Having just announced he was stepping down from the Mayor's office; I respect Mayor Wilders commitment to make Richmond a better place for all of its citizens to live, work, and play.
Richmond is a great city filled with unlimited potential and Mayor Wilder saw that and accomplished many things to improve the city and position it to be great in the future during his tenure as mayor.
However, his combative style of leadership caused problems that did nothing but hurt the very people he was elected to serve; and ultimately his administration failed to live up to our -- and even his own -- expectations.
What mayor goes to war with his own city's school system? The city schools have enough issues providing adequate education to our children without having the mayor try to throw them out on the street.
This is a new Richmond and we need new leadership to unite this community and make Richmond a city where all citizens can enjoy a higher standard of living and be proud to call it home.
A version of this post also appeared in both the Richmond Free Press and the Richmond Times-Dispatch
