Anticipating the local 2012 elections

This year Richmonders will be voting at the local level for city council, school board, and mayor. Candidates have until summer to officially get on the ballot; here is a look at where we start off 2012… The bulk of the West of the Boulevard area is in the 1st District, with the area north […]

January 23, 2012; 12:08 PM • by West of the Boulevard News

The bulk of the West of the Boulevard area is in the 1st District, with the area north of Main Street being in the 5th District and a small piece north of Monument near Boulevard in the 2nd District. (more 2nd District info HERE)

MAYOR

Four years ago, Dwight Jones garnered 39% of the city-wide vote in a split 5 person race to see who would follow Doug Wilder as mayor of Richmond. Bill Pantele rolled up 2nd with 33%, trailed by Robert Grey at 21%. Paul Goldman, Lawrence Williams, and Write-in split the remaining 7% of the vote.

In 2008, Pantele grabbed 60% of the 1st District vote in the mayoral contest. Grey received 26% of the vote, with Jones getting less than 10%. In the 3rd, Jones won 43% of the vote; Pantele trailed with 31%.

Mayor Jones has not announced that he will be seeking re-election in 2012, but he has a lot of money on hand and is acting like he will be in the running. No other candidates have yet surfaced.

1ST DISTRICT

1st District Council Representative Bruce Tyler ran unnopposed to win his 2nd term in office. 1st District Schoolboard Representative Kim Bridges ran unnopposed. It was announced earlier that she would not be seeking reelection in 2012. No candidates for the seat have made their intentions public yet.

5TH DISTRICT

Winning his 3rd election since 2005, 5th District Council Representative Marty Jewell held his office by taking 49% of the vote in a 3-way race.

5th District Schoolboard Representative Betsy Carr easily won reelection with 69% of the vote. She was later elected to the Virginia House of Representative and replaced by Maurice Henderson, who won a special election in 2010 to hold the seat.

Both men should be in for a challenge this year: Jewell’s October 2009 DUI put him in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons, and Henderson has been catching flack over his perceived lack of support for the Patrick Henry charter school.