Richmond Mayoral Candidate Alexsis Rodgers Unveils Housing Policy Platform to Dismantle Redlining , Reduce Evictions, Improve Quality of Life

“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 insecurity,” 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 www.alexsisrodgers.com/housing.

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Alexsis Rodgers is a grassroots organizer, policy director and progressive champion for Richmond. A proven leader, Rodgers has dedicated her entire career to fighting on the front lines for economic security, better educational opportunities, quality health care, voting rights and equitable access throughout all of our systems. Currently, she serves as the Virginia state director for Care in Action where she champions for domestic workers and women of color, securing the first-ever labor rights for domestic workers in the state. Always an advocate for others, Rodgers is building a movement driven by people, not corporations. Learn more about her vision for Richmond at alexsisrodgers.com.