District 5

Chuck Richardson represented the 5th District on Richmond’s City Council from 1977 to 1995, when he was convicted for distributing heroin. No further information is available about his campaign.

Graham Sturm is a history teacher at Armstrong High School. He grew up in Chesterfield County and obtained his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech. He later graduated with a Master’s in Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. Sturm and his husband, Carlos, live in the 5th District with their dog. 

In his campaign for the 5th District City Councilmember, Sturm promises to be a voice for education on the council by making school construction and the need for more public school funding a top priority. He wants to promote economic development in the city by focusing on planning more mixed-income housing developments, addressing the concerns of local business owners, and creating a better school system to attract more homeowners to the city. Sturm believes that taxes are too high in the city while the services citizens receive are subpar. He wants to make the city budget process more transparent and responsive to citizens’ needs. Sturm also wants to fight for ordinances that will help fund city parks and community gardens. Sturm promises to fight for equality for all of Richmond’s residents and he opposes the Richmond Coliseum development project. 

Jer’Mykeal McCoy is the current president of the Urban League of Greater Richmond Young Professionals and works as a business development manager at Schutt Sports. No other information is available about this candidate.

Mamie Taylor formerly represented Richmond’s 5th District on the School Board from 2012 to 2016. She is married with three children who are all graduates of Richmond public schools. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University and currently works as an educational advocate for students with special needs at the Richmond Public Schools system. 

Taylor is running her campaign on quality governance, transparency, and equity. She promises to promote transparency and clarity, tax reform, economic opportunities, better infrastructure for city streets, public schools, fair housing, better oversight of government spending, and more funding for public parks if elected to Richmond’s City Council. She also opposes the Richmond Coliseum development project.

Nicholas Da Silva is a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and Democratic Socialist. Da Silva is running his campaign on housing affordability, police accountability, food and transportation justice, funding of the city’s schools, and economic empowerment. He believes Richmond should fully fund its schools before committing to projects like the Navy Hill development project. He wants to give renters more rights in the city to resist eviction and mistreatment by landlords. He plans to reduce traffic by making public transportation free for every resident in the city. Da Silva wants to make the city’s police more accountable by making their statistics available for the public to see and foster community trust.  He also opposes the Richmond Coliseum development project. 

Robin Mines is the Associate Minister at Hood Temple A M E Mount Zion Church and a former member of the U.S. Airforce. Mines has no website and does not have any information on her campaign available for the public to see.

Stephanie Lynch attended high school in Prince William County and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the social work field from Virginia Commonwealth University. She currently works as a social worker and is employed by Good Neighbor as the Director of Government Affairs, Strategy, and Development. She advocates for affordable healthcare and better services for people suffering from mental health and addiction issues.

Lynch is running to represent the 5th District on Richmond’s City Council because she wants to promote trust and transparency at City Hall by holding the city accountable for its promises. She wants to keep an eye on how residents’ tax dollars are spent and to lobby the state legislature for more funding. She plans to introduce holistic solutions to Richmond’s public schools by implementing trauma-informed care at the schools and allowing teachers a better say in how decisions are made. Lynch is pushing to ensure that Richmond follows through with its promises to be a “green and clean city” by honoring citizen input and prioritizing funding for public transportation. She also supports gun violence prevention efforts.

Thad Williamson is an associate professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond and has served on the Mayor’s Anti-Poverty Commission. He’s lived in Richmond since 2005 with his wife, Adria, and their daughter, who currently attends Albert Hill Middle School. 

As 5th District Councilman for the City of Richmond, Williamson has outlined three priorities for his service on the City Council: improve the city’s school system so that students have better education outcomes and parents have confidence in sending their children to Richmond Public Schools, expand economic opportunities for city residents, and make City Hall more efficient and accountable to city residents. He wants to build more affordable housing in the 5th District, push the city government to develop a citywide affordable housing plan, revitalize the Hull Street Corridor, and address obstacles to obtaining permits at City Hall. Williamson wants to make the city government an effective and functioning partner with the community by supporting equity in hiring practices, more accountability with regularly published updates on initiatives and task forces, and implementing ethics recommendations.