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tonight’s charlottesville city council candidates forum will be livestreamed by @MPayneCville’s campaign page here:
facebook.com/MichaelPayneCv…
facebook.com/MichaelPayneCv…
introductory remarks, starting with sena magill:
she outlines her CV, describing her work in mental health and homelessness. her priorities are climate, affordable housing and education.
she outlines her CV, describing her work in mental health and homelessness. her priorities are climate, affordable housing and education.
lloyd snook:
practices criminal defense law here in town. he was on the planning commission for 8 years in the 80s. “there are things going on in charlottesville” that he feels uniquely suited to help with. “we need to get the government to work right again.” 😒
practices criminal defense law here in town. he was on the planning commission for 8 years in the 80s. “there are things going on in charlottesville” that he feels uniquely suited to help with. “we need to get the government to work right again.” 😒
brian pinkston:
after starting off as an engineer, he quit to go to seminary. he later got a PhD in philosophy. he also worked as a project manager in facilities management.
“i want us to understand how we’re all connected.”
after starting off as an engineer, he quit to go to seminary. he later got a PhD in philosophy. he also worked as a project manager in facilities management.
“i want us to understand how we’re all connected.”
bob fenwick:
has previously served on council. “it is hard to stand by and see dysfunction. when five people cannot work as a unit and move the city forward.”
served in the military, got a degree in physics, works as a contractor. focused on workforce housing.
has previously served on council. “it is hard to stand by and see dysfunction. when five people cannot work as a unit and move the city forward.”
served in the military, got a degree in physics, works as a contractor. focused on workforce housing.
michael payne:
works for habitat for humanity, cofounder the local chapter of indivisible. “charlottesville is at a crossroads” - we’re experiencing rapid economic growth, but not everyone is sharing in that growth. 1 in 4 families cannot afford basic necessities.
works for habitat for humanity, cofounder the local chapter of indivisible. “charlottesville is at a crossroads” - we’re experiencing rapid economic growth, but not everyone is sharing in that growth. 1 in 4 families cannot afford basic necessities.
now on to questions. all five candidates will answer the same questions with two minutes apiece. there will be no rebuttal.
q: charlottesville’s population is 70% white and about 20% white. but fewer than 30% of investigative detentions involve a white suspect. “do you see this as a problem?” behind training, what else would you do to address it?
pinkston says first that “it is my intention to show great empathy to people of color.” (❓ok)
“i don’t think we have to make a choice between supporting our police and holding them accountable.”
says we need to give chief brackney time to stabilize the department.
“i don’t think we have to make a choice between supporting our police and holding them accountable.”
says we need to give chief brackney time to stabilize the department.
pinkston: “housing is obviously a huge issue,” most officers don’t live in the city & lack ties to the community.
“it’s good for the police. it’s good for the community” he says of a fully funded and independent CRB.
“it’s good for the police. it’s good for the community” he says of a fully funded and independent CRB.
payne:
“on your average saturday night, where is the most crime going on in charlottesville?” it’s rugby road. but we don’t see heavy policing there. that gets to the inequality of the issue here.
“on your average saturday night, where is the most crime going on in charlottesville?” it’s rugby road. but we don’t see heavy policing there. that gets to the inequality of the issue here.
payne:
says we need to acknowledge that reality, that there is a reason for the lack of trust on behalf of the community.
supports a robust, independent CRB. council needs to give it the resources and power it needs to deal with complaints & exert influence on policy.
says we need to acknowledge that reality, that there is a reason for the lack of trust on behalf of the community.
supports a robust, independent CRB. council needs to give it the resources and power it needs to deal with complaints & exert influence on policy.
payne specifically cites the 1% of the police department’s annual budget that the CRB has requested. good to see candidates are paying attention!
fenwick:
the disproportionate minority contact report came out 5 years ago. we’ve known about this issue. “i’m certain she [brackney] has read it. i’m sure she’s gonna act on it.”
says he’s not a fan of “new tactics,” and that it’s just a matter of funding existing programs.
the disproportionate minority contact report came out 5 years ago. we’ve known about this issue. “i’m certain she [brackney] has read it. i’m sure she’s gonna act on it.”
says he’s not a fan of “new tactics,” and that it’s just a matter of funding existing programs.
snook:
took a case to supreme court that reversed a racially discriminatory death sentence. “other than training what can we do, is like saying other than the most important thing, what can we do.”
took a case to supreme court that reversed a racially discriminatory death sentence. “other than training what can we do, is like saying other than the most important thing, what can we do.”
snook:
says he’s suggested specific procedures to the CRB that “doesn’t require the data gathering that they have been obsessed with.” (very derisive tone when mentioning the CRB)
says you can train racism out of officers.
says he’s suggested specific procedures to the CRB that “doesn’t require the data gathering that they have been obsessed with.” (very derisive tone when mentioning the CRB)
says you can train racism out of officers.
snook calls the CRB a “teeny little piece” of solving the problem of with our police department.
magill:
recounts an anecdote of her (white) husband being stopped and frisked in a predominantly black neighborhood. dealt with approximately 60/40 white/black population in her work with the homeless.
recounts an anecdote of her (white) husband being stopped and frisked in a predominantly black neighborhood. dealt with approximately 60/40 white/black population in her work with the homeless.
magill:
education is an important aspect of the problem, but we do need to look at the policies. says they need something comparable to the week-long CIT training they get for mental health.
education is an important aspect of the problem, but we do need to look at the policies. says they need something comparable to the week-long CIT training they get for mental health.
next question: what should city council do to resolve the stalemate with the developer of the dewberry hotel project. (there was laughter in the gallery)
fenwick:
“we tried to do some kind of a plan two years ago,” but dewberry didn’t honor it. says we need an unbiased third party structural engineer to evaluate the partially completed structure. (tbh it probably needs to be torn down - it’s been a skeleton for a decade)
“we tried to do some kind of a plan two years ago,” but dewberry didn’t honor it. says we need an unbiased third party structural engineer to evaluate the partially completed structure. (tbh it probably needs to be torn down - it’s been a skeleton for a decade)
fenwick advocates taking dewberry to court to force him to allow an inspection of the property. “and just get on with it. that’s an embarrassment down there.”
pinkston: the dewberry hotel is an example of the dysfunction we’ve had over the past decade.
blames local activists’ “ill-formed actions and opinions” for the deal falling apart in 2017.
blames local activists’ “ill-formed actions and opinions” for the deal falling apart in 2017.
(note that michael payne, sitting right next to pinkston, organized charlottesville DSA’s rally against the deal he’s talking about)
magill:
dewberry holds cities hostage until they give enough tax breaks that the city ends up making no money off of it. but condemning the structure could mean spending $6mil to buy the property & have to deal with it in its current state.
dewberry holds cities hostage until they give enough tax breaks that the city ends up making no money off of it. but condemning the structure could mean spending $6mil to buy the property & have to deal with it in its current state.
magill:
do we want to set this precedent? she says it’s complicated and hasn’t reached a decision on the matter.
do we want to set this precedent? she says it’s complicated and hasn’t reached a decision on the matter.
payne:
bloomberg called dewberry “the emperor of empty lots” - he’s done this in cities across the south. “he’s not operating in good faith” and that needs to be recognized. payne favors taking an aggressive negotiating strategy.
bloomberg called dewberry “the emperor of empty lots” - he’s done this in cities across the south. “he’s not operating in good faith” and that needs to be recognized. payne favors taking an aggressive negotiating strategy.
snook:
“what we’ve heard tonight is historical revisionism” from fenwick & payne. the only thing voted against in december 2017 was exactly what fenwick voted for in march of that year.
i’ve not heard snook speak before and i hate it.
“what we’ve heard tonight is historical revisionism” from fenwick & payne. the only thing voted against in december 2017 was exactly what fenwick voted for in march of that year.
i’ve not heard snook speak before and i hate it.
it’s weird that snook is talking about how he wants to get on council to make councilors be nicer and more civil with one another while directly attacking michael payne 🤷♀️
talking about buses now.
magill:
“we don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” but the timetables need an overhaul. says she spent two hours taking the bus to a location that would take 30 minutes to reach by foot.
magill:
“we don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” but the timetables need an overhaul. says she spent two hours taking the bus to a location that would take 30 minutes to reach by foot.
magill says part time transit employees are excluded from the $15/hour wage passed in the recent budget. she wants that living wage extended to all transit employees.
snook:
“we can’t build our way out of” the affordable housing crisis. he proposes building housing for poor people far away & just improving buses to bring them in to work.
“we can’t build our way out of” the affordable housing crisis. he proposes building housing for poor people far away & just improving buses to bring them in to work.
payne:
long term, we need a regional transit authority for cville & albemarle. it needs a permanent stable funding source. research shows stops need to be every 20 minutes to see increases in ridership. right now, it’s a last resort for people without other options.
long term, we need a regional transit authority for cville & albemarle. it needs a permanent stable funding source. research shows stops need to be every 20 minutes to see increases in ridership. right now, it’s a last resort for people without other options.
payne: short term, we need covers at as many bus stops as possible. we need to fix the arrival times in the app for the bus system. also need to evaluate route efficient.
pinkston: agrees with everything everyone else already said. thinking about this regionally is the only way that makes sense. (you can tell he has a PhD in philosophy. he says so many words without saying anything concrete)
fenwick:
“i like to do the simple things first.” says he noticed the big buses are usually nearly empty - wants to know why we don’t just get smaller buses.
“i like to do the simple things first.” says he noticed the big buses are usually nearly empty - wants to know why we don’t just get smaller buses.
next question sounded like it was going to be about police handling of unite the right... but actually it’s about how council can deal with the low police morale because people are mad at them.
payne:
first acknowledges that many in the community were traumatized that day. people still have unpaid medical bills. it will take time to heal. time to rebuild trust.
first acknowledges that many in the community were traumatized that day. people still have unpaid medical bills. it will take time to heal. time to rebuild trust.
payne:
we had a terrorist attack in our community.
“it is inevitable that that is going to break trust.”
he recounts his own experience that day, seeing the violence with the police standing idly by.
we had a terrorist attack in our community.
“it is inevitable that that is going to break trust.”
he recounts his own experience that day, seeing the violence with the police standing idly by.
fenwick:
also wants to acknowledge the damage done to people in the community on A11 and A12 including candidate sena magill’s husband. says he himself was injured on the 12th.
also wants to acknowledge the damage done to people in the community on A11 and A12 including candidate sena magill’s husband. says he himself was injured on the 12th.
“the state police betrayed the city police,” fenwick says, telling people to look at his site, august12.space, for more information.
he says the state should wipe out the medical bills for everyone hurt on august 11 and 12.
he says the state should wipe out the medical bills for everyone hurt on august 11 and 12.
magill:
“we need to be backing the CRB”
as far as morale, we need pay parity with the county & UVA otherwise we’re just training police to leave for better paying jobs.
says she misses the police horses that came through neighborhoods.
“we need to be backing the CRB”
as far as morale, we need pay parity with the county & UVA otherwise we’re just training police to leave for better paying jobs.
says she misses the police horses that came through neighborhoods.
“when you know somebody, it’s very different when you go to arrest them,” magill says. when she was working at the shelter, arrests were less violent and traumatic with officers familiar with the clients.
magill chokes up for a second, saying she doesn’t want to get into the august 11 and 12 issue, that it’s a bit raw today after joe biden’s campaign commercial. her husband was nearly killed in the incident biden exploited in his campaign announcement.
snook:
the take home car program is important for officer morale. (he says we didn’t boost officer pay? did he read the same budget i did? they got huge raises)
now he’s criticizing the CRB pretty viciously again and says the draft bylaws violate state law.
the take home car program is important for officer morale. (he says we didn’t boost officer pay? did he read the same budget i did? they got huge raises)
now he’s criticizing the CRB pretty viciously again and says the draft bylaws violate state law.
pinkston:
says he reread the heaphy report (the summer 2017 after action report the city paid $350k for) and says it highlighted a lot of dysfunction. says we need to give chief brackney a chance, is very optimistic about her.
says he reread the heaphy report (the summer 2017 after action report the city paid $350k for) and says it highlighted a lot of dysfunction. says we need to give chief brackney a chance, is very optimistic about her.
pinkston just said “all lives matter.” i was busy looking something up so i missed the specific context but one hundred million YIKES for even saying those words.
audience question, where do you personally stand on confederate monuments?
magill: we should have a park dedicated to all of our mistakes & they should all go there.
magill: we should have a park dedicated to all of our mistakes & they should all go there.
snook: whatever you thought about them before A12, it’s clear now they are attractions for hate. if we could legally take them down he would be in favor of doing so. he says council waited too long to to talk about the legislative agenda, calling it another example of dysfunction
pinkston:
“i don’t see them as war memorials, i see them as statues of people who shouldn’t have parks named after them.” “clearly they need to come down. absolutely take them down. or move them someplace.”
“i don’t see them as war memorials, i see them as statues of people who shouldn’t have parks named after them.” “clearly they need to come down. absolutely take them down. or move them someplace.”
fenwick:
“it’s abundantly clear what kind of person those statues attract” and they should be taken down.
fenwick is a named defendant in the civil suit about the statues... should he be more careful about what he’s saying about this?
“it’s abundantly clear what kind of person those statues attract” and they should be taken down.
fenwick is a named defendant in the civil suit about the statues... should he be more careful about what he’s saying about this?
payne:
supported removing them before A12 and still do.
“i think they are symbols of racism” and cites the historical conditions surrounding their erection. “they’re insulting” to people of color who pass them every day.
supported removing them before A12 and still do.
“i think they are symbols of racism” and cites the historical conditions surrounding their erection. “they’re insulting” to people of color who pass them every day.
Q: how do you plan to “green” cville? and do you support divestment from fossil fuels & weapons manufacturing?
fenwick: says he represents the people and if the people want it, he has no problem with divestment (weird weak answer?)
fenwick: says he represents the people and if the people want it, he has no problem with divestment (weird weak answer?)
pinkston:
yes to divestment. we have to stay committed to the global covenant of mayors agreement that calls for carbon neutrality. higher density, redevelopment, better zoning to discourage cars, incentivize solar panels, etc
yes to divestment. we have to stay committed to the global covenant of mayors agreement that calls for carbon neutrality. higher density, redevelopment, better zoning to discourage cars, incentivize solar panels, etc
magill:
all for divestment both of the general fund & retirement fund. all buses (school and transit) should be replaced with electric as they age out. solar panels on roofs. support gen180, climate collaborative, LEAP, and other local orgs.
all for divestment both of the general fund & retirement fund. all buses (school and transit) should be replaced with electric as they age out. solar panels on roofs. support gen180, climate collaborative, LEAP, and other local orgs.
payne:
climate change is the greatest threat facing society. our generation is choosing not to have kids because of climate fears. set emissions reduction target goal - 100% clean & renewable energy by 2030. reform zoning, invest in public transit.
climate change is the greatest threat facing society. our generation is choosing not to have kids because of climate fears. set emissions reduction target goal - 100% clean & renewable energy by 2030. reform zoning, invest in public transit.
payne: some climate change consequences are inevitable. we need to prepare - adjust flood plain maps, infrastructure investment & repair.
fully supports divestment.
fully supports divestment.
snook:
signed on to a letter supporting divestment. “it’s not even difficult,” “it could be done very easily.”
(sena said the retirement fund would be trickier because of the fiduciary duty, he says “it’s not a fiduciary problem.”)
signed on to a letter supporting divestment. “it’s not even difficult,” “it could be done very easily.”
(sena said the retirement fund would be trickier because of the fiduciary duty, he says “it’s not a fiduciary problem.”)
what work in the city interests you?
pinkston: the housing advisory committee, regional transit, the jail board. served on the region ten board previously, “there are so many cool opportunities,”
pinkston: the housing advisory committee, regional transit, the jail board. served on the region ten board previously, “there are so many cool opportunities,”
payne:
“my number one priority is affordable housing.” would like to serve on the HAC and the housing authority, work on zoning reform & redevelopment of public housing. also interested in regional transit.
“my number one priority is affordable housing.” would like to serve on the HAC and the housing authority, work on zoning reform & redevelopment of public housing. also interested in regional transit.
“it’s easier to build small children than it is to repair broken men,” fenwick says, quoting frederick douglass.
then he says he has a special interest in seniors, especially senior women, particularly single women. says seniors have a lot of issues that don’t get addressed.
then he says he has a special interest in seniors, especially senior women, particularly single women. says seniors have a lot of issues that don’t get addressed.
snook:
he’s interested in regional economic development and the achievement gap in schools. says we need to tap into volunteers, citing programs like ready kids and book buddies.
he’s interested in regional economic development and the achievement gap in schools. says we need to tap into volunteers, citing programs like ready kids and book buddies.
magill:
affordable housing is a big issue for her. she started the rapid rehousing program at PACEM. would also be happy to serve on the social services board and anything to do with education.
affordable housing is a big issue for her. she started the rapid rehousing program at PACEM. would also be happy to serve on the social services board and anything to do with education.
now there is time for one more question but two left -
the moderator let the audience vote & we chose to hear candidates opinions on voluntary ICE notifications by the jail.
the moderator let the audience vote & we chose to hear candidates opinions on voluntary ICE notifications by the jail.
magill: “i do not support ice notifications”
snook: “i don’t like it but i don’t think we can ask the jail to ignore the law” (sorry not sorry i said “it’s not the law” loudly enough for him to hear)
snook: “i don’t like it but i don’t think we can ask the jail to ignore the law” (sorry not sorry i said “it’s not the law” loudly enough for him to hear)
payne: “i don’t support the jail board continuing their policy of voluntary ICE notifications.” we should view that change as just the beginning of protecting our local undocumented community.
pinkston: agrees with michael but also lloyd, despite those being opposite answers.
fenwick: “i would end the voluntary notifications. there’s no reason we should do the feds’ work for them.”
fenwick: “i would end the voluntary notifications. there’s no reason we should do the feds’ work for them.”
closing remarks, starting with snook:
talking about his mother’s service as president of her chapter of the league of women voters, which plays well with the crowd. “that’s the kind of spirit i want to bring to city council.”
talking about his mother’s service as president of her chapter of the league of women voters, which plays well with the crowd. “that’s the kind of spirit i want to bring to city council.”
pinkston: “the theme of my campaign is the idea of the common good.” investment in schools, housing etc are ways to grow our collective capacity as a city (again, he’s a philosopher)
fenwick again tells people to go to his website about august 12 and tells us to google the cornerstone speech, which sets out the reasons the civil war was fought.
he says he doesn’t think councilors should serve on boards.
he says he doesn’t think councilors should serve on boards.
payne:
we need to get to work implementing policies to tackle the problems the city is facing. he cites his work as an organizer with the low income housing coalition to keep residents of belmont apartments in their homes when they were facing eviction recently.
we need to get to work implementing policies to tackle the problems the city is facing. he cites his work as an organizer with the low income housing coalition to keep residents of belmont apartments in their homes when they were facing eviction recently.
magill:
she says she grew up on a hippie commune, spending summers with her republican grandparents. that & working in mental health means she has the skills to bridge gaps, listen, and find solutions.
she says she grew up on a hippie commune, spending summers with her republican grandparents. that & working in mental health means she has the skills to bridge gaps, listen, and find solutions.
i raced out of the forum to the county office building hoping to catch public comment (scheduled for 8:45) at the school board meeting... arriving just in time for the meeting to adjourn. oh well.
