by Shawn Nowlin
When one serves on city council, they take on tremendous responsibility. Not only do their votes determine which budgets get approved, it also sets policies that manage city services and land use.
The current makeup of the Roanoke City Council consists of Mayor Joe Cobb (D), Vice Mayor Terry McGuire (D), Nick Hagen (R), Phazon Nash (D), Evelyn Powers (I), Vivian Sanchez Jones (D) and Peter Volosin (D).
On April 6, the body voted unanimously to commit $150,000 to either preserving pieces of the historic Caretaker’s Cottage in Washington Park or transforming it into a community space.
Before last week’s deadline, six new candidates filed the required paperwork to run for the three open council seats in the fall. In alphabetical order, they are Harvey Brookins, Danny Clawson, Vivian Sanchez Jones, Amanda Marko and Raekwon Moore.
Marko, the Chairwoman of the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission, is the sole Republican of the group.
Earlier this year, Temple Emanuel Rabbi Emerita Kathy Cohen, an Independent, announced her candidacy for city council.
For years, those who’ve known Marko best encouraged her to run for local office. While this is her first campaign as a candidate, she previously worked on Capitol Hill in the press office of former Republican U.S. Senator Mike DeWine, who now serves as Ohio’s Governor.
If elected, she says she’ll work with anyone striving to reach common-sense goals.
Clawson has a burning desire to help those in Roanoke who lack the resources to comfortably meet life’s basic needs. The proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community currently serves as the director of the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition.
Three years ago, Clawson was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing at a school board meeting over changes to the system’s transgender policy. Eventually, the charges were dismissed.
A Motor City native, Brookins is a University of Detroit-Mercy graduate. For three decades, he has been in the banking industry. A pro-business platform is what he intends to run his campaign on.
In addition to the Western Virginia Water Authority, Brookins also serves on the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance Board.
Moore, a mental health worker, wants to make Roanoke a better place for everyone. In part because of the city’s publicized budget issues, Moore says he is running to bring necessary attention to improving community infrastructure and city transportation.
Appointed in 2020 to fill an unexpired term, Sanchez-Jones has served on the council for the last six years. Roanoke’s first Latina councilwoman also works as a student support specialist.
With seven months remaining until the Nov. 3 general election, all the candidates will have ample opportunity to make their case to voters on why they are worthy of being elected.
