Roanoke candidates address downtown, housing and other issues in forum

For more on where the candidates for Roanoke mayor and city council stand, see our Voter Guide.

Roanoke’s candidates on the ballot for city council and mayor met at Fitzpatrick Hall in the Jefferson Center Tuesday night to discuss some of the city’s biggest issues leading up to election night. 

On the ballot this year for council are Republicans Jim Garrett and Nick Hagen; Democrats Terry McGuire, Phazhon Nash and Benjamin Woods; and independents Evelyn Powers and Cathy Reynolds. Mayoral candidates are Republican David Bowers, Democrat Joe Cobb and independent Stephanie Moon Reynolds.

Independent council candidate Cathy Reynolds signed up for the event but notified Cardinal News on the day of the event that she could not attend. 

Here are the main takeaways from the night: 

1. Candidates for city council are split on having an elected school board and/or a ward system for council members.

Roanoke is the largest city in Virginia without an elected school board or a ward system for council members.

A ward council would mean electing council members by district, rather than at large. Roanoke County is set up like so. Lynchburg runs as a modified ward system, a hybrid system with four members representing wards and three at-large.

In 1997, Roanoke rejected a ward system 54% to 46%. In 2021, there was an effort to get a referendum for an elected school board, but supporters didn’t get enough signatures to get it on the ballot. 

Garrett, Powers and Hagen spoke in support of both the ward system and an elected school board. They cited reasons like a more diverse council and the ability to make demands of specific members of council. 

Nash said he tends to “shy away” from the ward system, particularly in a relatively small city like Roanoke. 

“Individual wards start to bicker with each other over limited resources,” he said, “and more affluent ones have their way.”

Woods said he would support a referendum to have an elected school board and could see a modified ward system working in Roanoke. McGuire had concerns about how the boundaries are drawn for neighborhoods, but could be open to the idea of a ward system were that to be done properly. 

2. Downtown homelessness needs to be addressed differently

A new Blue Ridge Continuum of Care report shows Roanoke experienced a 54% increase in homelessness from summer 2021 to summer 2023. This past year saw another 12% increase.

The Business Leadership Fund recently warned it had grave concerns about the future and viability of downtown Roanoke because of crime and homelessness. 

Hagen said he agrees with those concerns “wholeheartedly.” He said the easiest solution is working with nonprofits to address the problem in a more “humane” way. Nash suggested finding activities for the homeless population to do during the day to get them off the streets and improving things like street lighting at night. 

Powers and mayoral candidate Moon Reynolds said homeless resources need to be moved closer to Social Services. Moon Reynolds also said she’d like to see more mental health resources for the homeless.

Garrett said he and his wife don’t feel safe going downtown at night anymore and said he has charged low rents in a four-apartment complex to help homeless veterans. 

“There’s some people that want to be helped, and there’s some people who don’t want to be helped,” he said. 

Woods said the biggest issue when discussing homelessness is affordability and access to opportunity. 

“Downtown and the way it works is a great economic engine that helps the city when it’s healthy.” 

3. Expectations for a new city manager include having a vision, being respectful of other city employees and being heavily involved in Roanoke’s neighborhoods.

Lydia Pettis-Patton is the interim city manager following the abrupt resignation of Bob Cowell in May.

The city is undergoing a process to hire a new city manager, and the current city council will soon be reviewing candidates chosen by the Berkley Group, City Attorney Tim Spencer recently said. 

After Cowell’s resignation, there’s a collective desire for respect among city employees.

“A lot of city employees down the totem pole feel lost in the system,” Woods said. “They don’t feel respected.”

Hagen would like to see a city manager who grew up in Roanoke, to understand the “nuances” and “intricacies” in the city. 

Nash wants to know “what fires” our future city manager, “why do they want to uproot their family and move to Roanoke, and how can they work with us to make it a happier, healthier community?” he asked. 

Mayoral candidate Bowers said the current council “botched” the process of choosing a new city manager because they didn’t wait for the new council to be voted in. Mayoral candidate Cobb and others hope for a manager with a vision for the city. 

4. Derelict and abandoned properties need to be addressed in the context of the housing crisis

Housing and land use have been high on the minds of Roanoke’s residents this election season. 

In March, city council voted to allow denser housing types throughout the city. A group of homeowners sued the city, claiming it did not take proper procedure before voting the rezoning in. In response to the suit, the city reconsidered and, in a separate process, again voted yes to the rezoning. 

The need for housing is dire. One study found a lack of 4,500 housing units in the city. 

McGuire said he’s a “huge proponent” of redeveloping underutilized existing properties and “being as aggressive as we can with what we do.”

Powers wants to know why people are holding onto boarded -up properties without developing them.

“Those homes have good bones, the majority of them,” she said. “We need to look at the assets that we already have sitting around our city.”

Nash would like to strengthen the land bank so the city can acquire more properties and turn them over to organizations like Habitat for Humanity for restoration. He proposed creating a survey to figure out where each type of housing should go, according to residents.

The zoning amendments were discussed, with Woods opposing the “one size fits all” approach. Garrett said it’s a “misnomer” to say that so many oppose the rezoning; rather, he opposes the rezoning in its current form. 

Cobb said without the multi-family homes we have in the city now, the housing crisis would be “catastrophic.” 

“Anyone who wants to live in Roanoke should be able to live in a variety of options and in a range of affordability,” he said. 

Bowers opposes the rezoning “scheme” and said he will vote on “day one” to repeal those amendments, which he calls “the worst proposal made by council in the last 50 years.” He’s opposed because, he said, homeowners value not only the home they’re in but the neighborhood they chose.

Moon Reynolds was the only council member to vote against the amendments the second time around in August — she felt the people weren’t heard and didn’t feel the plan would affect all people.

“When we look at affordable housing, my question has always been affordable for whom,” she said. 

Cobb said in the forum that housing is considered unaffordable when an individual is paying 30% of their income or more on housing — which, according to a 2021 Virginia Tech study, is a position that over half of Roanoke’s residents find themselves in.