City Council member Michelle R. Mosby could have the votes to become the first African-American woman to lead Richmond’s City Council.

The Free Press has learned that a majority of the nine council members are planning to replace the current president, attorney Charles R. Samuels who represents the 2nd District, when council elects its officers after the new year.

The majority’s choice, three sources said, is Ms. Mosby, a businesswoman and first-term 9th District representative. She has not responded to requests for comment.

The leadership shakeup also calls for electing Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, as vice president in place of Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, who has held the No. 2 post for six years, the sources said.

“The votes are firm,” said one source.

The sources said Ms. Robertson agreed to the plan after learning she did not have the support to become president. She also has not responded to a request for comment.

Her reward could be restoration to a chairmanship of a council committee. She lost her post as Finance Committee chair when Mr. Samuels was elected president in 2013.

The sources said the other council members supporting the change include Parker C. Agelasto, 5th District, and Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District.

Requests for comment from council members mostly have gone unanswered.

Mr. Agelasto responded, but said he was unaware of an impending leadership change. He said the election is still too far off for him to give it attention.

There have been three previous female council leaders. Eleanor Sheppard, the first woman on City Council, was the first in 1962 when she was selected mayor, the top council post at the time. Geline Williams was the second in 1988. Both served two years.

After the mayor post became an at-large, voter elected position, council changed the name of its top post to president. The first woman to hold that post is 4th District Councilwoman Kathy C. Graziano. She served as council president for four years until she relinquished the post at the end of 2012.

While African-American men have led council, African-American women have served only as vice mayor or vice president.

The sources said that the majority believes a change is needed to improve the badly frayed relationship between council and Mayor Dwight C. Jones and his staff.

Mr. Samuels did not see eye-to-eye with the mayor on the stadium issue and contact has been reduced, the sources said.

That should improve with Ms. Mosby in place, the sources said. She was among four council members who were prepared to support the mayor’s plan to build a new stadium for baseball in Shockoe Bottom.

The sources said Mr. Samuels also seemed to favor a coterie of council members, and some members of council have felt short-changed in the exchange of information.