Charlottesville-area delegates Katrina Callsen (above) and Amy Laufer both support Virginia constitutional amendments to protect reproductive rights and same-sex marriage, and reinstate voting rights for people convicted of a felony. Supplied photo.
In the wake of the historic re-election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States, Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee advanced three constitutional amendments on November 13.
The amendments aim to enshrine protections for reproductive rights and same-sex marriage, and reinstate voting rights for people convicted of a felony. Both House Joint Resolutions No. 1 and No. 2, which pertain to abortion access and voting rights respectively, passed the committee 12-9 along party lines. A handful of Republican legislators joined Democrats to pass protections for same-sex marriages.
First introduced by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring on November 20, 2023, HJ 1 calls for an amendment to Article I of the Constitution of Virginia by adding section 11-A, which protects the right to “reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.” Under the proposed amendment, abortion access in the third trimester would still be legislatively restricted to instances when a physician deems it medically necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual” or “the fetus is not viable.”
Current law requires that three physicians find termination necessary to protect the life of the mother prior to performing a third-trimester abortion.
While pro-choice advocates and legislators have emphasized the need for the constitutional amendment following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, pro-life representatives and organizations criticized both the content of the resolution and the lack of time given for the committee to review the new version of the amendment prior to voting.
Under HJ 2, the language in Section I of Article II of the state constitution would be amended to still restrict voting rights of those currently incarcerated for a felony conviction, but fully restore voting rights upon release without requiring any further action. Virginia is one of 10 states that does not automatically restore the voting rights of those convicted of a felony upon completion of their sentence.
The final resolution, HJ 9, would repeal and replace an existing amendment.
While same-sex couples have held the right to marriage nationwide since the Obergefell v. Hodges decision by the Supreme Court in 2015, the Virginia Bill of Rights still includes Section 15-A of Article I—a 2006 amendment that explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman. If approved, HJ 9 would almost completely rewrite Section 15-A of Article I to protect “the issuance of marriage licenses to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage” regardless of the “sex, gender, or race of such parties.”
Following the Supreme Courts’ Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, many LGBTQ+ activists are concerned that Obergefell may be overturned. If the Supreme Court reversed its previous decision, Virginia’s existing prohibition on same-sex marriage would go back into effect.
Making amendments to the state constitution is a lengthy process in Virginia. Before they’re put to voters, the resolutions must be approved by the state legislature in two different years separated by a General Assembly election. The earliest the proposed amendments could appear on the ballot is November 2026.
Charlottesville-area delegates Katrina Callsen and Amy Laufer both support the resolutions.
“Virginia is taking the first step in a process to safeguard freedoms we hold dear: reproductive rights, marriage equality, and voting rights,” said Callsen in a November 13 Facebook post. “Our Constitution should protect all Virginians—today, tomorrow, and for generations.”
Amy Laufer (left) and Bryce Reeves are running opposite each other for the 17th District seat in the Virginia Senate. (Photos courtesy of subjects)
Follow the money
Breaking down campaign finance reports
With election day less than two weeks away, candidates will submit their final campaign fundraising reports on October 28. Using data provided by the Virginia Public Access Project, here are how things stand in two races with significant local ties, as of the last reports submitted September 30.
Charlottesville City Council
The three Democratic candidates raised (and spent) most of their money before the June primary, with Lloyd Snook leading the way in both fundraising and spending among the six candidates still on the ballot. He’s received $60,486 in donations overall, including $5,000 contributions from author John Grisham, VinoTours owner Richard Hewitt, and Virginia Realtors. VPAP reports that Snook has spent $45,289, with a significant chunk going toward TV ads.
Behind Snook are Sena Magill ($35,603 raised) and Michael Payne ($24,055), followed by independent candidates Bellamy Brown ($17,071), Paul Long ($801), and John Hall ($756). Magill received the largest individual donation—$10,000 from longtime Democratic donor Sonjia Smith back in 2018—while Payne leads in small donations with 228 contributions of less than $100.
Brown, however, has led all candidates since the primary, with $5,194 raised between July and August. His top donors include Ludwig Kuttner, owner of IX Art Park, who contributed $1,000. Magill ranks second over that span with $1,715, followed by Snook at $550, and Payne at $185.
State Senate – District 17
Former Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer (D) is challenging incumbent Senator Bryce Reeves (R), who’s represented the 17th District since 2012. While Reeves has outraised Laufer roughly $1.3 million to $880,000, he’s lost ground to her in Albemarle County. Laufer, a county resident and UVA alum, received $228,758 in Albemarle donations, dwarfing Reeves’ $14,450 figure.
The 17th District encompasses parts of Albemarle, Louisa, Orange, Culpeper, and Spotsylvania counties, as well as Fredericksburg City.
Stay in the fight
The World Series has arrived, and the Washington Nationals are facing off against the Houston Astros in D.C.’s first appearance in the best-of-seven series since 1933. Looking for somewhere to watch the games—and cheer for former UVA standouts Ryan Zimmerman and Sean Doolittle? Check out these places:
Twenty percent off for wearing Nats gear: Draft Taproom (Downtown Mall)
Best wings in town: Asado Wing & Taco Company (1327 W. Main St.)
Watch outdoors: Boylan Heights (102 14th St. NW)
Play pool between innings: Firefly (1304 E. Market St.)
Big screen, sound on: Buffalo Wild Wings (431 Gander Dr.)
Open late for weekend games: Beer Run (156 Carlton Rd., Suite 203)
Feeling an Irish pub?: Tin Whistle (609 E. Market St.)
Eat chicken and waffles while you watch: Holly’s Diner (1221 E. Market St.)
Quote of the week
“The world is looking to Charlottesville to set a precedent.” —Rosia Parker, a member of the initial Police Civilian Review Board and The People’s Coalition, on City Council’s CRB proposal
In brief
Civilians weigh in on CRB
Members of the city’s initial Police Civilian Review Board, which spent a year formulating a proposal for how the board should be run, protested what they called a “watered down” version of the bylaws put forward by City Council at its October 21 meeting. In a press conference outside City Hall and in public comment, members and others criticized council’s version for eliminating the auditor role, not allocating a budget for the CRB, and removing its authority to comprehensively review police policies.
The People’s Coalition held a rally outside City Hall on October 21.
Acknowledging history
On October 23, city schools will unveil a historic marker at Johnson Elementary School to recognize the first black students to enroll in the then-all-white school in 1962. There are also markers outside Venable Elementary and the Albemarle County Office building, formerly Lane High School.
Moneyline mistake
A University of Alabama student from Crozet has pleaded not guilty to calling in a bomb threat to the Louisiana State University football stadium during a game against Florida earlier this month. Baton Rouge police say that Connor Bruce Croll, 19, confirmed he made the threat in an attempt to disrupt the game to prevent his friend from losing a large bet.
Another downtown mural
A new mural has been unveiled on Second Street. Jake Van Yahres—a local artist and Charlottesville native—designed “Together We Grow,” and muralist Christy Baker and Charlottesville High School students have been working to finish it over the past two weeks. The piece is a gift from the Van Yahres Tree Company to celebrate the company’s 100 years in Charlottesville.
Michael Bills is narrowing his political focus to candidates who don’t take donations from Dominion with his Clean Virginia PAC.
Submitted photo
Special interests
If you’ve got an agenda, you’ve gotta have a PAC. A political action committee is the device of choice for individuals, corporations, developers, teachers, and many others to further their interests by funneling money or other support to political candidates. While a PAC is limited by state and federal law on how much it can directly contribute to a campaign, because it’s not run by a political party or individual candidate, on its own it can spend an unlimited amount of money on elections. Charlottesville is home to several PACs that have raised— and contributed—millions for causes ranging from electing progressive candidates to keeping Delegate Rob Bell in office. Here’s our roundup:
Progressives for Cville
Founded in 2018 by UVA prof and Black Lives Matter organizer Jalane Schmidt and Jefferson School African American Heritage Center staffer Olivia Patton, Progressives for Cville wants small donors to support candidates who will work for affordable housing and against racial inequity. The PAC supports City Council candidate Michael Payne.
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Charlottesville native Stephanie Taylor and UVA Law grad Adam Green co-founded Progressive Change in 2009, the largest locally founded PAC, with a million-member grassroots organization that’s raised $29 million. Its website is boldprogressives.org, and this national PAC was a fan of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s platform long before she became a presidential candidate.
Virginia First PAC
House Minority Leader David Toscano’s PAC has donated more than $1 million to help elect Democrats to the House of Delegates.
Clean Virginia Fund
Investor Michael Bills has poured over $2 million into state elections. Last year he founded a PAC to promote clean energy and thwart the influence of Dominion Power on the electoral process by supporting candidates who refuse to accept money from utilities they would regulate. Bills has put $205,000 into the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, and donated $166,000 to candidates.
Road Back/Democratic Road Forward PAC
The late delegate Mitch Van Yahres, who held the 57th District seat for 24 years, founded the Road Back PAC in 2002 to help other Dem candidates. The PAC was dormant for several years after his death in 2008, and was reborn as the Democratic Road Forward PAC in 2013 to train Democratic hopefuls and their staffs. “We don’t give them money,” says former vice-mayor Meredith Richards, but this year 19 candidates the PAC schooled in fundraising and fieldwork are running.
Virginia’s List
Former Charlottesville School Board chair and 17th Senate District candidate Amy Laufer’s PAC has raised almost $125,000 since 2015 to support Democratic women running for state office, according to VPAP.
Virginians for Rob Bell
This committee was formed in 2012, ahead of Bell’s unsuccessful run for the GOP attorneygeneral nomination in 2013. It’s received $560,000 in contributions, and is currently sitting on $294,000, says VPAP.
Forever Albemarle
Maintaining the county’s rural areas and supporting farmers is the goal of Forever Albemarle, which donated to RepublicanBoard of Supervisors candidates Duane Snow and Rodney Thomas in 2009. The PAC has been less active since then, but it made a $545 donation to the White Hall Ruritans in 2017, according to Virginia Department of Elections.
Quote of the week
“To me, any legitimate conversation about reparations starts with education.” —Pharrell Williams, May 17 at UVA’s Valedictory Exercises
In brief
Trick-or-treat
Police Chief RaShall Brackney asked City Council on May 20 to repeal the 57-year-old ordinance that prohibits kids over the age of 12 from knocking on neighbors’ doors and demanding candy on Halloween. She’s also calling for a 10pm curfew on October 31, and council will vote on the matters in June.
Another A12 lawsuit
Bill Burke came to Charlottesville in August 2017 with a plan to protest a white supremacist rally, and left with a string of mental and physical injuries from being hit by James Fields’ car. Now, in a federal lawsuit filed in his home state of Ohio, he’s asking for $3 million in compensatory damages.
Free advice
The Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association and Legal Aid Justice Center have hired their first pro bono coordinator. Kristin Clarens has already racked up “countless hours” of pro bono work on immigration, human rights, and refugee resettlement, according to a press release.
Long goodbye
Two-time Super Bowl champion with deep Charlottesville roots Chris Long is hanging up his helmet after 11 NFL seasons. The UVA and St. Anne’s-Belfield grad chosen as the league’s 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year is also known for his humanitarian work: Since starting his Waterboys charity, he’s funded approximately 60 wells (and counting) in Africa.
Body found, arrest made
Police say 24-year-old Cody Jason Cappel, whose body was found on the Rivanna Trail behind Peter Jefferson Parkway May 16, was shot multiple times. He appeared to have been living in a tent along the river near 49-year-old Allan Ray Via, who has been charged with second degree murder and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
Signs of change
Vincent Kinney was the first black student to graduate from Albemarle High. staff photo
Despite the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which found public school segregation unconstitutional, Albemarle County didn’t integrate for another nine years.
In 1963, 26 black students enrolled in three county schools for the first time: Stone-Robinson Elementary, Greenwood, and Albemarle High. And on May 17, county administrators unveiled new signs at each location that honor the first black attendeesof those schools.
Superintendent Matt Haas thanked local historian and filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson, who spearheaded the project.
In attendance at the unveiling were multiple members of the Albemarle 26, including the first black AHS graduate Vincent Kinney, who donned his cap and gown in 1964.
“I get a little bit of angst at things like this because it focuses attention on us and it does not emphasize the fact that we were overcoming something in the community,” said Kinney. “By the time I came to Albemarle [High], I had already been scarred…by the white privilege that existed and still does to a lesser extent today.”
When students see the new sign, he says he hopes they don’t take it for granted.
Adds Kinney, “I hope they see that the level of near equality that’s shared by all now has been fought for.”
Matt Quatrara will take over the ever-busy Charlottesville General District Court when Judge Bob Downer retires in a few months.
submitted photo
New kids on the bench
The General Assembly appointed four new judges for the 16th Circuit, which includes Charlottesville and Albemarle, and two are for new positions to handle swelling caseloads.
Juvenile and domestic relations court Judge Claude Worrell, 55, will move up to circuit court. Before his appointment in 2013, Worrell was a deputy commonwealth’s attorney in Charlottesville for 20 years, and prosecuted high-profile cases like William Beebe, the 12-step rapist. Worrell will serve an eight-year term.
Gil Berger, 60, a criminal defense attorney who lives in Orange, will take Worrell’s seat in juvenile court. Berger took on law later in life and graduated from Regent University in 2000. He says he’s “exuberant” about the appointment, and that while juvenile court is not the most sought-after court, it’s the “most intense” because it involves people and families.
Albemarle Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Darby Lowe, 52, will take a new juvenile and domestic relations court seat. During her 25 years as a prosecutor, Lowe focused on the type of cases she’ll now hear as a judge, and in 2017 she won the Virginia S. “Ginny” Duvall award for distinguished juvenile prosecutor. Lowe got a conviction for the I-64 teen shooter in 2008, but had less success with the notorious 2006 “smoke-bomb” cases in which four teens were prosecuted for allegedly plotting to blow up high schools—and one was acquitted.
Lenhart Pettit attorney Matt Quatrara, 46, is also a former Albemarle and Charlottesville prosecutor. He’s taking the seat of retiring Charlottesville General District Court Judge Bob Downer. Quatrara also served as a federal prosecutor and worked for McGuireWoods. Before returning to private practice, Quatrara prosecuted two well-known locals—including deceased journalist Donovan Webster—for involuntary manslaughter from drunk driving.
Berger, Lowe, and Quatrara will serve six-year terms.
Quote of the week
“Human beings since their creation have not been stopped by any wall.” —Maria Chavalan Sut, a Guatemalan refugee taking sanctuary in Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, on the president’s declared national emergency
In brief
She’s back
Amy Laufer, a former City Council hopeful who was narrowly beat out by Nikuyah Walker and Heather Hill in 2017, stepped down from her position on the Charlottesville School Board in January and has announced a run for the General Assembly. The Democrat hopes to unseat Republican Senator Bryce Reeves in the 17th District, which includes parts of eastern Albemarle.
Eze Amos photo
He’s back, too
Former City Councilor Bob Fenwick, who served from 2014 to 2017 (when he was ousted by Amy Laufer and Heather Hill in the Democratic primary), will run again as a Democrat. He also ran two unsuccessful campaigns as an independent during the 2009 and 2011 elections.
Search and seizure
Janis Jaquith photo
When police had the Downtown Mall on lockdown over the August 12 anniversary weekend, John Miska was arrested for purchasing banned items—razor blades, Arizona iced tea, and bug spray—from CVS. The cops weren’t worried about the two pistols strapped to him. The Rutherford Institute, on behalf of Miska, says the arrest violated Miska’s Fourth and 14th amendment rights, and filed a federal lawsuit February 13.
Opponent arises
Patrick Estes, a former NFL offensive lineman, wants to be the new sheriff in town. Submitted photo
Former Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Patrick Estes has tossed his hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for Albemarle County sheriff. The UVA alum, who serves as regional director for RMC Events, has also worked for Homeland Security and been a field training officer and a narcotics and special events detective. He’ll challenge Chief Deputy Chan Bryant, who already has Sheriff Chip Harding’s endorsement.
10,992 felons…
Can now vote, thanks to Governor Ralph Northam. Since he took office a little over a year ago, his administration has restored the civil rights of nearly 11,000 previously convicted Virginians, who may also now run for public office, serve on a jury, or become a notary public. Says Northam, “I believe in second chances.”
Walk in these shoes
The Salvation Army is holding its 29th shoe drive February 23 and will distribute gently used shoes, which can be dropped off at the Salvation Army gym on Ridge Street. Past drives have collected over 100,000 pairs of footwear.
Oh, dear: City’s culling program ramps back up
Getty Images
It’s not a good time to be a four-legged woodland creature in Charlottesville. After what the city is calling a successful culling initiative last year, where sharpshooters took out 125 deer accused of creating hazardous driving conditions, Lyme disease-related health concerns, and wreaking havoc on local landscapes, the hunters are gearing up to do it again.
The same number of deer have been targeted this year, and are only being hunted in city parks during nighttime hours. “The operation,” as city officials call it, is “carefully coordinated” with the Emergency Communications Center and the Charlottesville Police Department. It started February 18 and is expected to continue into March.
Here are the results from the 2018 program:
125 deer killed on nine city-owned properties
11 nights of hunting
2,850 pounds of deer meat donated to Loaves & Fishes
Independent's day at Jefferson School when victory is called for Nikuyah Walker, center. Photo Eze Amos
Election night 2017 in Charlottesville had quite a different feel from 2016. Democrats swept statewide offices, with Ralph Northam winning the governor’s race by an even wider margin—9 percent—than pundits had predicted. And no one saw it coming that Dems would dislodge the hefty 66-34 Republican majority in the House of Delegates, and, depending on recounts, Charlottesville’s own David Toscano could end up house majority leader.
The unprecedented evening continued in Charlottesville, where Nikuyah Walker bucked the Democratic groundswell and became the first independent to win a seat on City Council since 1948. Also unprecedented: It’s the first time two African Americans will serve on council when she joins Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy on the dais in January.
Walker’s supporters—a younger, more diverse crowd than the older, whiter Dems awaiting returns at Escafe—gathered at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, where she led from the first precinct report.
“She’s the first Charlottesville native in decades to serve on council,” former mayor Dave Norris, a Walker supporter, points out. “She’s someone who’s actually experienced some of the issues facing council. She lived in Garrett Square,” which is now known as Friendship Court.
Former mayor Dave Norris and Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy were on hand for Nikuyah Walker’s historic win. Photo Eze Amos
Her victory “is a rebuke to the dirty tactics of the anonymous source,” adds Norris, referring to the November 4 Daily Progress story prompted by an unnamed city official who suggested Walker’s “aggressive” communication style would make it difficult for her to work with other councilors and city staff.
Before the election, conventional wisdom predicted Laufer, who’s served on the school board, would get one of the open council seats now held by Bob Fenwick and Kristin Szakos, and the second would be a toss-up between Hill and Walker. Instead, Hill edged Laufer by 55 votes in what were extremely close margins between the three frontrunners.
“Heather worked her tail off,” says Norris. “Whenever someone criticized Heather, she would sit down and talk to them. She personally hit up every street in Charlottesville.”
Democrat Heather Hill had expected to sit on council with Amy Laufer, but the election, with everything else this year, was “unprecedented,” she says. Photo Eze Amos
The election “played out in a different way than I expected,” says Hill. “This year has been unprecedented, and there was no doubt in my mind this election was going to be unprecedented. I’m really excited to be part of this change.”
One big change for Walker: As a city employee with parks and rec, she will be her own boss as a councilor—sort of. State code on conflicts of interest says an elected official may keep her job with a government agency provided employment began before election to the governing body.
Surrounded by her son, two daughters and mother on stage at Jefferson School, Walker admitted, “I drove my family crazy.”
She said, “It’s hard growing up black in Charlottesville. I only ran because of [the late vice-mayor] Holly Edwards. She told me if I️ ran, I’d win.”
Walker said, “People told lies about me. They should have told the truth.”
And she acknowledged the broad grassroots support she had, with contributions ranging from $5 to $10,000. She urged her supporters to hold onto the “we” and stay engaged. “It’s not a temporary thing.”
Walker’s win “breaks up the total Democratic control on council,” says UVA Center for Politics’ Geoffrey Skelley. “It’s meaningful in the aftermath of all the terrible things that happened in Charlottesville” with the monument debate and neo-Nazi invasion, which some put at the feet of City Council.
“Walker was offering something different,” he says. “It’s a reaction locally when Democrats were crushing it everywhere else. It’s a reaction to local issues that have become national issues.”
In Albemarle County, the Samuel Miller District was the only contested Board of Supervisors race, and incumbent Liz Palmer handily beat Republican challenger John Lowry with 68 percent of the vote.
In county school board races, Katrina Callsen, who had opponent Mary McIntyre’s supporters grousing about outside money from a Teach for America affiliate, won 63 percent of the Rio District vote. In the Samuel Miller District, incumbent Graham Paige held on to his seat with 65 percent of the vote, fending off 18-year-old challenger Julian Waters.
Statewide, Skelley had anticipated a narrower race between Northam and Ed Gillespie. Northam’s win was the largest margin for a Democratic candidate since 1985, when Gerald Baliles won, says Skelley.
Voter turnout was up 15 percent over the last governor’s race in 2013, and in some places like Charlottesville, it was up 31 percent. In Fairfax, 23 percent more voters went to the polls than in 2013, and that increase “has got to be looked at as a response to President Trump,” says Skelley.
Democrat Justin Fairfax won the lieutenant governor’s race and became the second African American to hold that position, which Doug Wilder won in 1985. Incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring held on to his seat and gave Democrats a sweep in statewide offices.
Before the election, Skelley predicted Democrats might pick up seats in the high single digits in the House of Delegates. “I was very cautious,” he says. Several close races will face recounts, and if the Dems win, it’s possible they could have their first majority in the house since 2000.
Almost all the Democratic gains came from the 15 districts that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016, says Skelley. “It’s not like they’re winning a bunch of red seats.”
A couple of Latina delegates, an African-American veteran, Dawn Adams, the first openly lesbian delegate, and Danica Roem, the first transgender legislator in the country, will change the makeup of the mostly white male House, says Skelley.
Roem’s win over 13-term social conservative Bob Marshall, who carried the state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and who last year carried an unsuccessful bathroom bill, is particularly significant and an outcome Skelley wasn’t willing to bet on. “Prince William County has changed,” he says. “[Marshall] didn’t change with it.”
No one was predicting an unseating of Albemarle’s three GOP incumbents—Steve Landes, Matt Fariss and Rob Bell—who held on to their seats, although Bell and Fariss did face challengers, unlike in 2015 when they were unopposed. While Dem Angela Lynn lost for a second time to Landes, this year she narrowed the margin from 32 points to 16.
For House Minority Leader Toscano, who was unopposed, the evening was particularly enjoyable. “I must admit I never really thought we could do it all this cycle,” he says. “I thought we’d pick up some seats.”
Currently the Dems have 49 seats, he says, and both sides are calling for recounts in a handful of races. He’s not speculating on what will happen if his party takes the majority—and he could potentially be elected speaker. “First we have to count all the votes,” he says.
However, even if the Democrats don’t hold a majority, with a 49-51 split, “immediately we’ll get a lot more representation on committees. Immediately we’ll make strategic alliances with Republicans to pass legislation,” says Toscano.
“The election makes clear Virginia is a bellwether election following Trump,” he says. It shows that voters like candidates engaged with their communities, they like what Democrats like Governor Terry McAuliffe have been doing with economic development, and says Toscano, “They don’t like the divisiveness and hate of Trump.”
Correction 10:22am November 9: The story originally said Walker would have to resign her job as a city employee, but apparently that’s not true if she held the job before being elected.
It’s the time of year C-VILLE editorial staffers dread most: landing on the final names for our Power Issue, followed by the inevitable complaints that the list contains a bunch of white men. Sure, there are powerful women and people of color in
Charlottesville. But when it comes down to it, it’s still mostly white men who hold the reins—and a lot of them are developers. The good news: that’s changing. (And we welcome feedback about who we missed, sent to editor@c-ville.com.)
If you’re looking for a different take on power, skip over to our Arts section, where local creative-industry leaders share their most powerful moments (grab some Kleenex!) on page 46.
1. Robert E. Lee statue
More than 150 years after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, he continues to be a divisive figure—or at least his statue is. The sculpture has roiled Charlottesville since a March 2016 call (see No. 2 Wes Bellamy and Kristin Szakos) to remove the monument from the eponymously named park.
As a result, in the past year we’ve seen out-of-control City Council meetings, a Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces, a City Council vote to remove the statue, a lawsuit and injunction to prevent the removal and the renaming of
the park to Emancipation.
The issue has turned Charlottesville into a national flashpoint and drawn Virginia
Flaggers, guv hopeful and former Trump campaign state chair Corey Stewart, and Richard Spencer’s tiki-torch-carrying white nationalists. Coming up next: the Loyal White Knights of the KKK July 8 rally and Jason Kessler’s “Unite the Right” March August 12.
You, General Lee, are Charlottesville’s most powerful symbol for evoking America’s unresolved conflict over its national shame of slavery and the racial inequity still present in the 21st century.
Spawn of the Lee statue
Jason Kessler
Before the statue debate—and election of Donald Trump—Charlottesville was blissfully unaware of its own, homegrown whites-righter Jason Kessler, who unearthed Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy’s offensive tweets from before he took office and launched an unsuccessful petition drive to remove Bellamy from office, calling him a “black supremacist.” Since then, Kessler has slugged a man, filed a false complaint against his victim and aligned himself with almost every white nationalist group in the country, while denying he’s a white nationalist. The blogger formed Unity and Security in America and plans a “march on Charlottesville.” Most recently, we were treated to video of him getting punched while naming cereals in an initiation into the matching-polo-shirt-wearing Proud Boys.
SURJ
The impetus for the local Showing Up for Racial Justice was the seemingly unrelenting shootings of black men by police—and white people wanting to do something about it. But the Lee statue issue has brought SURJ into its own militant niche. Pam and Joe Starsia, who say they can’t speak for the collective, are its most well-known faces. The group showed up at Lee Park with a bullhorn to shout down GOP gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart, interrupted U.S. Representative Tom Garrett’s town hall and surrounded Kessler at outdoor café appearances on the Downtown Mall, shouting, “Nazi go home!” and “Fuck white supremacy!”—perhaps unintentionally making some people actually feel sorry for Kessler.
2.City Council
Not all councilors are equally powerful, but together—or in alliances—they’ve kept the city fixated on issues other than the ones citizens normally care about: keeping traffic moving and good schools.
Mayor Mike Signer. Photo by Eze Amos
Mike Signer
Mayor Signer took office in January 2016 in what is widely seen as a step to higher office. He immediately riled citizens by changing the public comment procedure at City Council meetings. A judge determined part of the new rules were unconstitutional, but some council regulars say the meetings do move along much better—at least when they’re not out of control with irate citizens expressing their feelings on the Lee statue. Signer called a public rally, sans permit, to proclaim Charlottesville the capital of the resistance. And despite his vote against removing the statue, he’s not shied away from denouncing the white nationalists drawn to Charlottesville like bears to honey.
Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy. Photo by Eze Amos
Wes Bellamy
Most politicians would be undone by the trove of racist, misogynistic and homophobic tweets Bellamy made before he was elected to City Council. As it was, they cost him his job as an Albemarle County teacher (a post from which he resigned after being placed on administrative leave) and a position on the Virginia Board of Education. But he fell on the sword, apologized and acknowledged the “disrespectful and, quite frankly, ignorant” comments he posted on Twitter. Perhaps it helped that Bellamy, at age 30, is a black male leader, has real accomplishments and has dedicated himself to helping young African-Americans. Despite his missteps, he is the voice for a sizable portion of Charlottesville’s population.
City Councilor Kristen Szakos. Photo by Elli Williams
Kristin Szakos
Szakos raised the topic of removing the city’s Confederate monuments several years before she teamed up with Bellamy, and she was soundly harassed for her trouble. When she ran for office, she called for town halls in the community and bringing council to the people, and she’s always demonstrated a concern for those who can’t afford to live in the world-class city they call home. She announced in January she won’t be seeking a third term in the fall.
City Councilor Kathy Galvin. Photo by Christian Hommel
Kathy Galvin
Galvin, an architect, envisions a strategic investment area south of the Downtown Mall, and her job will be to convince residents it’s a good deal for them. Council’s moderate voice, she, along with Signer, were the two votes against removing the Lee statue.
City Councilor Bob Fenwick. Photo by Chiara Canzi
Bob Fenwick
Even before losing the Democratic nomination June 13 with a dismal 20 percent of the vote, Fenwick was always the odd man out on council. His moment in the sun came earlier this year when he abstained from a split vote on removing the Lee statue, lobbied for pet causes among his fellow councilors and then cast his vote in the “aye” side, joining Bellamy and Szakos. That vote did not yield the groundswell of support he might have imagined from the black community. And although he leaves council at the end of the year as a one-termer, there are those who have appreciated Fenwick’s refusal to join in lockstep with the rest of council, and his willingness to call out its penchant for hiring consultants without taking action.
Coran Capshaw. Photo by Ashley Twiggs
3. Coran Capshaw
Every year we try to figure out how to do the power list without including Capshaw. But with his fingers in pies like Red Light Management (Dave Matthews, Sam Hunt); venues (the Pavilion, Jefferson, Southern and, most recently, the Brooklyn Bowl); Starr Hill Presents concert promotion and festivals such as Bonnaroo; merchandise—earlier this year, he reacquired Musictoday, which he founded in 2000; restaurants (Mas, Five Guys, Mono Loco, Ten) and of course development, with Riverbend Management, we have to acknowledge this guy’s a mogul. There’s just no escaping it.
In local real estate alone, Capshaw is a major force. Here are just a few Riverbend projects: City Walk, 5th Street Station, C&O Row, the rehabbed Coca-Cola building on Preston and Brookhill.
True, he fell from No. 7 to 11 on this year’s Billboard Power 100, but in Charlottesville, his influence is undiminished. And now he’s getting awards for his philanthropy, including Billboard’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2011, and this year, Nashville’s City of Hope medical center’s Spirit of Life Award.
UVA’s Rotunda. Photo by Karen Blaha
4. UVA
In January, UVA President Teresa Sullivan announced her summer 2018 retirement, and directed the Board of Visitors to begin the search for a new leader to rule Thomas Jefferson’s roost, the top employer in Virginia with its state-of-the-art medical center, a near-Ivy League education system and a couple of research parks teeming with innovative spirit.
Charlottesville native venture capitalist James B. Murray Jr., a former Columbia Capital partner of Senator Mark Warner, was elected vice rector of the Board of Visitors, and will take the rector-in-waiting position July 1, when Frank M. “Rusty” Connor III begins a two-year term as rector.
And lest we forget, the UVA Foundation recently purchased the university a $9 million 2015 Cessna Citation XLS—an eight-seat, multi-engine jet—to haul around its highest rollers.
Jaffray Woodriff. Photo by Eze Amos
5. Jaffray Woodriff
As the founder of Quantitative Investment Management, a futures contract and stock trading firm with experience in plataforma trading, Woodriff has landed at No. 28 on Forbes’ list of the 40 highest-earning hedge fund managers in the nation, with total earnings of $90 million. His troupe of about 35 employees manage approximately $3.5 billion in assets through a data science approach to investing.
Woodriff, an angel investor who has funded more than 30 local startups, made headlines this year when he bought the Downtown Mall’s beloved ice skating rink and announced plans to turn Main Street Arena into the Charlottesville Technology Center, which, according to a press release, “will foster talented developers and energized entrepreneurs by creating office space conducive of collaboration, mentorship and the scalability of startups.”
Demolition of the ice rink is scheduled for 2018, so there’s time yet to lace up your skates before you trade them in for a thinking cap.
Keith Woodard. Photo by Amy Jackson
6. Keith Woodard
Some might argue that Woodard’s power stems from the unrelenting complaints of people who are towed from his two downtown parking lots. But it’s the real estate those lots sit on—and more. The owner of Woodard Properties has rentals for all needs, whether residential or commercial. The latter includes part of a Downtown Mall block and McIntire Plaza. He was already rich enough to invest in a Tesla, but Woodard is about to embark on the biggest project of his life—the $50 million West2nd, the former and future site of City Market. Ground will break any time now, and by 2019, the L-shaped, 10-story building with 65 condos, office and retail space (including a restaurant and bakery/café) and a plaza will dominate Water Street.
Will Richey. Photo by Amy Jackson
7. Will Richey
When you talk about Charlottesville’s ever-growing restaurant scene, one name that seems to be on everyone’s tongue is Will Richey. The restaurateur-turned-farmer (his Red Row Farm supplies much of the produce in the summer for the two Revolutionary Soup locations) owns a fair chunk of where you eat and drink in this town: Rev Soup, The Bebedero, The Whiskey Jar, The Alley Light, The Pie Chest and the newest addition, Brasserie Saison, which he opened in March with Hunter Smith (owner of Champion Brewery, which is also on the expansion train, see. No. 9). Richey’s restaurant empire seems to know no bounds, and we’re excited to see what else he’ll add to his plate—and ours—in the coming years.
Rosa Atkins. Photo by Eze Amos
8. Rosa Atkins/Pam Moran
The superintendents for city and county schools have a long list of achievements to their names, with each division winning a number of awards under their tenures.
This month, Atkins—the city school system’s leader since 2006—was named to the State Council of Higher Education, but she’s perhaps most notably the School Superintendents Association’s 2017 runner-up for national female superintendent of the year.
Pam Moran. Photo by Amy Jackson
Moran, who has ruled county schools since 2005, held a similar title in late 2015, when the Virginia Association of School Superintendents named her State Superintendent of the Year, which placed her in the running for the American Association of School Administrators’ National Superintendent of the Year award, for which she was one of four finalists. This year, she requested the School Board continue to fund enrollment increases for at-risk students, making closing learning opportunity gaps a high priority.
Hunter Smith. Photo by Amy Jackson
9. Local beer
Throw a rock in this area and you’ll hit a brewery. For one thing, the Brew Ridge Trail is continually dotted with more stops. And new breweries in the city just keep popping up: Reason Brewery, founded by Charlottesville natives and set to open next month on Route 29 near Costco, is the latest. Other local additions include Random Row Brewery, which opened last fall on Preston Avenue, and Hardywood, based out of Richmond, which opened a pilot brewery and taproom on West Main Street in April.
And local breweries are not just opening but they’re expanding: Three Notch’d and Champion both opened Richmond satellite locations within the last year (that marks Three Notch’d’s third location, with another in Harrisonburg). And what pairs better with good drinks than good eats? Champion is adding food to its Charlottesville menu, and its brewers are enjoying a Belgian-focused playground at the joint restaurant venture Brasserie Saison.
Another sure sign that craft beer is thriving is the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild’s annual beer competition, the Virginia Craft Beer Cup Awards, which is the largest state competition of its kind; this year, 356 beers in 24 categories were entered. And Charlottesville is the new home of the organization’s annual beer showcase, the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest, which is moving from Devils Backbone Brewing Company to the IX Art Park in August. Host of the event, featuring more than 100 Virginia breweries, will be Three Notch’d Brewing Company, which is expanding its brewing operations from Grady Avenue into a space at IX, set to open in 2018.
Amy Laufer. Publicity photo
10. Amy Laufer
With 46 percent of the vote in this month’s City Council Democratic primary and nearly $20,000 in donations, Laufer also had a lengthy list of endorsements, including governor hopeful Tom Perriello and former 5th District congressman L.F. Payne.
Laufer, a current school board member and former chair and vice chair of the board, is also the founder of Virginia’s List, a PAC that supports Democratic women running for state office. If she takes a seat on City Council, keep an eye out for the progress she makes on her top issues: workforce development, affordable housing and the environment.
Khizr Khan. Photo by Eze Amos
11. Khizr Khan
Khan launched the city into the international spotlight when he, accompanied by his wife, Ghazala, took the stage on the final day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and harshly criticized several of then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s policies, including his proposed ban on Muslim immigration.
“Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future,” Khan said. “Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of the law.’”
Khan could be seen shaking a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution at the camera—his face splayed across every major news network for days thereafter. At the convention, he discussed the death of his son, Humayun, a UVA graduate and former U.S. Army captain during the Iraq War, who died in an explosion in Baqubah, Iraq.
Khan also spoke before hundreds at Mayor Mike Signer’s January rally to declare Charlottesville a “capital of the resistance,” and Khan and his wife recently announced a Bicentennial Scholarship in memory of their son, which will award $10,000 annually to a student enrolled in ROTC or majoring in a field that studies the U.S. Constitution.
John Dewberry. Photo by Eze Amos
12. John Dewberry
Even though he doesn’t live around here, he’s from around here, if you stretch here to include Waynesboro. Dewberry continues to hold downtown hostage with the Landmark Hotel, although we have seen some movement since he was on last year’s power list. After buying the property in 2012, he said he’d get to work on the Landmark, the city’s most prominent eyesore since 2009, once he finished his luxury hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. That took a few years longer than anticipated—these things always do—but earlier this year Dewberry wrangled some tax incentives from City Council, which has threatened to condemn the structure, and on June 20, the Board of Architectural Review took a look at his new and improved plans. One of these days, Dewberry promises, Charlottesville will have a five-star hotel on the Downtown Mall.
13. Andrea Douglas
The Ph.D. in art history, who formerly worked at what’s now UVA’s Fralin Museum of Art, always seemed like the only real choice to head the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and since it opened in 2012, she’s made it an integral part of the community. The heritage center is far from self-sustaining, but a $950,000 city grant, a fundraising campaign and Douglas’ steely determination keep the historic school—and its place in the city’s history—firmly in the heart of Charlottesville. And Douglas can get a seat at Bizou anytime she wants—she’s married to co-owner Vincent Derquenne.
Paul Beyer. Photo by Ryan Jones
14. Paul Beyer
Innovation wunderkind Beyer ups the stakes on his Tom Tom Founders Festival every year. The event began six years ago as a music-only festival, but has morphed into a twice-a-year celebration of creativity and entrepreneurism. The fall is dedicated to locals who have founded successful businesses/organizations, while the week-long spring event continues to draw some of the world’s biggest names in the fields of technology, art, music and more. This year’s spring fest, which added a featured Hometown Summit that drew hundreds of civic leaders and innovators from around the country to share their successes and brainstorm solutions to struggles, was the biggest yet: 44,925 program attendees, 334 speakers and 110 events.
Lynn Easton and Dean Porter Andrews. Photo by Jen Fariello
15. Easton Porter Group
We know them as local leaders in the weddings and hospitality industry (Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards is often the site of well-to-do weddings, with some totaling in
the $200,000s, we hear), but now the Easton Porter Group has its sights set on a much bigger portfolio: Its goal is to secure 15 luxury properties in high-end destinations in the next 10 years. In 2016, the group, owned by husband-and-wife team Dean Porter Andrews and Lynn Easton, landed on Inc. magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the nation.
Their latest project is to our north, with the renovation of the Blackthorne Inn outside of Washington, D.C., in Upperville, Virginia. The historic hunt-country estate, which is being transformed into a boutique inn featuring luxury-rustic accommodations, fine dining and wine, is projected to open in spring 2018.
The Easton Porter Group’s other businesses include Red Pump Kitchen on the Downtown Mall, as well as Cannon Green restaurant and the Zero George Hotel Restaurant + Bar in Charleston, South Carolina.
16. EPIC
Equity and Progress in Charlottesville made a poignant debut earlier this year, shortly after the death of former vice-mayor Holly Edwards, who was one of the founders of the group dedicated to involving those who usually aren’t part of the political process. It includes a few Democrats no longer satisfied with the party’s stranglehold on City Council, like former mayor Dave Norris and former councilor Dede Smith. The group has drawn a lot of interest in the post-Trump-election activist era, but its first two endorsements in the June 13 primary, Fenwick and commonwealth’s attorney candidate Jeff Fogel, did not fare well. The group still holds high hopes for Nikuyah Walker as an independent City Council candidate, and despite the primary setback, says Norris, “We may not have won this election, but we certainly influenced the debate.”
Dr. Neal Kassell. Courtesy photo
17. Dr. Neal Kassell
UVA’s Focused Ultrasound Center, the flagship center of its kind in the U.S., has had a banner year. The use of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound technology to treat tremors has moved from the research stage to becoming more commercialized for patient treatment. And we can thank Kassell, founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, for placing our city in the neurological pioneering sphere.
Two months ago, the Clinical Research Forum named the center’s use of focused sound waves to treat essential tremor (the most common movement disorder) instead of requiring invasive incisions, as one of the top 10 clinical research achievements of 2016. And it can’t hurt to have someone as well-known as John Grisham in your corner. He wrote The Tumor, and the foundation, which works as a trusted third party between donors, doctors and research, distributed 800,000 copies.
Kassell is the author of more than 500 scientific papers and book chapters, and his research has been supported by more than $30 million in National Institutes of Health grants. In April 2016, he was named to the Blue Ribbon Panel of former vice president Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
18. Jody Kielbasa
Since Kielbasa came to town in 2009, he has continued to steer the Virginia Film Festival toward an ever-expanding arts presence in not only our community, but statewide as well. Last year’s festival featured more than 120 films and attracted big-name stars, including director Werner Herzog and Virginia’s own Shirley MacLaine. And Kielbasa expanded his own presence locally, as he was appointed UVA’s second vice provost for the arts in 2013, which places him squarely in the university’s arts fundraising initiatives. Last year there was talk of a group of arts sector powerhouses forming to lobby the city in an official capacity to gain more funding for local arts initiatives—no surprise that Kielbasa was among those mentioned.
Heather Hill and Amy Laufer are the Dem nominees for City Council, and Joe Platania is most likely the new commonwealth's attorney.
Submitted photos
The heavily watched June 13 primary in Virginia offered several surprises, most notably record-setting Democratic turnout and Corey Stewart’s near upset of Ed Gillespie in the GOP gubernatorial race. Conversely, hometown favorite Tom Perriello’s race against Ralph Northam for governor was expected to be much closer than Northam’s 12-point win.
And in city Democratic primary races, challengers Amy Laufer and Heather Hill handily unseated incumbent Bob Fenwick, and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate Joe Platania blew out progressive, Equity and Progress in Charlottesville-endorsed opponent Jeff Fogel.
The energized progressive element of the Democratic party fielded House Minority Leader David Toscano’s first primary challenger, UVA instructor Ross Mittiga, in the 57th District in a dozen years.
And yet when the dust settled, establishment Dems were still firmly entrenched, and the upset threat came in the Republican Party, with former Trump Virginia campaign manager Stewart nearly toppling expected shoo-in Ed Gillespie in the GOP governor’s race.
‘It was certainly the closest of the races and the biggest surprise of the night,” says UVA’s Center for Politics analyst Geoffrey Skelley. Gillespie, who nearly unseated Senator Mark Warner in 2014 and was expected to be the GOP standard bearer, squeaked by Stewart with slightly more than a point.
Stewart’s message was “‘I was Trump before Trump,’” says Skelley. “It’s hard to dismiss his play to cultural conservatives and attaching himself to the Confederate monument issue.” Stewart made several visits to Charlottesville over City Council’s vote to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee. “He got his name out there,” says Skelley.
On the other hand, Dem turnout could be unsettling for Republicans in the fall. “The Democrats were clearly animated,” observes Skelley. “They had record-setting turnout for a non-presidential primary.”
While it’s not surprising that Perriello claimed 80 percent of the votes in Charlottesville, in the state’s major metropolitan areas, he trailed Northam by 15 points in Northern Virginia, and even more in Richmond. And in Northam’s home base of the Hampton Roads area, Northam led by 40 percent, says Skelley.
In Charlottesville, many predicted Laufer’s victory and saw it as a battle between Fenwick, who was endorsed by EPIC, and Hill. Laufer took a hefty 46 percent of the vote, while Hill picked up 34 percent and Fenwick nabbed a meager 20 percent.
“First of all, [Fenwick] was wildly outspent and arguably out-worked,” says former mayor Dave Norris, an EPIC founder who is no longer on its board.
“My sense is among the general population, there’s a lot of frustration with what is going on in the city and a lot of them took it out on Bob,” adds Norris.
EPIC also endorsed civil rights lawyer Jeff Fogel for commonwealth’s attorney. Fogel garnered 32 percent of the vote, but Norris doesn’t see that as a resounding defeat.
“Jeff played an important role in bringing attention to systemic racial inequity in the criminal justice system and the failure of the war on drugs,” says Norris. “His presence forced his opponent to take bolder positions.”
Unknown is what factor Fogel’s June 2 arrest for assault, stemming from a confrontation at Miller’s with an associate of whites-righter Jason Kessler, played in the voting booth.
“My position is progressives did great,” says Fogel, who says he got far more votes than expected because of the surge in turnout.
With progressive candidates like Perriello, Mittiga and Fogel being shut out of Democratic nominations, what does that bode for the fall?
“I think the progressive candidates and the progressive community has its work cut out for it,” says Norris. “It’s going to take a lot of mobilizing, maybe smarter strategy and more resources to prevail.”
On City Council, he says, “I think this is the year [independent] Nikuyah Walker could pull off a victory,” although she faces an ever-growing pool of independent candidates, as well as Dem nominees Laufer and Hill, in the November election.
Far from being disheartened by progressive candidates’ lackluster showings, Norris says, “Everyone understands change takes time. It’s important to get people into the debate. We may not have won this election, but we certainly influenced the debate.”
And in other state primary races, Justin Fairfax took the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, while state Senator Jill Vogel edged out state Senator Bryce Reeves in an acrimonious contest that included a defamation suit.
A Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial opined that Reeves was unsuitable for office after he criticized Vogel for supporting “the first openly gay judge in Virginia.”
Skelley is skeptical that the piece impacted Reeves, who took 40 percent of the primary vote, in a GOP contest where “Corey Stewart nearly won.” Says Skelley, “I don’t think gay bashing is going to hurt you in that situation.”
Correction June 15: Dave Norris said “smarter strategy,” not “harder strategy” would be needed for progressives. And Amy Laufer won with 46 percent of the vote.
Heather Hill, Amy Laufer and Bob Fenwick vie for two open seats on City Council.
Submitted photos
Two will move on
One last look at the Democratic City Council candidates before the June 13 primary
Heather Hill
Age: 39
Occupation: Independent consultant; former engineer and brand manager; VP of Hill Family Operations
Education: Bachelor’s in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech, and an MBA from UVA’s Darden School of Business
Political experience: President of the North Downtown Residents Association and “my home, overseeing the conflicts of three children under 7!”
Top issues:
1. Transparency and accountability
2. Affordable housing
3. Investing in infrastucture and multimodal transportation
Top complaint she’s received from residents: When citizens invest time and energy to bring priority issues forward, and there is no response.
Fun fact: “I still hold the record at my high school for the 100-meter dash, along with legs in the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays—all set in 1995.”
Endorsements: “I have not focused on cultivating a list of political endorsements in order to concentrate
time and energy on earning the backing of every citizen in Charlottesville. Check out my campaign ‘village’ at HillforCville.com.”
Amy Laufer
Age: 45
Occupation: Current school board member, former chair; former middle school math and science teacher
Education: Bachelor’s in geology from the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, and a master’s in secondary science education from Columbia University.
Political experience: Active member of the local Democratic party and a volunteer for many candidates; founder of Virginia’s List, a PAC dedicated to supporting Democratic women running for state office; twice elected to the school board, where she served as chair and vice chair
Top issues:
1. Workforce development
2. Affordable housing
3. Environment
Top complaint she’s received from residents: “In my time on the school board, I learned how important it is to have concrete goals and priorities, and I’d like to see more goal-oriented thinking from the current council so we can really work together and achieve meaningful, practical solutions.”
Fun fact: “I met my husband, Aaron, in the Peace Corps; we have three children at three different public schools in Charlottesville.”
Endorsements: Tom Perriello, Democratic candidate for governor; L.F. Payne, former 5th District congressman; Jennifer McKeever and about two dozen more.
Bob Fenwick
Age: 72
Occupation: General construction contractor
Education: Bachelor’s in physics from Georgetown University
Political experience: Elected to City Council in 2013
Top issues:
1. Elected representatives should serve as representatives and recognize that they do not automatically become experts in city management merely because their political campaigns were successful.
2. Neighborhood protection
3. A fairer balance in the distribution of municipal funds
Top complaint he’s received from residents: “When elected representatives don’t respect the will of the entire
community.”
Fun fact: He was branded “a treacherous scalawag” during the monuments discussion.
Endorsements: Together Charlottesville, Equity and Progress in Charlottesville (EPIC)
White watch
North Carolina-based group Loyal White Knights of the KKK has applied to hold a July 8 rally on the steps of the city’s circuit court, while Jason Kessler’s Unity and Security for America will hold an August 12 assembly in Lee Park.
“I feel embarrassed by all of what I’ve seen tonight.”—Karenne Wood, a member of the Monacan tribe, at the June 5 City Council meeting
New visitors
UVA Rector Bill Goodwin, whose term ends this month, said he did not seek reappointment to the Board of Visitors. His son-in-law, Robert D. Hardie of Charlottesville, was appointed, as were Robert M. Blue of Richmond and Maurice Jones of New York. John A. Griffin, also of New York, was reappointed.
Fishing for answers
Colby Horne didn’t know exactly what he caught when he reeled in a slithering, 27-inch creature from Lake Anna last week, so he threw it back in. A Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist has identified it as a snakehead—an invasive species of fish—and says they were likely introduced illegally.
Homicide arrest
City police charged Gregory Nathaniel Fitzgerald, 40, with first degree murder for the February 5 homicide of Robert “Bobby” Hall Reauveau. Fitzgerald was served at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, where he was incarcerated on separate charges.
Reid’s drive-through
Photos Eze Amos
A car plowed through Reid Super-Save Market June 3 around 5:45pm when the elderly driver allegedly hit the gas rather than the brakes. A man’s leg was pinned under the car and he was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The store reopened at 8am June 4.
Bob Fenwick, Heather Hill and Amy Laufer seek the Democratic nomination for two open seats on City Council in the June 13 primary. Courtesy Subjects
New group Equity and Progress in Charlottesville hopes to piggyback on the progressivism sparked by Bernie Sanders’ campaign last year, while elbowing aside the ruling Democratic party’s stranglehold on local government. EPIC is holding forums to ferret out candidates in local races most closely aligned with its goals of adding affordable housing, and stanching gentrification and racial inequity.
A May 9 forum at The Haven brought the three Democratic candidates seeking nominations for two open seats on City Council in the upcoming June 13 primary, as well as more than 60 citizens.
Incumbent Bob Fenwick, who often finds himself on the losing end of 4-1 council votes, asserted at the outset, “I’m a progressive Democrat.”
Fenwick likes the word “robust,” and used that in response to a question about a living wage to describe the charitable allocations slashed the previous year that he asked City Manager Maurice Jones to put into this year’s “people’s budget.” Says Fenwick, “To an amazing extent, it was robust.”
For candidate Heather Hill, an industrial engineer and mom who is president of the North Downtown Residents Association, issues such as a $15 minimum wage or racial inequity need to be addressed “holistically.” She also noted a couple of times that she was “energized” and is covering the city door-to-door.
And School Board member Amy Laufer’s mantra, repeated about five times: “If you work here, you should be able to afford to live here.”
Moderator Karen Waters Wicks asked the candidates to commit to EPIC goals of adding 1,000 units of affordable housing and a $15 minimum wage but, better yet, a $17.50 living wage. The candidates all replied with concern about affordability, while refraining from pledges.
“I’ve heard loud and clear that this is a top priority,” said Hill on affordable housing. “I don’t want to promise something I’m not sure I can accomplish in my tenure on council.”
“If you work in the city, you should be able to live here,” said Laufer.
“I think the county can do a lot more to help the city,” said Fenwick, who also advocates fixing up houses in the city.
One issue the candidates seemed to feel was more manageable was parking. Fenwick segued during a living wage question—he favors an incremental approach —to the parking meters planned for downtown. “I don’t know anyone who’s said to me, ‘Why don’t we try parking meters again?’” he said.
For Hill, it’s an issue that needs to be addressed holistically. “The analytical side of me is eager to dive in,” she said, while noting that she’d taken CAT and the bus was 30 minutes late. “It’s not a reliable way to get to work.”
From the audience, Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy asked the candidates if they support the local Black Lives Matter chapter.
Laufer noted that she’d worked with Bellamy on the Charlottesville Alliance for Black Male Achievement. “I definitely support success for all people,” she said.
Hill once again touted a “holistic approach” that included child care, job training and support of the vulnerable.
“Do you support our local Black Lives Matter?” asked Bellamy again, while Showing Up for Racial Justice member Joe Starsia interjected: “We’re trying to get you to say ‘black lives matter.’”
The three candidates voiced their support in response to Starsia.
EPIC will hold a forum for five independent candidates—Nancy Carpenter, Kenneth Jackson, Paul Long, Nikuyah Walker and Dale Woodson—Wednesday, May 17 at 6pm at The Haven.
Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer announced a run for City Council February 27. Staff photo
More candidates emerge
Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer announced a run for City Council February 27, and former Albemarle School Board chair Ned Gallaway wants the Democratic nomination for Albemarle’s Rio seat. BOS Chair Diantha McKeel seeks a second term representing the Jack Jouett District. And Angela Lynn again will challenge Weyers Cave Delegate Steve Landes for the 25th District seat.
Kitchen tragedy
Local chef Allie Redshaw was involved in a tragic accident the morning of March 1 when her right hand was caught in a meat grinder at Lampo Neapolitan Pizzeria. She was rushed to the UVA Medical Center, where her hand was amputated at the wrist. At press time, more than $100,000 had been raised for her and her family via a GoFundMe campaign.
“America isn’t a democracy.”
—U.S. Representative Tom Garrett on Twitter responding to complaints about his March 31 town hall lottery.
With prejudice
A charge against James Justin Taylor for allegedly assaulting white heritage defender Jason Kessler was dismissed March 3 at the prosecution’s request because video footage did not support Kessler’s complaint. Kessler, who has filed a petition to remove Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy from City Council, faces an assault charge April 6.
Membership has its privileges
The Derek Sieg/Josh Rogers/Ben Pfinsgraff private social club targeting the creative community nearly collapsed—literally—when the former Mentor Lodge roof caved in a year ago. Common House is back on track andplans to open this spring. For a $600 initiation fee and $150/month dues (couples get a price break), members have their own brass keys for a home away from home that includes coffee, cocktails and Chickapig.
The current size of the Main Street Arena is 20,211 square feet. The size of the tech incubator to be built in its place will be 100,000 square feet. Staff photo
An icy farewell
The sale of Mark Brown’s Main Street Arena to Jaffray Woodriff’s Taliaferro Junction LLC, which plans to build a technology incubator with retail in its place, means big changes for the Downtown Mall—and to all the people who like to strap on ice skates. Skating will continue at the ice park through the fall, and then something will need to freeze fast or local hockey teams and figure skaters will be left on thin ice (the new owner says it’ll donate equipment to a business venture that wants to open an ice rink in a new location). Construction on the incubator is planned for spring 2018.
PROPERTY HISTORY
Built: 1996
Brown paid $3 million in 2010 Woodriff paid $5.7 million in 2017
What does 100K square feet look like?
As a comparison to the size of the incoming tech incubator, a football field is 57,600 square feet, the White House is 67,000 square feet, and the Kennedy Center is 180,000 square feet.
But wait, there’s more
Last week we wrote about 10 groups that have sprung up since the election, only to learn we omitted Progressive Democrats of America—Central Virginia Chapter.
Inspired by: The 2004 election results, with a mission to transform the Democratic Party. Local chapter formed after 2016 election.
Issues: Health care, climate change, SuperPACs, voter access and election integrity, social and economic justice
Strategy: Grassroots PAC operating inside the Democratic Party and outside in movements for peace and justice. Participates in letter drops to legislators, rallies and supporting democratic progressive candidates.
Event: Sponsored documentary GerryRIGGED, airing at 6:30pm March 22 on WCVE
Supporters: 36 at the group’s first public meeting January 4; 90 on e-mail list
