Alexsis Rodgers for Richmond Mayor
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Alexsis Rodgers Aims to Dismantle Redlining in Housing Platform

8/31/2020

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2020

Contact: Sheri Shannon

(202) 322-6898

​media@shannonstrategies.com
 


Alexsis Rodgers Aims to Dismantle Redlining in Housing Platform
RICHMOND, Va. - Today, Richmond mayoral candidate Alexsis Rodgers announced her housing policy platform to improve the quality of life for residents.
“Every Richmond resident deserves an affordable place to call home in a safe, thriving community,” said Rodgers. “Due to the racial bias of Jim Crow laws, we have neighborhoods that were designed to fail. Intentional policy choices created concentrated poverty, inadequate infrastructure, underperforming schools and an environment that lowers health outcomes. All of this adds up to generations of wealth inequality based on your zip code.”
“Richmond needs a bold leader who will be intentional about creating policies that prioritize and uplift our communities.”
Rodgers’ platform includes a multi-faceted approach to tackle housing equity that includes:
  • Working to fully fund Richmond’s eviction diversion program to keep our city’s most vulnerable residents off the streets and ensure landlords receive rent owed.
  • Rezoning the city to remove redline-era restrictions and increase community-driven development. 
  • Fixing Richmond’s broken permitting process by creating a user-friendly process that is accessible to everyone and does not favor individuals and businesses with more financial resources.
  • Doubling down on efforts to purchase abandoned or soon-to-be abandoned properties with the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust and other land use/housing nonprofit organizations to build more permanently-affordable homes. 
  • Reassessing existing tax abatement programs to ensure abatements don’t just go to the wealthy, multi-million properties.
  • Building trust with public housing residents and reinvesting in community engagement so residents are charting a new future of opportunities for their families.
  • Exploring a Property Tax Protection program to support long-term homeowners over age 60 in high-growth areas to keep them in their home, reduce gentrification and protect neighborhoods from predatory house flippers and developers.
Richmond has the second-highest eviction rate in the country, where nearly 30 percent of renters receive an eviction notice each year. The pandemic has only exacerbated the economic insecurity and housing instability for many people, especially those who lost their jobs and cannot afford rent payments. 
Data shows that the overwhelming majority of eviction cases are from mega-landlords.  According to RVA Eviction lab, 55 percent of the total units in the city are owned by large portfolio owners with more than 100 units. Those with fewer than five rental units own 20 percent of housing in Richmond. In many instances, eviction filings often act as a debt collection strategy for corporate landlords. Princeton’s Eviction Lab found that landlords use serial eviction filings and late fees as a legitimate source of revenue. 
“We’re looking at decades of destabilizing policies that have created this vicious cycle of economic security,” said Rodgers. “Richmond is losing residents to surrounding counties because of the lack of affordable and entry-level housing, as well as services we should be providing, like full-service grocery stores. Folks are hurting, and we’re just not doing enough.”
“Whether you are a renter, homeowner or unhoused, you need to know your mayor cares,” added Rodgers. “My track record shows that I’m about action and not lip service.” 
To view Rodgers’ entire housing platform, visit https://www.alexsisrodgers.com/housing.html

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Victory Fund Endorses Alexsis Rodgers for Richmond City Mayor

8/26/2020

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2020

Contact: Sheri Shannon

(202) 322-6898

​media@shannonstrategies.com
 


Victory Fund Endorses Alexsis Rodgers for Richmond City Mayor
RICHMOND, Va. - Today, Richmond mayoral candidate Alexsis Rodgers received the endorsement of Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing openly LGBTQ people who can further equity at all levels of government. Rodgers will be the first openly LGBTQ mayor of Richmond in addition to being the first woman elected to that seat. 
“The best run city is one that is representative of all people,” said Rodgers. “Many of the rules that were set up to govern this country were designed to exclude people like me. Without the voices and experiences of LGBTQ individuals in elected office, our power structures will continue to fail us.”
“I am humbled to receive the endorsement of Victory Fund and will continue to advance progressive policies that will uplift queer people in Richmond.”
Since 1991, Victory Fund has worked with countless candidates across the country to make history by helping get them elected, including Delegates Dawn Adams and Danica Roem. When announcing Rodgers’ endorsement, Sean Meloy, senior political director for Victory said, “It is a powerful statement of your campaign’s viability.”
Within the past month, Rodgers continues to add to her list of endorsements, including Run for Something, Our Revolution RVA, Generation Ratify VA, and more than a dozen community leaders, business owners and Virginia elected officials.
Rodgers is the recipient of the 2020 Rodney Lofton Social Justice award for her work fostering healthy connections with the Black LGBTQ community in Richmond. Her record also extends to fighting for health care access, workplace protections, labor and housing rights for LGBTQ people across Virginia.
“We will continue to see disparities and discriminatory practices in our institutions and communities if we don’t address the inequality of power,” Rodgers noted. “The current Black Lives Matter movement and mobilization to dismantle oppressive policies are led by Black and brown queer and trans women, yet we see little gains for these communities. It’s imperative that we center and advocate for underrepresented groups in a transformative way.”
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Alexsis Rodgers Announces Plan for New Transportation Department

8/21/2020

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2020

Contact: Sheri Shannon

(202) 322-6898

media@shannonstrategies.com


Alexsis Rodgers Announces Plan for New Transportation Department
RICHMOND, Va. - Today, Richmond mayoral candidate Alexsis Rodgers announced her transportation policy platform, calling for the creation of a Department of Transportation.
“We’re long overdue in creating a department that houses all of the city’s transportation infrastructure under one roof,” said Rodgers. “It doesn’t make sense to continue piecemealing solutions when our transportation network depends on the city moving together in the same direction. It cannot be done in silos.” 
“As mayor, I will establish a Department of Transportation to ensure we are meeting all of the mobility needs for residents in an affordable, reliable and safe way.”
Rodgers is proposing to house multiple divisions and programs responsible for our transit system within one department, including engineering and transportation, fleet management, Vision Zero, RVA Bike Share, street maintenance, paving and parking.
Her platform also centers accessibility for persons with disabilities with additional investments for sidewalks, new service performance goals for CARE and CARE Plus and enhanced assistance to ensure all residents can get around the city, including to public parks. Rodgers wants broader community conversations about safety and accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
“The way we view transportation and our transit system in Richmond is reflected in the way we move and operate,” said Rodgers. “The city spent $30 million to repave roads but only $2 million to fix or add sidewalks. We’re sending a message that car culture is more important than other modes of transportation, and reinforcing that message does more to divide the city than connect neighborhoods.”
“I believe it’s important for the city to take a comprehensive approach that includes climate, housing, public health and historic inequities with our decision-making process.”
Additionally, Rodgers’ transportation platform calls for:
  • Moving toward free public transportation to all so no one is denied access to jobs, education, child care or healthcare.
  • Conducting road diets to create safer streets for everyone, including additional protected bike lanes and more curb space for pedestrians.
  • Partnering with nonprofits to create a more dignified bus experience for riders with more benches, shelters and trash/recycling cans.
  • Advocating at the State Capitol to improve Richmond’s regional bus and rail transportation network 
  • Transitioning the city’s vehicle fleet to electric to make Richmond a clean energy leader.
To view Rodgers’ transportation platform, visit www.alexsisrodgers.com/transportation.html
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