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Mayoral candidates make final pleas ahead of Election Day

Posted at 12:28 AM, Nov 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-08 00:28:53-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- In the home stretch, hours before polls opened each mayoral candidate in Richmond made the most of every minute on the campaign trail.

All the candidates said they want Richmonders to think about the pressing issues the city faces when casting their ballot.

Levar Stoney told CBS 6 Monday that right now the city's administration is failing too many kids.

“I want to step up and use my history of working behind the scenes with the governor to bring those dollars back to the city of Richmond… money from the state or federal government because I think you've got to lay it all on the line for the children," Stoney said.

Levar Stoney

Levar Stoney

Candidate Lawrence Williams touted his more than three decades worth of work at city hall as the reason to elect him mayor.

"I worked with the community advisory boards and with the city budget boards. The downtown master plan, I was involved in that. So I get some trust to individuals in the neighborhood and I think that's important," he explained.

Related: Richmond mayoral race 2016

An initial field of 8 candidates is now reduced to five.

Joe Morrissey is seen by many as the front runner.

He explained his promise to residents.

Joe Morrissey

Joe Morrissey

"No more money on baseball stadiums. No more money on Redskins facilities. No more spending $33 million on a brewery. We're going to put that money into schools, that's the message," Morrissey said Monday.

The other candidates say Morrissey's lead in the polls doesn't discourage them. They're focusing on running their race until the very end.

They still believe they have the golden touch the city needs to move Richmond forward in a positive way.

Candidate Jack Berry says it's time for voters to ban together to help him defeat Morrissey.

"We need to coalesce around the one candidate that can remove the risk of a Joe Morrissey mayorship. And I am that person. I'm in second place, while I had have four districts, we just need one more." Berry added.

Jack Berry

Jack Berry

Current city council President Michelle Mosby said she believes she’s the woman for the job.

"Today, I am the only person who understands where we are in this budget and how we get ourselves from point A to point B. And I think that's the uniqueness that I bring," she said.

The candidate who can capture five of the nine city districts will win the race.

If that does not happen, the top two vote getters would have to square off in a city-wide run off in December.

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