Levar Stoney

Levar Stoney
Born	Levar Marcus Stoney 20 3, 1981
Birthplace	Roosevelt, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Known for	80th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia
Education	James Madison University (BA)
Children	1

Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 80th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2025. Before his tenure as mayor, Stoney served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia under Governor Terry McAuliffe from 2014 to 2016, making him the youngest member of McAuliffe's cabinet. Born in Roosevelt, New York, Stoney rose through Virginia's political landscape after attending James Madison University and working in Democratic politics at the state and national levels. His political career has been defined by his work on voting rights restoration and urban governance in Richmond, one of Virginia's most historically significant cities. In 2025, Stoney sought the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia but narrowly lost to fellow Democrat Ghazala Hashmi.

Early Life

Levar Marcus Stoney was born on March 20, 1981, in Roosevelt, New York, a hamlet on Long Island in Nassau County. Stoney's early life was shaped by challenging circumstances. His upbringing exposed him to the difficulties faced by families in economically disadvantaged communities, experiences that would later inform his approach to public service and policy.

Stoney relocated to Virginia to pursue his higher education, a move that would prove consequential in shaping his political career. Virginia became his adopted home state, and he would build his entire professional and political life within the Commonwealth. His transition from New York to Virginia placed him in a state with a rich and complex political history, particularly in Richmond, the former capital of the Confederate States of America, where questions of race, equity, and historical memory remained central to public discourse.

Education

Stoney attended James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. His time at JMU was formative in developing his interest in public service and political engagement. The university later recognized Stoney as a notable alumnus through its "Be the Change" profile series, which highlights graduates who have made contributions to their communities and professions.

Career

Early Political Career

Before entering Virginia state government, Stoney built experience in Democratic political operations. He was involved in campaign work and political organizing, gaining practical knowledge of electoral politics at both the state and national levels. His early career included work in political campaigns in Wisconsin, where he was involved in Democratic Party activities. This experience in campaign strategy and voter engagement provided Stoney with a foundation that he would later apply to his own political campaigns and governance roles in Virginia.

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia

In November 2013, Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe announced Stoney as his pick for Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of the key appointments made as McAuliffe assembled his incoming administration. Stoney officially assumed the office on January 17, 2014, succeeding Janet Vestal Kelly, who had served under Governor Bob McDonnell. At the time of his appointment, Stoney was the youngest member of McAuliffe's cabinet.

The Secretary of the Commonwealth serves as the governor's chief adviser on matters including clemency, extraditions, and the restoration of civil rights for formerly incarcerated individuals. Under Stoney's tenure, the office became particularly active in the area of voting rights restoration, a priority of the McAuliffe administration.

Virginia was one of a handful of states that permanently disenfranchised individuals convicted of felonies unless the governor individually restored their rights. Stoney played a central role in processing and facilitating the restoration of voting rights for thousands of Virginians who had completed their sentences. He spoke publicly about the importance of this work, framing it as both a matter of justice and civic reintegration.

In a January 2014 confirmation hearing before the Virginia General Assembly, Stoney received a notably cordial reception from Republican members of the panel, suggesting bipartisan respect for the incoming secretary despite the politically charged nature of some duties of the office.

During his time as Secretary of the Commonwealth, Stoney also engaged in outreach across Virginia communities, speaking about the administration's efforts on rights restoration and the impact of these policies on formerly incarcerated citizens seeking to rejoin civic life.

Stoney served as Secretary of the Commonwealth until April 15, 2016, when he departed to pursue the mayoralty of Richmond. He was succeeded in the position by Kelly Thomasson.

2016 Richmond Mayoral Campaign

In April 2016, Stoney entered the race for Mayor of Richmond, joining what was already described as a crowded field of candidates. The seat was open as incumbent Mayor Dwight Jones was not seeking re-election after serving two terms. Richmond had shifted to a directly elected mayor system in 2004, and the 2016 race attracted considerable interest given the city's evolving demographics and the range of policy challenges it faced.

Stoney's candidacy was notable for several reasons. At 35 years old, he was among the younger candidates in the race. His experience as Secretary of the Commonwealth gave him statewide name recognition and a record of executive-level government service, while his work on voting rights restoration resonated with many Richmond voters, particularly in African American communities where the impact of felon disenfranchisement had been disproportionately felt.

On November 8, 2016, Stoney defeated his opponents, including Jack Berry, to win the mayoral election. The victory made Stoney, at age 35, one of the youngest mayors in Richmond's history.

Mayor of Richmond (2017–2025)

Stoney took office as the 80th Mayor of Richmond on January 1, 2017, succeeding Dwight Jones. He inherited a city grappling with a range of issues including public education funding, infrastructure needs, economic development, and the ongoing debate over Confederate monuments that lined the city's prominent Monument Avenue.

First Term (2017–2021)

Stoney's first term as mayor encompassed a period of significant change and upheaval for Richmond. Among the most consequential issues of his tenure was the debate over the Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, which had stood for more than a century as symbols of the Lost Cause ideology. The national conversation around Confederate memorialization intensified following events in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, and reached a further crescendo in the summer of 2020 amid the nationwide George Floyd protests.

In 2020, as protests swept through Richmond and cities across the United States, Stoney took executive action to remove several Confederate statues from city property, invoking emergency powers to do so. The decision was both praised by those who viewed the monuments as symbols of racial oppression and criticized by others who raised concerns about the legal process and historical preservation. The removals marked a significant moment in Richmond's ongoing reckoning with its Confederate past and its identity as a modern, diverse city.

Stoney's first term also saw him confront challenges related to public education. Richmond's public school system faced chronic underfunding and aging infrastructure, with some school buildings in serious disrepair. The mayor advocated for increased investment in school facilities, navigating the complex relationship between the mayor's office, the city council, and the school board in Richmond's governance structure.

Economic development was another focus of the first term. Stoney's administration worked on initiatives aimed at fostering growth in Richmond's downtown and neighborhoods while addressing concerns about gentrification and displacement in historically African American communities. The balance between attracting investment and preserving the character and affordability of Richmond's neighborhoods was a recurring theme of his governance.

Second Term (2021–2025)

Stoney won re-election and continued to serve as mayor through his second term, which ran until January 1, 2025. His second term continued to address the core challenges facing Richmond, including pandemic recovery, public safety, affordable housing, and economic development.

Throughout his eight years as mayor, Stoney's administration worked within Richmond's mayor-council form of government, which required collaboration with the nine-member city council on budgetary and legislative matters. This structure meant that the mayor's ability to implement his agenda depended significantly on building consensus with council members who represented diverse districts and constituencies across the city.

Stoney's tenure as mayor concluded on January 1, 2025, when he was succeeded by Danny Avula.

2025 Lieutenant Governor Campaign

Following the conclusion of his mayoral tenure, Stoney sought the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in the 2025 elections. The race placed him in competition with other prominent Virginia Democrats, including state Senator Ghazala Hashmi. Stoney's campaign drew on his executive experience as both Secretary of the Commonwealth and mayor of Virginia's capital city. However, he narrowly lost the Democratic nomination to Hashmi, ending his bid for statewide office.

Personal Life

Stoney resides in Richmond, Virginia, the city he governed for eight years. He has one child. While born in Roosevelt, New York, Stoney has spent the majority of his adult life in Virginia, having moved to the state to attend James Madison University and remaining to build his career in public service.

Stoney has spoken publicly about the formative experiences of his upbringing and how they influenced his commitment to public service, particularly around issues of equity and opportunity. His personal background as an African American man raised in a working-class community on Long Island has been cited as informing his policy priorities on education, economic mobility, and criminal justice reform.

Recognition

Stoney's role as Secretary of the Commonwealth brought him early recognition within Virginia political circles, particularly for his work on the restoration of voting rights. The Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial board acknowledged the significance of the rights restoration work being conducted through his office during the McAuliffe administration.

His election as mayor of Richmond at age 35 was noted as a generational shift in the city's leadership. As one of the younger mayors in the city's history, Stoney's election reflected broader trends of younger candidates seeking and winning executive office in American cities.

James Madison University recognized Stoney as a notable alumnus through its "Be the Change" profile series, highlighting his career trajectory from JMU student to statewide and municipal office holder. His profile was also featured in JMU's Madison magazine.

The National Association of Secretaries of State listed Stoney as a member during his tenure as Secretary of the Commonwealth, reflecting the national scope of the professional network in which he operated while serving in that role.

Legacy

Stoney's eight-year tenure as Mayor of Richmond coincided with one of the most transformative periods in the city's modern history. His decision to remove Confederate monuments from city property in 2020 placed Richmond at the center of a national conversation about race, memory, and public space in America. For a city that had served as the capital of the Confederacy, the removal of statues that had stood for over a century on Monument Avenue represented a profound symbolic and political shift.

His earlier work as Secretary of the Commonwealth on voting rights restoration contributed to a broader movement in Virginia that ultimately led to Governor McAuliffe's sweeping executive orders restoring voting rights to tens of thousands of Virginians with felony convictions. While the legal and political battles over these restoration efforts extended beyond Stoney's tenure in the secretary's office, his role in processing individual restorations and advocating for the policy helped lay the groundwork for the changes that followed.

Stoney's career arc—from a young political operative to the youngest member of a governor's cabinet to a two-term mayor of a state capital—illustrates a trajectory in which early experience in party politics and campaign work translated into executive governance. His tenure in Richmond demonstrated both the possibilities and limitations of mayoral power in a city with a council-manager history, where the directly elected mayor must build coalitions to advance policy objectives.

The 2025 lieutenant governor campaign, though unsuccessful, signaled Stoney's continued ambition for statewide office in Virginia and his standing within the state's Democratic Party as a figure with both executive experience and a base of political support in the capital city.