Letter to the Editor | Andreas Addison Should Be The Next Mayor of Richmond

We want our next mayor to walk through our neighborhoods, ride the bus, and bike with us around the city so they can feel and experience the reasons why residents across virtually every corner of Richmond are asking for safe crosswalks, shaded bus stops, and separated bike lanes.

We want our next mayor to have been a recent apartment renter so they understand how serious our ever-mounting housing crisis truly is and do the work to maintain affordability for our workforce and fixed-income households.

We want our next mayor to plant trees with us to shade heat islands and soak up the flash flooding that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown neighborhoods in Richmond.

We want our next mayor to have a demonstrated track record of showing up for us and the city’s most marginalized individuals while achieving prosperous outcomes for all Richmonders through their actions, policies, and programs.

Andreas Addison has been the only mayoral candidate who has done, does, and will continue to do all of those things with us. We believe he is the best choice to lead our city forward as our next mayor.

​Our region is currently planning and building significant and wide-reaching expansions to the accessibility, frequency, and reliability of public and active transportation through the Fall Line Trail, the North-South Bus Rapid Transit route, and historic investments in traffic calming and safety enforcement through infrastructure changes like speed tables, crosswalks, and speed camera technology.

Addison’s dedication to advancing public transit, pedestrian priority, and bike safety stands uniquely apart from his competitors. He has spent years on the GRTC Board working to adopt the Equitable Transportation Infrastructure Plan while maintaining fare-free operations and providing bus operators with a 40% raise. There is no doubt that Addison’s tireless work to advance public transportation helped land Richmond among the top ten public transit systems in the country.

As our city embarks on realizing the award-winning Richmond 300 Comprehensive Plan’s Code Refresh process—which could transform how our community maintains affordability for all residents by enabling abundant housing of all types across the city—Andreas’ knowledge of and experience with the policies and processes to achieve these outcomes is unmatched among the field of mayoral candidates.

Addison’s Housing Plan uses innovative tools like a Land Value Tax, which would revolutionize how our property tax system works for the lowest-income residents while prompting new investment in housing and small businesses. Meanwhile, Andreas’ recently adopted program that assists Richmonders facing eviction is just the start of his potential administration’s impact on securing housing for our most housing-insecure neighbors. His dedication to abundant housing will be one of his lasting impacts as a councilperson.

​The RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Action Plan not only seeks to reduce our city’s contribution to future global climate change by lowering our heat-trapping gas emissions, but it also focuses on addressing the inequitable distribution of present-day climate risks. This is done through targeted investments in adaptation and resilience resources for the most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Andreas helped enable the city’s Office of Sustainability to launch a small community climate resilience grant program, which has supported maintaining green spaces, creating new community gardens, and implementing innovative approaches to waste management. He has also spent afternoons planting trees and stewarding public green spaces while advocating for improved park access through Richmond Connects. Additionally, Andreas was the only City Council member to vote against building a new burn tower at Southside’s Hickory Hill. He consistently shows up for the livability of our neighborhoods on both sides of the James.

When push has come to shove over the past near-decade of Richmond’s history, one mayoral candidate has consistently advocated for progressive policies that improve the lives of all Richmonders. One candidate has developed and worked to adopt programs that model best practices from other cities across the country on issues related to education, housing, transit, and environmental justice. One candidate can walk into City Hall on day one of their administration with the experience needed to marshal city resources and achieve the equitable Richmond we’ve all fought to realize. One candidate has the political courage to tackle our most pressing challenges. That candidate is Andreas Addison, and we hope you can see it too.

signed,
Dr. Jeremy Hoffman
Rob Jones
Amy Wentz