responsibility to ensure we stayed on top of things and made improvements week after week.

That is the experience and expertise I will bring to this approval process and many others at City Hall.

Maurice Neblett

We need to assess staffing levels and also ensure we have technology in place to enable staff to track progress and the approval process. I like the Domino’s Pizza tracking app, you know, it’s just crisp, clear and transparent so people know exactly where they are in the process. Is it in the oven? Is it on the way? This simply ensures that we have simple solutions to complex problems.

Harrison Roday

It is vital that we have a town hall that works for our residents. We don’t need a town hall in the headlines. But this is really about so much more than just City Hall.

Yes, we can talk about how I have seen projects modernizing IT systems being undertaken from the 1980s to today. We need to do some of this in our city.

I have led projects where we redesign departments and hire new managers. Yes, we have to do these things.

But why is this a fundamental problem? This is a problem because we need to address really important issues like affordable housing, funding our schools, honoring our collective bargaining agreements, and ensuring the safety of our neighborhoods.

And we can’t do that and spend our tax money wisely if we don’t know that City Hall is working.

We can do this if we work together.

Michelle Mosby

Again, the most important thing is that when someone walks in the door they are able to get things done.

In your first 100 day plan. You must meet with each department head. You need to know what prevents us from being productive.

We also need to know what our staffing levels are. This must be done in advance so that we can expand and improve our digital portfolio.

To be clear, my friends, there are many things that we cannot pass on directly to our regional partners, but if the system works, we can implement them individually. It’s about bringing in experts, it’s bringing in our Henrico friends. It makes our Chesterfield friends say, “Hey, you have a system that works. Help us get our system up and running so we can actually create affordable housing and so on.” The other things we want to see happen in our city.

And that’s how we do things. We bring in experts to support us.

Find out more about the candidates

Watch the full debate here or on our YouTube channel.

CBS 6 interviewed each candidate before the debate, which you can find here:

For more information about this year’s election – and how to vote in the city of Richmond or surrounding areas – check out WTVR’s Virginia Voter’s Guide.

You can check your voter registration here. The last day to register to vote is October 15th.

What are your hopes for Richmond’s next mayor? Email the CBS 6 Newsroom and let us know.

Note: WTVR used AI software to transcribe the debate, and newsroom staff provided editing for clarity.