Addison
Richmond Councilmember Andreas Addison formally launched his campaign for Richmond mayor Wednesday morning with a platform that touts good governance and more reliable services.
The announcement comes months into the race with several candidates vying for the position.
Addison has represented the 1st District, which includes the Museum District and the West End, since 2017. In his announcement, he said his experience within local government will help him make future decisions if elected. Before serving on the council, Addison worked for the city developing internal programs to modernize the city.
“We have so much potential to solve critical issues, especially in City Hall, but it’s going to take strong, focused leadership,” Addison said. “We need a leader committed to doing the hard work, implementing progressive policies to move us forward, governing for the sustainable growth of Richmond, focusing on meeting the basic needs of residents and preventing displacement.”
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While serving on council, Addison has spearheaded numerous initiatives, including updating the city’s zoning policies to be more inclusive, as well as moving the city closer to more equitable and accessible transit.
Addison was the one leading the charge against mandatory parking minimums and pushed for Safe Streets for All, a federal initiative that brings dollars to equitable transit. Additionally, he helped create the resident-led participatory budgeting commission, which launched this year and will see residents in each district weigh in on specific capital projects in their neighborhoods.
1st District Councilman Andreas Addison, who also owns and manages Pure Fitness in Scott’s Addition.
Currently, Addison owns and operates a gym in Scott’s Addition and is an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia teaching students about social enterprise, which is an approach to business that seeks to maximize social impact as well as profits.
“As I tell my students, we must see people beyond the numbers on paper,” Addison said. “Honestly, the decisions the mayor should be making need to be transformational to improve access to employment, services and other needs for low-income households.”
Addison is not the only councilmember to join the race. This election cycle sees two other former council representatives throwing their hat in the ring. This includes former 3rd District council representative Chris Hilbert as well as former 9th District representative Michelle Mosby.
Community activists Maurice Neblett and Garrett Sawyer have also launched campaigns. With the April 4 deadline to collect campaign signatures quickly approaching, more campaigns are expected to be announced in the upcoming weeks.
To date, Mosby has raised the most in campaign funds with $104,913. Sawyer trails with $100,302. Mosby, who announced her campaign earlier this year, began collecting funds early last year. Addison has not yet reported his campaign donations in this race; however, in the 2020 council race, he tallied roughly $71,000 and secured the position with nearly half the votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
Following his announcement, Addison said he plans to host a launch event and discuss his policy priorities in the next couple of weeks.
“As mayor, I look forward to working with community leaders, City Council, city staff, business owners, advocates and everyday Richmonders to ensure our city reaches its full potential and no one is left behind,” Addison said.
From the Archives: Old Richmond buildings
In May 1959, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway announced plans to move about a third of its workforce from Richmond to Huntington, W.Va., by 1961-62. Many employees worked in the First and Merchants National Bank building at Ninth Street downtown, which was partially owned by C&O. The building has been converted to First National Apartments.
This July 1947 image shows the new Curles Neck Dairy plant at 1600 Roseneath Road in Richmond. The building, which cost more than $200,000, gave the 13-year-old dairy modern features including a refreshment room that served up to 50 people, ice-cream-making facilities and curbside service. The building is now home to the Dairy Bar restaurant.
This March 1987 image shows the Independent Order of St. Luke building at 900 St. James St. in Richmond, which was the new home for the city’s Head Start program. The building, which today stands empty, was built in the early 1900s and was expanded between 1915 and 1920. It was home to the benevolent society under Maggie Walker’s leadership, as well as the first location of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank that she ran. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
This May 1935 image shows Herbert’s shoe store at 419 E. Broad St. in downtown Richmond. The store advertised itself as “the first air-cooled shoe store in the entire South.” A fall sale that year offered women’s shoes as low as $1.77.
This May 1957 image shows the Woolworth’s at Fifth and Broad streets in downtown Richmond. The $1 million building opened in September 1954, and it housed several departments for the nearby Miller & Rhoads, which had an earlier store on the site in the late 1800s. An ad for the Woolworth’s Easter sale offered handbags for $1, records for 99 cents, and cowhide and plastic belts for between 39 and 98 cents.
In February 1968, the National Theater on East Broad Street in Richmond was about to undergo a $150,000 remodeling to make it suitable as a movie theater – the building, which opened in 1923, was designed more for vaudeville and other live performances. In June 1968, the theater reopened as The Towne and operated until 1983. It has since been restored again and now hosts concerts.
This July 1955 image shows the building, at Madison and Grace streets in Richmond, that once sat downtown and housed First Presbyterian Church. Completed in 1853 at the current site of Old City Hall, the building’s outer shell was moved to Madison and Grace in the mid-1880s to make room for the city building. In 1943, the Acca Shriners, who had lost the Mosque (now Altria Theater) during the Great Depression, purchased the old church building. They used it until the mid-1950s; the building has since been torn down.
In May 1977, this 150-foot smokestack came down, thanks to Controlled Demolition of Towson, Md. The smokestack stood behind what used to be Broad Street Station in Richmond; the demolition was part of a contract with the state for removal of the stack and several buildings in the area.
This April 1951 image shows St. Andrew’s School in Richmond’s Oregon Hill area. Noted philanthropist Grace Arents founded the school in 1894 and was a key supporter of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The school offered a wide range of programs, including sewing, music and physical education. It still stands today, serving low-income children.
