RICHMOND, Va. — The opponents of Richmond City Council candidate Tavares Floyd responded to a press conference Floyd called over the weekend in which he refuted allegations against his campaign and attacked the other candidates in the local race.
Floyd has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for his campaign finance filings.
As previously reported in a CBS 6 investigation, Floyd claimed to have raised over $140,000 in total contributions, but some of his top reported donors said they didn't know Floyd and never gave his campaign any money.
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Some reported donors of Richmond campaign say they've never contributed money
That includes $20,000 from a Chicago businessman, $5,000 from a Tennessee attorney, and $5,000 from a Tennessee funeral homeowner. The alleged donors were listed on the Floyd campaign's filings with the state board of elections, and all denied making any contributions.
Floyd did not respond to CBS 6's repeated questions prior to airing the story and instead sent the news station a cease-and-desist threat.
During his Saturday press conference, Floyd only briefly and broadly rejected "allegations" but did not specify which allegations and did not explain why they were apparently false.
"I stand in solidarity with [supporters] to publicly denounce all allegations against myself and/or this campaign, and I refute all of them," Floyd said. “These attacks just aren't about me, but it's against the people.”
Floyd then refused to answer questions from reporters.
“No comments will be accepted, and no questions will be taken. Thank you again to the media, and you guys are dismissed," Floyd said.
He spent much of the news conference criticizing his opponents, incumbent Ellen Robertson and Willie Hilliard.
Floyd accused Robertson of being ineffective and Hilliard of being unknown in the community.
“I didn't watch the press conference and don't have any intentions to actually watch it. It's a distraction," Hilliard said in response to Floyd's criticisms.
While Hilliard was dismissive of Floyd's remarks, he said voters should be aware that Floyd worked for Robertson's city council office in recent years.
He believes both have failed to meet the needs of 6th district residents.
“I don't think he wants people to know that, but he was her liaison for the last four or five years. So a lot of the policies that she's been responsible for, he's been just as responsible," Hilliard said.
In a statement, Robertson said, “Council Liaisons are hired and paid by the City to do a professional job on behalf of the City Council elected officials.”
Robertson added she's focusing on finishing out the final stretch of her campaign by advocating for “increasing affordable housing, keeping neighborhoods safe, and ensuring every child receives a great education.”
Though Floyd criticized Roberton's leadership, he said he came up with the plans to tackle issues in their district as her liaison.
He said he would like to address affordability, crime, mental health, and addiction.
Hilliard said he too would rather focus on the issues that voters care about rather than the controversy surrounding Floyd's campaign.
“Their rent is too high, taxes are too high, the crime rate is too high. They're tired of crumbling schools," Hilliard said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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