Richmond City Council President Michelle R. Mosby pledged “to renew a sense of trust in government.”

Jack Berry, former director of Downtown booster group Venture Richmond, said, “I will make sure that the first dollar goes to the schools, not the last dollar.”

City Council member Jonathan T. Baliles, 1st District, said the city must formulate a long-term spending plan with Richmond Public Schools to address its comprehensive needs. However, he added, “Until we fix the city’s finances and finance department, we’re flying blind.”

And his council colleague, Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, emphasized, “It’s time to get back to the basics and support everyday people.”

They were among 12 people seeking to succeed Dwight C. Jones as Richmond’s mayor who participated April 6 in a spirited standing-room-only candidate forum before more than 800 community members in Coburn Hall on the Virginia Union University campus.

One of the declared candidates, community activist Rick Tatnall, echoed what many in the room and around the city believe, when he said, “This is the most important election the city of Richmond and Richmond region have ever seen.”

The event was organized and moderated by former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, also a former Richmond mayor who currently serves as a Distinguished Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, and Robert “Bob” Holsworth, a political commentator and member of VCU’s Board of Visitors.

In opening remarks, Mr. Wilder told the audience, “We invited everybody we heard of who thought they might be running. We did not exclude anyone.”

Others who participated in the forum included Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey, attorney and former member of the House of Delegates; architect Lawrence E. Williams; Bruce Tyler, architect and former 1st District councilman; Lillie Estes, a public housing activist; Chad Ingold, an Open High School teacher; community activist Alan Schintzius; and businessman Brad Froman.

Virginia Secretary of Administration Levar Stoney, who many expect to toss his hat into the race before the June 14 candidate filing deadline, did not participate.

Who will actually qualify to run for mayor, however, is still up in the air.

City voter registrar Kirk Showalter told the Free Press this week, “No candidate has yet to file all the necessary paperwork to qualify for the office of mayor.”

Among other requirements, a candidate must get 500 signatures of registered voters, with at least 50 signatures from each of the city’s nine council districts.

The Free Press asked some of the audience members prior to the event what they consider as the top priority for the next mayor.

“I want the next mayor to emphasize fixing the schools and making them better,” said Larry Brooks, a retired computer salesman. “I also want them to focus on improving the city’s infrastructure.”

Retired educator Dorothy Drake said the next mayor should “take to heart our children by improving the school system” and help more young people “get the skills they need to meet they challenges they will face in the workplace.”

Alisha Banks, a VCU junior majoring in criminal justice, said she hopes the next mayor will press for “more reforms in the judicial system,” such as more re-entry programs for ex-offenders and not prosecuting low-level, nonviolent offenders.

After several candidates spoke early in the forum about the big money items they would seek to address as mayor, Mr. Wilder then turned to all the candidates and asked them to “raise your hands” if they would support a tax increase to help pay for the items.

No one raised a hand.

“Where is the money going to come from for you to do anything?” he then asked the candidates, getting no response.

Another big topic at the forum was poverty reduction.

Ms. Estes declared that “housing affordability and real job creation” are keys. “There’s a real gentrification process going on in the city,” she added.

Mr. Schintzius suggested opening more “employee-owned stores” in neighborhoods and getting rid of predatory businesses that offer high interest payday loans.

Mr. Tyler advocated to “build mixed-income developments” in poor communities to help lift the impoverished. He also spoke for fully funding Richmond Public Schools so that schools would “no longer be pipelines to prison.”

Mr. Ingold said, “We need to change annexation laws so we can grow (the city) some.”

Mr. Morrissey said the next mayor must “protect the citizens” by demanding improvements in a school system where only 17 of 45 schools are fully accredited.

Mr. Williams spoke of his background as a “product of Richmond Public Schools,” a longtime Church Hill resident and an experienced architect, saying he has the knowledge to help fix the city’s daunting financial problems.

Mr. Baliles said he has worked with council colleague Cynthia Newbille, 7th District, to lobby for more healthy eating options in areas of the city such as hers that are identified as food deserts. He also vowed to expedite the rebuilding of condemned and blighted properties that in turn would be sold to people seeking to move into the city.

Mr. Hilbert said his background in lending for affordable housing through the Virginia Housing Development Authority has prepared him to shepherd in more affordable housing opportunities for the less affluent.

Ms. Mosby said she has “worked diligently” as council president to help provide adequate funding for Richmond Public Schools and would continue to do so as mayor. She also vowed to strongly support public safety and infrastructure needs such as paving roads and sidewalk repair.

Mr. Berry touted his leadership with Venture Richmond and as a former Hanover County administrator as someone that has proven he “can get things done.”

During a lightning round of “yes” or “no” questions, Ms. Estes, Mr. Morrissey and Mr. Ingold were the only candidates to say they favor removing Stonewall Jackson and other statutes of former Confederates from Monument Avenue.

All of the candidates said they support creating a historic district in Shockoe Bottom to commemorate African-American heritage.

The audience burst into heavy laughter after Mr. Morrissey, who recently spent six months in Henrico County jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, touted his experience as a former teacher and coach and said he “loved being engaged with the students.”

The young woman involved in that incident, Myrna Pride, who worked for Mr. Morrissey’s law firm at the time, is now engaged to him. She was in the audience at the forum with her mother and three children, two by Mr. Morrissey.

As the laughter subsided, Mr. Morrissey said, “Speaking of engagement, I’m engaged to marry Myrna June 11.”

“Love you Myrna,” he said, before returning to his seat.