Avula’s roots are deep in service. His father Raj grew up in rural India and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 19, serving in the U.S. Navy before working for the Department of Defense. His mother is Lalitha who brought him to the US when he was six months old.

City of Richmond residents appear to have selected Dr. Danny Avula as their new mayor, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. All the precincts were fully reported just after midnight by VDOE,

On Wednesday afternoon, standing next to outgoing Mayor Levar Stoney in front of City Hall, Dr. Danny Avula laid out his vision for Richmond and his administration, after emerging as the leading candidate in the city’s mayoral race.

Danny Avula is poised to win Richmond's mayoral election and beat out four other candidates for the top position in city government. Why it matters: If he wins, he'll be the first-ever immigrant and Asian mayor of Richmond and the first non-Black mayor in over 20 years.

Avula is a familiar face in Richmond, having served as director of the Richmond City and Henrico County health districts and later state vaccination coordinator during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Richmond election officials said early Wednesday that Dr. Danny Avula has won six of the city’s nine districts to become the next mayor. Avula, who captured about 46% of the total votes Tuesday, faced five other candidates for mayor.