WHO’S GOT NEXT?: KIM GRAY HAS MASTERED THE ART OF SAYING NO…WILL RICHMONDERS SAY YES TO HER AS THEIR NEXT MAYOR

I’m a huge Hamilton the Musical fan (Ah, who isn’t). In the play (and I guess in life, though the play has more than a few inaccuracies) Aaron Burr rises to power, and even a Senate seat, by talking less, smiling more, and never letting people know what he’s against or what he’s for, in the case of Mayoral candidate, 2^nd District Councilwoman Kim Gray, the late/great Ray Charles can see what she is against, all things Mayor Levar Stoney. Now, what exactly is she for? That is a bit tricky. I’ll save the build-up for later and cut right to the big question: Who is Kim Gray?

WHO IS KIM GRAY?

I say this in all seriousness, I know the surface bio stuff: Kim Gray, 49, mother of 7 children (two by adoption), biracial (identifies as a Black woman), with deep roots in Richmond’s community and culture. Her father was an activist and she has been an activist in Richmond since she was a young child. I get that. What I’m trying to understand is the beyond the surface stuff. Gray has been a community leader for over 25 years, she has held elected office in Richmond for the last 12 years (8 on School Board, 4 on City Council), and I struggle to fully understand who she is on any given day, regarding any given issue.

This is a fascinating phenomenon but in my reaching out for this post I’ve found one of two things about Kim Gray: Scenario 1 – You know Kim Gray and absolutely love Kim Gray. Scenario 2 – You know Kim Gray and absolutely hate Kim Gray. There seems to be no in-between regarding people’s opinions of Gray, which I find fascinating.

I’m a huge hoops fan (#GOKNICKS) and sometimes when I’m watching a particularly bad player, I’d lean over to whoever was listening and say, “I’m better than that guy.” That’s the feeling I get when I think of why Gray is running for Mayor. She was in City Hall one day, sizing up the situation and was like, “I’d be a way better Mayor than that guy,” and off to the races she went. Okay, I’m sure it wasn’t that simple – and I’m sure other influential people were in her ear encouraging her to run, (the power players of what I call “old Richmond” have often felt shunned by Mayor Levar Stoney but that is a story for a whole other article) but regardless of the why she is running, her instinct to run against Stoney may prove to be correct.

Let me be very clear, Kim Gray has a really good shot at being the next Mayor of Richmond. And if she wins, she will be the first Black woman to hold the office since the strong Mayor format was implemented in 2004. She can win the election; and win it outright on Election Day.

But back to my big question, who is Kim Gray? Is she the consensus community builder that her supporters say the city needs or is she the person on Council most likely to get in a fistfight with another member? Is she the safeguard against huge spending projects like the Stoney proposed $1.5 billion Navy Hill or is she just against anything the Mayor (or any of her political rivals) proposes? As a mother of Black children, does she sympathizes with those fighting in the streets for Black lives, or is she the person that went on conservative Richmond talk radio and said something to the effect that some of the protestors’ tactics are similar to the Klan? Is she the committed leader that said she would never take her eye off the ball to improve Richmond Public Schools or the person that voted against the Mayor’s proposed meals tax increase for schools? The increase ultimately passed and ended up aiding the building of three new schools in the city. Gray stands by her vote and contends that the project was mismanaged, over budget, and Richmond only got 3 new schools when the Mayor sold 5. These are just a few questions (of which I have many) that I’ve been wrestling with to figure out exactly who is Kim Gray.

I think the real answer is closer to all of the above. Kim Gray is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In many ways, her 2nd District is a perfect fit for her, it includes both the affluent Monument Avenue and Museum District and also the historic African American community of Jackson Ward, where Gray lives. Gray has succeeded in making a lot of people happy, and often times that can cause a lot of confusion for people like me.   

THE GOOD

Kim Gray is a people person. In many ways she is Richmond. She understands Richmond. She has a heart for helping. She is present and responsive to her constituents. I’m not saying this just because I am familiar with the role of constituent services, I think most people get into public services and elected office to help people at a very grassroots level and, over time, too many of them forget that part of the job and focus on “the bigger picture” of making policy.  Well, Gray lives in direct action. And that has indeed helped her throughout her life as a public servant and in this run for Mayor.

Gray has really good timing with the local press. Her website doesn’t feature her record but it does feature a number of articles that display her savvy with local media (Kim in the News). As a blogger, I appreciate someone who understands how to use the press to their advantage. Gray understands the power of media and often uses it to her advantage.

I’ve asked several people who have worked with Gray over the years (in and out of public office): Tell me what Kim Gray is really good at? Every person I asked gave me a different answer but one answer that stood out to me (and I strongly agree with): Kim Gray is really good at saying no. She is really good at identifying problems. She is really good at telling people what should be done to fix problems.  She has built a reputation on School Board and City Council as a stop-gap for bad ideas, this played out in her criticism of Stoney’s $1.5 billion Navy Hill proposal. Gray’s opponents will actually say she’s a stop-gap for all ideas, but that’s another issue.

I DO HAVE QUESTIONS

Gray definitely has a heart for helping but does she have the temperament and necessary qualities to be Mayor? 8 years on School Board, 4 years on City Council, and not a lot of record to show for it. A lot of press, as I previously mentioned, but not a lot of accomplishments with her name on them (We’ll get to Ashe Boulevard a later). Why is her legislative record thin? She clearly has had a number of disagreements with the Stoney Administration, from Navy Hill to the budget, but it seems she fails to transform her objections into better policies. For those paying close attention, there seems to be a pattern: Gray object to a proposal – gives a press statement, and either kills it or moves on, leaving a void where there may have been an opportunity to improve the outcome.

Gray supporters call her a unifier and bridge-building. One that will get large groups together and work through issues to solve problems. That is absolutely a quality that is needed to be Mayor of Richmond. However, she has also been known to fight with colleagues on the School Board and City Council.  And, I’ve found, the biggest criticism of Gray regarding her relationships with other elected officials boils down to trust. The elected officials that don’t rock with her, simply say they can’t trust her. But (and this is a big but), her close allies on City Council say just the opposite, they say she is a fighter that doesn’t just go along, and it is that quality that ruffles the feathers of the status quo.   

THE BAD

No way to sugar-coat this – Gray and I disagree on Confederate statues on Monument Avenue. She was opposed to the removal of Confederate statues on Monument Avenue and voted against it on several occasions. She threw up roadblocks to slow the process, she was just bad on Monuments. Ultimately, she voted in favor of removal but anyone that followed the situation closely knows she changed her vote for what seems to be political reasons.

Gray has been broad explaining her vision for Richmond. I’ve seen her in the public forums and in two debates. Explaining her vision in public settings is not her strong suit. Her website offers some help but not much. I’ve read her website several times, she has a tab that says, “Our Vision.” The vision speaks in broad strokes on Public Safety, Education, and Economic Development, and give pretty standard solutions to all of those issues.

RAPID FIRE

I’m not going to spend much time on the renaming of Ashe Boulevard, as I didn’t spend much time on Stoney’s removal of Confederate statues. I will say that renaming the Boulevard was the right thing to do and I’m glad she was the driving member of Council behind the effort. I think those opposed to Ashe Boulevard, which are the same people opposed to the removal of statues on Monument Avenue have proven to be wrong. The street was changed and the sky didn’t fall out of the sky. Statues were removed and the apocalypse hasn’t happened, well not yet (we’re still in Trump’s America – anything can happen). I would have loved to seen Gray on stage during the ceremony, she deserved to be there. I don’t know the details of all of the drama surrounding why she was not on stage but I know it wasn’t rectified before the ceremony. It’s exactly that type of personal drama that has followed Gray around her time in public office, even in one of her proudest moments, there was a personal drama being played out.

Do we need to talk about “Law and Order” Kim? In the ongoing saga between the Richmond Police Department and protesters, Gray is firmly on the side of RPD. She wants protesters charged, she strongly wants the end of property damage, enforcing curfew, giving RPD all the chemical agents they need, etc., etc., etc. There are plenty of Richmonders that share Gray’s view on law enforcement so I’m placing it in rapid-fire just so you are informed. (FYI: I don’t want any property or businesses destroyed either. I have a different view about the actions of the RPD during the protest than Gray but I don’t want any homes or businesses destroyed in our city.)

CAN SHE WIN?

Yes, Kim Gray has a path to win and win on Election Day. I’m not sure if she gets the 5 out of 9 districts she needs but here is an interesting thought that came to me during the VPM debate: When Alexsis Rodgers entered the race, I thought she would hurt Gray’s chances to win because (I thought) a lot of progressive Richmonders (Let’s speak plainly: the org Richmond for All) would swallow hard and vote for Gray over Stoney — but with Rodgers in the race — all of those votes go to Rodgers. However, today I have a much different view: 1. Gray’s hard turn to “Law and Order Kim” I think would have pushed a lot of progressives either back to Stoney or just caused them not to vote for Mayor at all. But here is the interesting thing: Candidate Justin Griffin and Gray seem to take up a lot of the same space in this race. It seems to me that Griffin’s voters would be clear Gray voters. If Griffin, who like Gray seems to hate all things Stoney, takes up enough Gray votes in the 3^rd and the 5^th. He could truly be the spoiler that could cost Gray the win. We’ll talk more about spoilers in the race later (maybe next week).

I’ll leave you with this: I know Gray can win. I wonder what a Gray administration would look like. Where will she take Richmond? Who would she want for School Superintendent? Who would she hire as Police Chief? How would she try to repair straining relationships? I really don’t know the answers to those questions. We know Gray is good at saying no — is that enough for Richmonders to say Yes to her as the next Mayor of Richmond?

Cover art by the amazing Kelsea Dvorak. Article art by Jessica Leonard