RVANews:

If you support the proposed Downtown Master Plan and if you are elected, what specifically will you do to ensure the plan is implemented? If you oppose the proposed Downtown Master Plan and if you are elected, what steps will you take to correct, change or modify the plan?

Tyron Bey (City Council candidate in the 2nd District):

I support the downtown plan.  As a member of some of the planning sessions, I certainly will work to see some of my personal thoughts come to fruition.

The company who was hired to help us put this plan came up with excellent solutions to how we can make this plan a reality.  I believe that we should follow their suggestions and move toward funding the plan.  This plan helps us in our initiative to become a top tier city.

The only thing that I would change with this plan is the creation of a Slave Memorial Museum at the end of the slave trail in Shockoe.

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Charles Samuels (City Council candidate in the 2nd District):

Like any master plan, there is nothing in this master plan that is required, nor are its suggestions carved in stone.  It is an instructive instrument and one that must be reviewed regularly to ensure its goals are those of the citizens and organizations.  One of my desires as a candidate, and, if successful, as a city council person is to be both open and accessible to the public.  By including the citizens of the city in the drafting of the downtown master plan to such a large degree, I believe that the current plan gives voice to the citizens’ desires for their city.  While no document as encompassing as this master plan will be met with unanimous support, I have found few who vocally dislike it in my time knocking on doors and speaking with people in the 2nd District.

After review, I believe the current draft is a good guide which developers, residents and city agencies should use when weighing solutions to a particular issue within its boundaries.

While I personally think the plan is a solid start to preparing the downtown area for the future, it is not my personal opinion that matters.  As city council person, I believe it is my job to represent the will of the citizens of the 2nd District and the City of Richmond as a whole.  If for any reason this plan is not adopted prior to my term on city council, I will look for input of those in the city and specifically the 2nd District for how they wish for me to proceed.

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Click here to read the answers from mayoral candidates, as well as other candidates in other districts, at RVANews.