44 Facts About Levar Stoney

Levar Marcus Stoney was born on March 20,1981 and is an American politician who served as the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 2017 to 2025.

At Tabb High School in Tabb, Virginia, Levar Stoney became quarterback on the school's football team, and president of the student body.

Levar Stoney graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 2004.

Levar Stoney was the first African-American male elected president of the student government, and involved with the school's chapter of the College Democrats.

Levar Stoney became engaged to Brandy Washington, a manager for Altria on February 22,2022.

Levar Stoney then worked as an organizer in John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign as well as for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in a get out the vote effort.

Levar Stoney initially denied knowledge of the incident but later acknowledged to the FBI that he was in the office when his colleagues bragged about the act.

Levar Stoney went on to fully cooperate with law enforcement and testified against those involved.

Levar Stoney then worked for the Democratic Party of Virginia from 2006 to 2009, first as political director and then executive director.

In 2011, after his father died, Levar Stoney began working as a consultant at Green Tech, an automotive company run by Terry McAuliffe.

Levar Stoney announced his candidacy after resigning as Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Levar Stoney was reelected in 2020 winning the most votes in six of Richmond's nine districts allowing him to avoid a runoff.

In March 2019, Mayor Levar Stoney proposed adding a 50-cent tax per pack of cigarettes, representing Richmond's first cigarette tax.

The City Council approved the 2020 budget, which included a $17 million increase for Richmond Public Schools and over $15 million for street paving, and was not able to find a majority consensus on eliminating or decreasing Levar Stoney's proposed cigarette tax, allowing it to pass with the budget with projections it would generate over $3 million annually.

Levar Stoney made expanding out-of-school programming to reach every elementary and middle school student a priority during his campaign and maintained the commitment in office.

In 2018, Levar Stoney announced the expansion of Richmond Public Schools to allow all 33 Richmond Public Schools elementary and middle schools to provide every students with transportation to and from the programs.

In 2022, Levar Stoney launched the Positive Youth Development Fund initiative as part of Richmond's broader gun violence prevention strategy.

In July 2020, Levar Stoney announced the formation of a task force to "reimagine" public safety with 20 members tasked with reviewing the city's law enforcement policies to recommending changes.

In 2022, Levar Stoney proposed the creation of an independent Civilian Review Board in Richmond to oversee the police department, an initiative that was later approved by the City Council.

In 2024, Levar Stoney announced that the city was exceeding the goal and adding new units more rapidly than expected to manage the crisis.

Levar Stoney announced Virginia's first eviction diversion program during his 2019 state of the city address unveiling a 20-year action plan to combat an "eviction pandemic" in the city of Richmond.

In 2024, Levar Stoney stated that the program had helped more than 1,600 families avoid eviction.

Since Levar Stoney took office, Richmond had built 5,000 new affordable housing units.

Levar Stoney has set a goal of creating 1,000 new affordable rental units per year.

In 2021, Stoney proclaimed April 17 as "Giles B Jackson Day" recognizing all of Giles B Jackson's accomplishments, and it was awarded on the 150th anniversary of the historic Jackson Ward neighborhood.

In 2023, Levar Stoney proposed two affordable housing projects in South Richmond.

Levar Stoney's administration utilized its grant program to offer tax breaks to a developer to add affordable housing as part of a planned development in Manchester.

In January 2023, at a United States Conference of Mayors discussion with other major city mayors on the affordable housing crisis, Levar Stoney discussed Richmond's efforts to address the crisis and expressed frustration with dealing with out-of-town investors low-value offers and their inadequate care of property acquired in the city.

Levar Stoney aimed to ensure that no hourly-paid employee working for the city government would be paid less than $18 per hour.

In 2017, Levar Stoney established the Monument Avenue Commission to assess the future of Richmond's Confederate statues.

The commission was initially focusing on adding historical context rather than removal with Levar Stoney describing the monuments as an endorsement of injustices perpetrated by the Confederacy.

However, following the violent 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Levar Stoney urged the commission to consider the removal or relocation of the statues.

Levar Stoney responded by showing up to another protest, apologizing to the crowd for violating their rights.

On July 1,2020, the day a new state law granting Richmond control over its Confederate monuments took effect, Levar Stoney used his emergency powers to order the immediate removal of the statues.

Levar Stoney took the step arguing that there was an "urgent need to protect the public" describing the removal of 11 Confederate monuments as necessary to public safety after frequent protests around the monuments and dangerous attempts by protestors to take the monuments down themselves.

Levar Stoney highlighted the need to move beyond the symbolic weight of Confederate monuments and actively address racial injustices ingrained in the city's history.

Levar Stoney's decision faced opposition from the city council and interim city attorney.

In 2023, Levar Stoney reestablished the city's History and Culture Commission to develop a plan for renaming Richmond's streets and public spaces that still honor Confederate figures and slave owners, following the removal of the city's Confederate statues.

In 2019, Levar Stoney was appointed chair of the US Conference of Mayors' Children, Health, and Human Services Standing Committee.

In January 2022, Levar Stoney was elected as President of the Democratic Mayors Alliance, a national Democratic Party coalition dedicated to electing Democratic Mayors.

Levar Stoney thus serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee.

In December 2023, Levar Stoney announced that he would run for governor of Virginia in the 2025 election.

Levar Stoney's campaign was endorsed by former Governor and 2021 gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.

Levar Stoney suspended his campaign for governor in April 2024 and announced that he would run for lieutenant governor of Virginia instead.