Rudolph Clyde McCollum Jr. (born November 28, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the mayor of

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

from 2001 to 2005.

Early life and education

A native of Richmond, McCollum graduated in 1973 from Huguenot High School. McCollum graduated from historically black

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in 1978. Later on, he received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...

; he was admitted to the state bar in 1991.

Political career

McCollum was first elected to the Richmond City Council in 1996. The councilman for the Fifth District, he represented the central-most portion of the city. After a three-year stint as Vice Mayor, it was announced in late 2001 that he would replace the outgoing Mayor,

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...

, who was elected

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in the November general election. McCollum was sworn in as the 77th Mayor of Richmond on

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. He was the last mayor of Richmond to be appointed by the nine-member city council before a 2004 voter-approved referendum which adopted the mayor-at-large form of government. Under this new system, the mayor is not appointed but rather elected by popular vote. Opting to run for a second term, McCollum received an extremely low percentage of the vote, losing to former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

L. Douglas Wilder by a margin of over 60 percent. Despite this, approval of McCollum was still fairly high when he left office. Many attribute his loss to a combination of his lack of campaigning and Wilder's reputation.

Post-mayoralty

McCollum has held a number of positions since his failed reelection bid. In 2006, he established his own law firm, where he currently practices bankruptcy and divorce law. Until 2011, he was a member of the Virginia Parole Board. Asked about possibly reentering politics, he said, "My main priority right now is to get my kids out of my house and prepare them for the world that they are going to have to live in. Those are certainly my two most important constituents — or three, with my wife."

References

External links

McCollum at Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCollum, Rudolph, Jr. Mayors of Richmond, Virginia Virginia Democrats Living people 1955 births Howard University alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni African-American mayors in Virginia 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people