The Mayoral Issue: Regional Cooperation

What's the most important issue in the race to replace Mayor Doug Wilder at City Hall?

It depends who you ask. But some would say it's regional cooperation. At Richmond.com the candidates address that issue in a report on the mayoral contest written by yours truly.

Lack of regional cooperation lies at the heart of many of Richmond’s problems, the sort of overshadowing problems that stumping politicians talk about having solutions for ... yes, solutions for, all the time.

Eventually, cheap talk and patter aside, somewhere down the road ahead, more regional cooperation is bound to come about for the Richmond metropolitan area. One day, it will happen simply to save money on duplication of services. But given the checkered history the concept has in these parts -- together with Virginia’s peculiar set-up, which has independent cities landlocked without the ability to expand -- and you know it’s still going to take an altogether fresh approach in leadership to make it happen.

Richmond’s next mayor will need to sell regional cooperation like never before.

Click here to read the entire piece.