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| Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder ends 40-year public service career with mixed legacy |
By: By Jeremy M. Lazarus
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Posted: Monday, June 23, 2008 1:17 pm
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L. Douglas Wilder
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RICHMOND (Special to the NNPA from the Richmond Free Press) — “As the first elected mayor under the city’s new form of government, I have set the course that will continue to produce meaningful results even as I now announce my leave from this office at the end of the year.”
With those words, Mayor L. Douglas Wilder brought down the curtain on his nearly 40-year political career — and ensured that voters will elect a new city leader in the November elections.
The white-haired, 77-year-old Richmond native ended the guessing game about his re-election plans in a five-paragraph statement.
He released the statement that he would bow out rather than seek a second, four-year term on May 17. He did so after first delivering the news to his aides and department heads — essentially wrapping up a public career that includes his history-making achievement nearly two decades ago when he became the nation’s first elected Black governor.
Facing a gathering storm of challengers eager to attack his my-way-or-the-highway approach that has been the hallmark of his tenure, the mayor touted his achievements and chose to bow out rather than risk ruining his unblemished election record.
Mayor Wilder was elected mayor in 2004, fully 10 years after leaving the governor’s office. He led the campaign to replace Richmond’s appointed city manager with an at-large mayor and created high expectations for change when he was swept into office with 80 percent of the vote.
His decision not to run again follows a plunge in his popularity. That plunge was fueled by his combative style, his never-ending fights with city council and the school board and a series of missteps. They range from his failure to keep the Richmond Braves in the city to the fiasco of trying to boot the school board from City Hall without council approval. Richmond Circuit Judge Margaret P. Spencer halted the school system move.
Mayor Wilder was battered most recently after it was revealed that he had been receiving a $700-a-month car allowance for three years while riding around in a chauffeured city car with a police security detail that cost taxpayers more than $400,000 a year. He reimbursed the city $25,000. However, recent polls taken for several mayoral candidates had indicated that less than 40 percent of city residents would vote to re-elect Mayor Wilder.
Mayor Wilder’s statement came a day after the man he called “the brightest star” in his administration, popular Police Chief Rodney D. Monroe, announced that he had accepted the top-cop position in Charlotte, N.C., and would leave by mid-June.
Chief Monroe’s decision to leave appears to have delivered the final blow to the mayor, who had been able to boast of the “unprecedented gains in public safety” because of Chief Monroe’s work. Under the chief’s leadership for three years, the Police Department has reduced the homicide rate to a 26-year low, slashed overall crime and solved crimes at record rates.
Evidence of the mayor’s dismay was reflected in the way he announced his own decision, in a news release, rather than in front of a battery of television cameras as has been more typical.
A fixture on the city political scene since he was elected to the state Senate in 1969, Mayor Wilder, who has looked increasingly sour in recent appearances, has remained publicity-shy since issuing the statement. He has largely ducked reporters, preferring to limit himself to issuing statements via the Internet through his electronic Mayor’s Vision newsletter and his blog.
If he expected any calls to reconsider, he heard none. Indeed, the corporate lawyers and business executives who had been his allies already have begun to rally support for the person they hope will run to succeed the mayor, Robert J. Grey Jr., the former American Bar Association president.
For the mayor, there have been verbal and written bouquets from supporters and at least faint praise from his critics.
Typical was the statement from Henrico Sen. A. Donald McEachin, who strongly backed the campaign for an at-large mayor as well Mayor Wilder’s election to the city’s top elected post.
In a release “on the occasion of the mayor’s retirement from public office,” Sen. McEachin stated that “we are better off for the service of Mayor Wilder. Mayor Wilder has broken down barriers and moved our country, state and city forward.”
“I think he’s earned a rest,” said state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, a former law school classmate of the mayor and a political rival for influence in the city’s East End. Sen. Marsh, who served as Richmond’s first Black mayor from 1977 to 1982, opposed the Wilder effort to create an at-large mayor and represented the School Board in its successful court challenge of the mayor’s eviction attempt.
The mayor’s announcement drew statewide attention. Former Gov. Mark R. Warner, who is now running for a U.S. Senate seat, said in a statement: “I got my start in Virginia politics working for Doug Wilder. … He and I have not always agreed, but I have enormous respect for his public service.”
Republican Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, who plans to run for governor next year, also issued a farewell statement, hailing the mayor as a “tireless, effective and strong leader.”
There was distress among some. Eighth District Councilwoman Reva Trammell, who has been a supporter of the mayor in her votes, called the Wilder decision “a blow to the city.”
However, for others, the prospect that Mayor Wilder and the battles he fomented might soon be over came as a relief.
“He said that he had done what he came to do. Now we can move the city forward,” said Council Vice President Delores L. McQuinn, who has frequently opposed the mayor.
Delegate Dwight C. Jones, who has begun his campaign for the city’s top office after 14 years in the legislature, kept it positive. “Doug Wilder opened doors for many African-American candidates throughout the country,” said Delegate Jones, who also serves as pastor of First Baptist Church of South Richmond.
“He has been a history-maker,” said Council President William J. Pantele in downplaying his frequent clashes with the mayor. Mr. Pantele is expected to announce his bid for mayor this week.
In announcing his plan to leave office, Mayor Wilder sought to spell out the legacy he will leave. Along with the gains in public safety, he said he will leave a more vital city that has attracted more businesses. He also noted that he help put education on the front burner of city issues.
He claimed he has helped create “a new spirit within the city that we have turned the corner and are reaching our potential.” Until he leaves office, he continued, “There will be no interruption in our goals or our determination to move our city forward.”
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