Independent City Council candidate Paul Long announced yesterday that he is withdrawing from the race due to financial reasons. He also endorsed fellow Independents Brandon Collins and Andrew Williams.
“I have taken on a part-time job because I have some financial debt that I have to pay off,” he said in an interview. Long added that in addition to working full-time at the UVA Medical Center, this new commitment would not give him the necessary time to “maintain an effective campaign that I think the residents of Charlottesville deserve.”
Long believes the four remaining candidates will fare well against the three Democratic nominees in the race for three City Council seats. He endorsed Collins for the candidate’s commitment to addressing poverty and homelessness in the city. Long said he would like the city to take a more direct approach to aid the homeless and use the budget surplus to help faith-based organizations run a year-round shelter.
Both Collins and Williams thanked Long for his endorsement and vowed to continue his work through their campaigns.
More after the photo.
Independent Candidate Paul Long, along with Brandon Collins (left) and Andrew Williams, in front of City Hall.
Williams, who is the youngest and only African American candidate, said he offers a different, young perspective that is in opposition to partisan corporate politics.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” he said in an interview. “To solve new problems, you need a new perspective, you need fresh new ideas. I am not stuck in my ways to due partisan politics.”
Long and Collins share the same idea that Charlottesville is a “wealthy” city that “does not look after poor people, that does not look after working people, and does not support human rights,” said Collins.
Although a longtime Democrat, Long has been dissatisfied with the local Democratic Party, but said that he likes one of the three nominees. “If I do vote for a Democrat, it would be Dede Smith, because I think she represents an open mind and progressive wing of the Democratic Party,” he said.
According to the latest financial filings, Democrat Kathy Galvin has raised the most money, $12,263, closely followed by Smith with $10,278 and Incumbent Satyendra Huja with $8,589. Collins leads the Independent pack with the most money raised, $1,251, followed by Bob Fenwick with $928, Scott Bandy with $480 and Williams, in last, with $130.