TRACEY MCLEAN

10/31/20
Words: 650

Richmond native aims to “change the narrative”

By Ada Romano

RICHMOND, Va. -- As the Richmond mayoral race comes to a finish, Tracey McLean

reflects on her experiences as a candidate.

McLean’s platform is rooted in her family’s experience as political activists. She is the

daughter of a member of the Richmond 34, a group of Black protestors who refused to leave the

Thalhimers department store in 1960 after they were asked to leave because Black people were

not allowed. The group was later convicted for trespassing.

McLean also works closely with groups such as the NAACP, Women in Film and

television, Metropolitan Business League and the Humane Society. She is a Christian and said

she decided to run because “the buildings have changed but the community hasn’t.” She also

credits her mother and “a calling from God” for her participation in the race.

McLean said she was “different and outspoken” growing up causing her to get bullied in

school. These experiences led her to stand up for what she believed in and ultimately led to her

decision to run for mayor. She always loved Richmond and dreamt of living on Monument

Avenue as a child.

“I was always the type of person to like old houses and history,” McLean said. “I wanted

to live on Monument Avenue never knowing what the monuments really stood for.”

McLean’s father was a minister. Her family instilled religious values that she said have

helped guide her throughout her campaign.

 “I believe all things are possible when you put God first,” McLean said. “A lot of things

in life I overcame, I did because I have God first.”

McLean went door to door speaking to her community members and small business

owners to prepare for November’s election. She also hosted a rally at Margarita’s Cantina on

Nov. 28 to speak to her supporters.

Richmond and other cities around the country bursted into protest after George Floyd, a

Black man, was killed while in police custody in May. Mayor Levar Stoney addressed protestors

outside of City Hall but despite his efforts to connect, protesters continued to criticize the mayor

for not taking adequate action.

McLean doesn’t think the mayor is to blame for the police response against protestors.

She believes plans for situations like a political uprising should be made before anything

happens.

“I feel like a plan should’ve already been in place for years,” McLean said. “You could

see he [Mayor Stoney] was scared at that moment and didn’t know how to handle it so we have

small business owners stuck with the consequences.”

Community is an important aspect of her campaign, McLean said. She believes the

mayor is there for the people and should engage with the community to come up with a plan to

effectively protest and push policy changes.

“Protesting is the right way but you have to have a plan of actions to go along with that,

not destroying things in our city,” McLean said.

Police reform is a major topic of discussion this election. While Mayor Stoney doesn’t

support defunding the police, McLean thinks this would cause a positive impact on the
relationship between police and the community. The funds taken from the police should be used

to fund inner-city schools, according to McLean.

McLean would also like to add a mental health unit within the police department to assist

officers with more delicate situations such as sexual assault, domestic abuse, drug-related

incidents and other mental health crisises.

In regards to the Black community, McLean believes reparations are necessary to begin

making a positive impact on their ability to succeed. She said the Black community is

disproportionately affected by systemic racism and needs “a little help” to catch up to other

racial groups.

McLean is unsure whether she wants to run for office again if she loses the race.

“I have no idea if I would run for office again but if I get another calling from God, I’ll

run again,” McLean said.

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