City of Richmond

Independent candidates Andrew “Gumby” Breton, Zachary Lee Walker, and Paul Goldman are facing off to win the seat previously held by current Richmond Mayoral Candidate, Andreas Addison.

Breton previously served as a Mary Munford PTA board member, Chair of the Richmond City Democratic Committee, and chapter chair of Progressive Massachusetts. Breton’s campaign site notes his desire to “shift increasing tax burden off of existing homeowners onto new developments.” At first glance, this sounds like cutting real estate taxes, and as we know, cutting taxes directly correlates to the cutting of social services. 🤔

Goldman led the anti-casino effort in Richmond as well as a lawsuit against the city’s decision to build a new baseball stadium, arguing priority should be placed on schools instead. Goldman’s campaign site declares him as the only candidate who wants to cut taxes and fees by 10%. 🤔🤔🤔

Walker is a VCU graduate who previously served as president of the Monument Avenue Park Civic Association. Much of what Walker discusses aligns with our values, but there is simply too little information to get a full picture of his platform and ideals. Therefore, we cannot make a full recommendation here. 🤷

There is no recommendation in this race. We encourage you to reach out to these campaigns and inquire about the issues that matter to you most. Remember, there are other races to vote on in this election.

Issues we dug up in our research:
In 2020, Trammell was involved in a scandal during her run for office in which one of her largest donors during the campaign cycle was a now-convicted drug kingpin. Trammell did not offer any explanation of the donation or relationship.
Also in 2020, Trammell shared a post to her facebook account in which a racist Jim Crow-era caricature was prominently displayed in her kitchen. She said she had no idea it was racist, even though it is labeled as one of the most prominent archetypes of the Jim Crow era and is prominently featured on the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia’s website.
While serving on the council in 2020, Trammell drew additional fire for being one of only two council members who opposed a symbolic resolution to request the state to grant authority over Confederate monuments to local governments.
In 2023, Trammell was involved in another political fiasco involving the Hickory Hill Community Center. The Richmond Fire Department had proposed to build a fire training facility with a two-story burn building where firefighters could simulate extinguishing live infernos on the grounds of the community center on East Belt Boulevard. Despite opposition by local environmental group Southside ReLeaf and being denied by both the city’s Urban Design Commission and the Planning Commission, 8th District representative Reva Trammell and Mayor Stoney introduced a joint resolution in favor of the burn facility that the City Council then passed. The city eventually reversed course, but only after pushing hard for what was felt by many to be a hostile takeover against the clear wishes of the community.
Trammell has been caught multiple times using her position in unethical and illegal ways and making unregulated, unsupervised distributions of gift cards that she labels “constituent services”, which she never disclosed as any kind of donation.

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Frank H. Wilson Jr. was born in Austin, Texas. His father served in the army, and his mother worked as a housekeeper. He has Bachelors Degree from Rice University, Masters Degree from Liberty University, and four major designations in Insurance and Financial Services.

Note: Public forums show many comments expressing concern with Wilson’s candidacy, arguing that he does not live in the community and does not seem to care about their actual interests.

RECOMMENDATION
There are no excuses or even explanations for Councilwoman Trammel's past actions. We cannot, in good conscience, recommend Trammel in this race. Given what little information we could find on Frank H. Wilson Jr., there does not appear to be a progressive option in this race.