A likely lone Republican and four Democrats entered the Roanoke City Council race in recent days, deepening the candidate pool and setting up a contested Democratic primary.

Amanda Marko, a small business owner and chairwoman of the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission, filed to run as a Republican. 

Council incumbent Vivian Sanchez-Jones and Danny Clawson, director of the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition, filed as Democrats. Banker Harvey Brookins and Raekwon Moore, who works in the mental health field, said this week they plan to be part of the Democratic slate by filing paperwork by Thursday’s deadline for party candidates. The four Democrats will join incumbent partymate Peter Volosin, who announced his bid for reelection late last year. The five Democrats will vie for three party nominations.

Independent Kathy Cohen, Temple Emanuel’s Rabbi Emerita, is also running this year. She announced her candidacy in February.

Here’s a bit more about each of the most recent candidates:

Amanda Marko

Marko said she’s been encouraged to run for several years. It will be her first campaign as a candidate, but she is no stranger to politics. Two decades ago, Marko worked on Capitol Hill in the press office of then Republican U.S. senator and now Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. 

She later worked in marketing and economic development and has lived in numerous places across the country from Pennsylvania to Texas, before settling in Roanoke in 2019.

In an interview last week, Marko said she will work with anyone striving to reach common goals.

She pointed to the role Councilwoman Evelyn Powers fills on the current council. Powers, a former Democrat turned independent who has served the city in various capacities for more than 40 years, often asks about the city’s finances as well as the impact of decisions on citizens. 

Powers, whose seat is on this year’s ballot, is not planning to run. She said she backs Marko, adding that she believes the Republican has the well-rounded experience and ability to bring people together regardless of political affiliations.

“Cities rise or fall based on the courage and clarity of their local leadership,” Marko wrote in an email. “I am running for Roanoke City Council because our leaders aren’t guiding us to the prosperity we deserve. I know that our economic vitality, infrastructure, and quality of life are the direct result of thoughtful and strategic governance, plus a healthy dose of common sense.”

Harvey Brookins

Brookins is a vice president for National Bank. He’s been in banking for 30 years.

Brookins said he will run his first council campaign on a pro-business platform. 

“It’s time to stick my neck out and try to help” city hall, he said.

Brookins’s civic service includes time spent in numerous roles, from the Melrose Plaza capital campaign to the Western Virginia Water Authority board, to involvement with the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council.

That’s given him the experience to see all sides of the city, he said.

An example is the water authority, he said. It’s received the most attention since its founding decades ago because of its involvement with the debated data center complex to be built in Botetourt County. The board approved a water agreement for the project unanimously.

However, Brookins said there is more to what the authority does which often doesn’t get publicized, including helping individuals get needed public utility service they couldn’t get otherwise.

Danny Clawson

Clawson is running for the first time to stand up for economically insecure Roanokers, they wrote in an email.

Clawson continued: “I am so concerned with the increasing hatred directed at our unhoused neighbors. The attacks on organizations like RAM House and TLOT - organizations that are working to solve our housing issues – are not reflective of the Roanoke I know. I want to bring compassionate, evidenced-based solutions to our problems.”

Clawson was one of two people arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing at a contentious Roanoke County School Board meeting in July of 2023 over changes to that school system’s transgender policy. The charge against Clawson has since been dismissed, according to court records.

The passion displayed that July night is indicative of the energy Clawson wants to bring to the Roanoke council, they wrote.

“My protest (in 2023) was really the result of the incredible work the students and parents were already doing,” Clawson continued. “Twenty-plus constituents poured their hearts out to the board about the vulnerability of LGBTQ+ students. The leadership at that time chose to not only ignore them, but cleared them from the room to enact harmful policies in secret. The community was already doing the work, they just needed a spotlight – and that's what my action was about that night.”

Raekwon Moore

The Roanoke native said he’s running in his first campaign for office to bring attention to the need to support schools, transportation and parks.

“We haven’t placed as much importance on them as we should have,” he said.

Moore serves on the Grandin Theatre board and is involved in the Young Doctors Project and 4-H and has served as a city election officer.

He said the city’s publicized budget issues, which include a reduction in the percentage of new revenue the city gives to schools, did have an impact on his decision to run.

“I want to make sure the city I grew up in continues to be successful,” he said.

Vivian Sanchez-Jones 

Sanchez-Jones did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment for this story.

She is a student support specialist for Roanoke City Public Schools. A resident of Northeast Roanoke's Wildwood neighborhood, Sanchez-Jones was appointed by City Council in 2020 to fill an unexpired term and was elected for the first time in 2022.

In a 2022 interview about her election bid, Sanchez-Jones cited working as a team to pass a balanced budget and handle federal pandemic relief funds as major accomplishments.

“One thing I can say that I accomplished on my own, that I didn’t need a City Council vote for, it was important to me to have benches on the train platform,” she said then. “If you go by the train now, we have benches. Simple as that. I saw the need of people, elderly people just standing there and not being able to run to catch the train.”

What happens next

Party candidates have until 5 p.m. Thursday to file, but it did not appear this week any additional names will emerge. 

More independent candidates could enter the race in the coming weeks, with that deadline set for 7 p.m. on June 16.

Any council primary was also scheduled for June 16. However, the statewide congressional redistricting referendum on April 21 changes that. Upon final action by the legislature, the 2026 primary date will move to Aug. 4 and a Democratic primary for city council would be held on that date, according to city Registrar Nicholas Ocampo. 

The general election is Nov. 3.