RICHMOND, Va. — When Richmond voters elected Danny Avula as the city’s next mayor, he became the first non-African American candidate to win that seat since Richmonders began electing a strong mayor in 2004.
What, if anything, does that say about changing demographics in Richmond?
CBS 6 Bill Fitzgerald and CBS 6 political analyst Bob Holsworth discussed the issue.
“What happened here, was that Danny Avula ran what I would consider to be the best campaign, and he had the resources to do so,” Holsworth said. “He was on television early. He had the background [as] City Health Commissioner. He was known because he was a COVID czar for [Virginia Governor] Ralph Northam. So he had some real advantages coming into this race.”
Provided to WTVR“Michelle Mosby [who is African-American] did as well,” Holsworth continued. “She had been City Council president. She had a geographic base, but she was not able to extend her base beyond those three districts she won to the rest of the city, in part, maybe because of her campaign, but in part because she simply did not have the resources, the financial resources, to do so.”