To all non-Charlottesvillians, I apologize. If you’re from the area, read this. And, while you’re at it, show up at the County Office Building on Saturday at 12:30 and vote at the Democratic Caucus for City Council.
I endorse incumbent councilors Meredith Richards and Kevin Lynch for the Democratic nomination for Charlottesville City Council.
I must admit that I had not intended to endorse Meredith for this election. Her stance on the Meadowcreek Parkway angers me. It is plain to me that she is sneaking around the state constitutional requirement that a supermajority approve the transfer of parkland for n the purpose of paving it. But upon several weeks of reflection, I have come to realize that her experience, knowledge, and wisdom is something that we ought not disregard as a result of this single issue. I do not mean to indicate that this land transfer is minor – it is an extremely important issue, and I have a very strong desire to see Meredith confess that her initial instincts on this issue were wrong, and that she will agree to abide by Council’s original requirements for the construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway. That said: As a result of her candidacy for the U.S. Congress in 2002, Meredith has come to possess a remarkable level of knowledge regarding the role of Charlottesville in the state of Virginia. Her perspective is a rare and valuable one; for her to be removed from our political process would be a great loss, at best, and destructive, at worst. It is unfortunate enough that we are losing Mayor Maurice Cox when his term expires this spring. We ought not lose Meredith, too.
Endorsing Kevin Lynch is so obvious that I feel a bit ridiculous attempting to justify doing so. In the mid-90s, before Kevin was elected, we saw each other at many Council meetings. I was there to watch and occasionally gripe about something. Kevin was invariably there representing an angry posse of citizens who, for all of the right reasons, were demanding change, and saw Kevin as their surest path of achieving that change. In that regard, nothing has changed. Kevin remains a vital citizen, and his role as citizen representative on Council is unimpeachable. He has done much in his one term on Council (particularly with regards to sustainable planning, alternative transportation, human-scale development, etc.), but there is far more to be done to cement these improvements. It is no exaggeration to say that the future of Charlottesville is in Kevin’s hands. Let’s keep it there.
I must confess that I have an overriding concern that has guided my endorsements. I fear a repeat of two years ago, in which the weakest candidate was picked off by a Republican. Although competent Republicans are few and far between in Charlottesville, they do exist. It would be terrible if another Republican were elected this May. It would be disastrous if two of them were elected. I once thought that having a Republican or two on Council would be reasonable. But if Rob Schilling is representative of Charlottesville Republicans, then I think his combativeness, laziness, and gross incompetence is a more than sufficient representation of our conservative brethren. Frankly, I’m not sure what I fear more – four more years of a Bush presidency, or a Republican majority on Charlottesville City Council.
Note that I am only endorsing two candidates, despite that there are three seats for whom somebody must be nominated. This is because I feel insufficiently informed to select between Kendra Hamilton and David Brown to endorse either of them. I encourage you to make up your own mind between the two, with your overriding concern being electability, given that whether David or Kendra is nominated, they will be the weakest candidate with regard to how likely they are to be defeated by a Republican. Since I can’t vote (I’m a Blacksburg resident), I won’t need to pick between the two.