Now that Mayor L. Douglas Wilder has decided to pull out of City Hall and declare victory, where do we go from here?

The impending exits of Wilder, Police Chief Rodney Monroe and schools Superintendent Deborah Jewell-Sherman create a huge void in Richmond's landscape. But they also offer a splendid opportunity to reinvent ourselves.

We live in a city defined more by drama than accomplishment. Our rich lode of history remains largely unmined, our potential untapped. Lacking a positive identity, we've allowed our city to be defined by its negatives.

Wilder, for better or worse, is a transitional figure in Richmond's history. Not unlike President Bush, he is stating his case for posterity. History may absolve him, but we can't wait around for the verdict. Now is the time to draw up a blueprint for the next mayor.

Hizzoner or Her honor: Please embrace collaboration over confrontation, consensus-building over petty bickering. We need a person who can clean house without burning it down.

Extend your reach, vision and attention beyond City Hall. Don't be myopic about what ails Richmond. Go to the General Assembly and seek the dissolution of Virginia's arcane independent-cities structure, which isolates Richmond from its suburban neighbors. (Hint: Monroe is moving on to lead the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.)

We need a mayor who will attack our infrastructure shortcomings, including the appalling chasm between urban and suburban school facilities. We need to level the playing field -- literally -- between Richmond and other cities. The Diamond and the Coliseum are not facilities a top-tier city can be proud of.

We need an advocate for alternative forms of transportation and truly regional mass transit, and an architect of a cohesive plan for a Balkanized region.

We need a mayor who will protect our most precious asset, the James River, while ensuring access to the river for all. Condos are cool, marinas hip. But we also need green spaces along the river for the public to play, and venues where folks can wine and dine and drink in the river view.

We need an ally of public education, not a nemesis who would employ such nuclear options as tossing the school system out on the sidewalk. A mayor who recognizes that the school district's biggest challenges are concentrated poverty, family dysfunction and a region determined to contain urban pathology at all costs.

We need a mayor who will lead by an ethical example, not one who preaches austere while practicing lavish. Someone who walks the talk on accountability.

Finally, we need a leader with big-picture vision.

We have the raw materials here to fashion a truly remarkable city -- rapids running through our downtown, beautiful architecture, distinctive neighborhoods, a history as vital as any place in America. But a poverty of perspective and spirit is holding us back.

This is a pivotal moment in the history of a city in danger of being dwarfed in size and relevance by its surrounding counties.

Your most important task as mayor is to rally us all around a common vision -- to show us where we want to go and how to get there. Only then can a Richmond mayor say, "Mission accomplished."
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.