Richmond city government consists of a city council with representatives from nine districts serving in a legislative and oversight capacity, as well as a popularly elected, at-large mayor serving as head of the executive branch.
Citizens in each of the nine districts elect one council representative each to serve a four-year term.
Beginning with the November 2008 election Council terms was lengthened to 4 years.
The city council elects from among its members one member to serve as Council President and one to serve as Council Vice President.
The city council meets at City Hall, located at 900 E. Broad St., 2nd Floor, on the second and fourth Mondays of every month, except August.

In 1977, a federal district court ruled in favor of Curtis Holt Jr. who had claimed the council's existing election process — an at large voting system — was racially biased.
The verdict required the city to rebuild its council into nine distinct wards.
Within the year the city council switched from majority white to majority black, reflecting the city's populace.
This new city council elected Richmond's first black mayor, Henry L. Marsh.

Richmond's government changed in 2004 from a council-manager form of government with a mayor elected by and from the council to an at-large, popularly elected mayor.
Unlike most major cities, in order to be elected, a mayoral candidate must win a plurality of the vote in five of the city's nine council districts.
If no one crosses that threshold, a runoff is held between the two top finishers in the first round.
This was implemented as a compromise in order to address concerns that better-organized and wealthier white voters could have undue influence.
 In a landslide election, incumbent mayor Rudy McCollum was defeated by L. Douglas Wilder, who previously served Virginia as the first elected African American governor in the United States since Reconstruction.
The current mayor of Richmond is Levar Stoney who was elected in 2016.
The mayor is not a part of the Richmond City Council.

As of 2020, the Richmond City Council consisted of:
Andreas D. Addison, 1st District (West End)
Kimberly B. Gray, 2nd District (North Central)
Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District (Northside), Council Vice President
Kristen Nye Larson, 4th District (Southwest)
Stephanie A. Lynch (Central)
Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District (Gateway)
Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District (East End), Council President
Reva M. Trammell, 8th District (Southside)
Michael J. Jones, 9th District (South Central)
Richmond city government consists of a city council with representatives from nine districts serving in a legislative and oversight capacity, as well as a popularly elected, at-large mayor serving as head of the executive branch. Citizens in each of the nine districts elect one council representative each to serve a four-year term. Beginning with the November 2008 election Council terms was lengthened to 4 years. The city council elects from among its members one member to serve as Council President and one to serve as Council Vice President. The city council meets at City Hall, located at 900 E. Broad St., 2nd Floor, on the second and fourth Mondays of every month, except August.
In 1977, a federal district court ruled in favor of Curtis Holt Jr. who had claimed the council's existing election process — an at large voting system — was racially biased. The verdict required the city to rebuild its council into nine distinct wards. Within the year the city council switched from majority white to majority black, reflecting the city's populace. This new city council elected Richmond's first black mayor, Henry L. Marsh.
Richmond's government changed in 2004 from a council-manager form of government with a mayor elected by and from the council to an at-large, popularly elected mayor. Unlike most major cities, in order to be elected, a mayoral candidate must win a plurality of the vote in five of the city's nine council districts. If no one crosses that threshold, a runoff is held between the two top finishers in the first round. This was implemented as a compromise in order to address concerns that better-organized and wealthier white voters could have undue influence.  In a landslide election, incumbent mayor Rudy McCollum was defeated by L. Douglas Wilder, who previously served Virginia as the first elected African American governor in the United States since Reconstruction. The current mayor of Richmond is Levar Stoney who was elected in 2016. The mayor is not a part of the Richmond City Council.
As of 2020, the Richmond City Council consisted of:
Andreas D. Addison, 1st District (West End)
Kimberly B. Gray, 2nd District (North Central)
Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District (Northside), Council Vice President
Kristen Nye Larson, 4th District (Southwest)
Stephanie A. Lynch (Central)
Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District (Gateway)
Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District (East End), Council President
Reva M. Trammell, 8th District (Southside)
Michael J. Jones, 9th District (South Central)
Richmond, Virginia