Catching up: With consulting work and a new house, Levar Stoney says he’s staying out of politics for now
Name: Levar Stoney
Why you know him: Richmond's former mayor left office on Jan. 1, 2025.
What's happening now
After a hugely successful election year for Virginia Democrats that didn’t turn out quite as he hoped, former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney isn’t ready to completely rule out a future run for public office.
But after more than a decade in state politics and public service, he says he’s perfectly content to have a chance to relax and spend more time with his wife and young daughter.
“I’m in a season of loving and being loved in return,” Stoney said in a recent interview with The Richmonder.
If things had gone a little differently in early 2025, Stoney could have been a part of the Democratic sweep in November’s statewide elections. In the party primary for lieutenant governor, Stoney finished a close second, less than 5,000 votes behind Lt. Gov.-Elect Ghazala Hashmi, who ran up a large margin of victory over Stoney in Richmond itself.
“I realized after the campaign that I wasn’t as healthy as I wanted to be after many long days on the road and the amount of stress I’ve probably accumulated over the course of eight years as mayor,” Stoney said. “I needed an opportunity to rest a little bit.”
Since the primary campaign, Stoney said he’s taken on some private-sector consulting work, much of it focused on making government more efficient and user-friendly. He’s also serving on the advisory board of a Miami-based company called Prokur, which focuses on procurement technology.
“I value the flexibility that my schedule provides at the moment,” Stoney said.
A former resident of Church Hill, Stoney’s family made a move last fall. In October, he and his wife, Brandy, bought a house in eastern Henrico County, according to county property records.
“After serving for eight years and living in the city for roughly 20-plus years, my wife and I decided to start taking a look at buying a home,” Stoney said. “We looked in the city. We looked in the county as well. And this house happened to pop up on our radar. My wife loved it and it was a family decision to make that move.”
Virginia Democrats’ plan to execute a rare mid-decade congressional redistricting next year could open up new opportunities for ambitious politicians in the Richmond area and throughout the state, but Stoney said that’s not his focus at the moment.
“Obviously I enjoy service, I enjoy politics,” he said. “But right now what I’m more focused on is spending time with my family.”
Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org
