Tag: Tarron Richardson

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In brief: City sued, tree named Oatmeal

Tarron Richardson. Photo: Eze Amos

Richardson sues city

Former Charlottesville city manager Tarron Richardson is suing a handful of top Charlottesville officials, alleging misbehavior around his departure in September 2020. The entire City Council, as well as individuals Mayor Nikuyah Walker, Councilor Heather Hill, City Attorney Lisa Robertson and former city attorney and Interim City Manager John Blair are listed as defendants.

Richardson says he was terminated unjustly in advance of a mutually agreed upon resignation date, that councilors disparaged him in public after his departure, and that the city attorney hampered his free speech by threatening a lawsuit over an op-ed he wanted to write in January 2021. He seeks a trial by jury and “significant money damages.”

A key element of the case is a C-VILLE interview with Richardson from the week of his departure. When asked about his relationship with City Council, Richardson named all the councilors he worked well with—everyone except Hill and Walker. (The lawsuit says Walker and Hill’s “chicanery and obstruction” encroached on Richardson’s professional responsibilities.) The story was published on September 23, 2020, and though Richardson was supposed to leave on September 30, the lawsuit says that after publication, Blair called Richardson in and relieved him of his duties, effective immediately. Richardson’s $205,000 severance pay was not affected by the early dismissal.

Richardson’s lawsuit also argues that Walker and Councilor Lloyd Snook disparaged him on Facebook after his departure. Walker wrote that she “never supported” Richardson; Snook wrote that “bringing back Dr. Richardson would mean that we were going to keep fighting battles of the past year rather than moving forward.” The lawsuit argues that these statements harmed Richardson’s reputation.

In January 2021, Richardson decided to write an op-ed that would “address the conduct and leadership failures of the City Council and Mayor Walker by name,” as well as describe what he felt was racist treatment during his tenure. Richardson notified Robertson that he planned to write the op-ed. She responded that the proposal would violate the non-disparagement clause he had signed, and that the city could sue for the return of his severance package if he moved forward with publication. Richardson says this was an unconstitutional breach of his free speech.

Richardson’s filing is the latest twist in a messy stretch for city government. Last month, former police chief RaShall Brackney filed a formal complaint against the city, threatening to sue for wrongful termination.—Ben Hitchcock

Oatmeal??

In a breathtaking rejection of convention, the citizens of Charlottesville voted to give this year’s Grand Illumination holiday tree a truly nonsensical moniker: The tree will be named Oatmeal.

Staff photo

Proposed names were submitted by the community, and thousands voted in an online poll to choose from among the finalists. Oatmeal took 35.6 percent of the 3,359 votes cast. This year’s runners-up included Chicken Tree, Treeyoncé Noels, Timotree Chalamet, and Snoop Logg.

The last three years, the trees have been named Spruce Bader Ginsburg, Spruce Springsteen, and Spruce Willis, respectively.

Some users on the Charlottesville Reddit forum have theorized that Oatmeal is a reference to the 1969 “Frosty the Snowman” holiday special—when the children are deciding what to name Frosty, one suggests Oatmeal. We can’t confirm the original intention of the suggestion, however, and have not ruled out the possibility that the name was put forward by a lover of hearty, wholesome breakfast grains.

The Grand Illumination event will take place outside the Ting Pavilion on Friday, December 3, from 5-8pm.

In brief

Did they even go here?

UVAToday, the university’s in-house media outlet, published a story congratulating law school alum Elizabeth Sines for her victory in Sines v. Kessler (more on p. 12). Sines was among the plaintiffs who successfully sued the white nationalists who organized the Unite the Right rally. What UVAToday conveniently forgot to mention, however, is that some of those organizers graduated from the school, too. Infamous white nationalists Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler were both Wahoos, as much as the school might wish they weren’t.

No Christmas tree, no Christmas tree

Pining for a lush tree in your living room this holiday season? Get cracking, because farms across the commonwealth are reporting Christmas tree shortages, thanks to a combination of pandemic-related supply chain issues and labor shortages. The situation has gotten intense: Little River Farm tells CBS19 that multiple people have broken in at night to steal trees. That will certainly land you on the naughty list.

For the first time in decades, Christmas trees will not be sold in downtown Earlysville. Staff photo

Local churches win statewide service award

Two area churches shared Governor Ralph Northam’s 2021 Volunteerism and Community Service Award, the governor’s office announced last week. Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church and Church of the Incarnation were recognized for hosting regular COVID testing events over the last year. More than 8,000 individual tests have been conducted at the two sites.

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In brief: City manager selected by council, local teen killed by cops, and more

Caption: Chip Boyles’ first day as Charlottesville’s new city manager is February 15. PC: City of Charlottesville

City gets a new manager

After more than 15 hours of emergency closed meetings, Charlottesville City Council announced last Thursday that it had selected a new city manager: Chip Boyles, executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.

John Blair, who has served as interim city manager for nearly three months, is leaving Charlottesville to become Staunton’s city attorney. His last day as acting city manager is February 12.

Before moving to Charlottesville in 2014, Boyles served as assistant city manager and city manager in three cities, including Clemson, South Carolina.

During a virtual press conference, the councilors emphasized that Boyles, who’s headed the planning district for seven years, would bring much-needed stability to a city government left in the lurch after a string of high-profile departures.

“Chip has been in the community for a number of years, but he hasn’t been in any organization and will provide us an opportunity to look at any issues…through a neutral lens,” said Mayor Nikuyah Walker. “Being able to bring a new and fresh perspective to the organization will allow us to heal and actually be able to get some of the work that we have all promised to do done.”

The councilors also acknowledged their own role in fueling the city’s instability, and the need to rebuild trust and communication with each other, as well as with city staff and the community.

Earlier this month, the recruitment firm hired to find a new manager cut ties with Charlottesville, and the firm’s principal claimed he had “never seen a level of dysfunction as profound as what he was seeing here.”

After learning about Blair’s impending departure, the councilors decided to expedite the search process, and choose a qualified manager on their own. However, they stressed that they were not trying to set a “precedent” of making decisions behind closed doors, and would begin a public city manager search, likely in 2022.

“We are looking at one and a half to two years,” said Councilor Sena Magill. “It’s that balance of making sure [Boyles] has enough time to get the stabilization in place, as well as making sure it doesn’t go too long without public input.”

Boyles said his top priority is to fill all the vacant city leadership positions, including a Neighborhood Development Services director, three deputy city managers, and executive director for the Police Civilian Review Board.

While Boyles’ appointment has received praise, it’s also drawn criticism from community activists and members who petitioned for the city to bring back former city manager Dr. Tarron Richardson, who resigned in September.

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Quote of the week

“For the past 18 months, I’ve been inspired to seek greater service—motivated by the challenges facing my community.“

—Dr. Cameron Webb on being selected for the White House COVID-19 Response Team

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In brief

Xzavier Hill

On January 9, 18-year-old Xzavier Hill of Charlottesville was killed by Virginia State Police on I-64 in Goochland County. Police claim Hill, who is Black, led them on a high-speed chase and pulled out a gun when they approached his car, but his family says the dash-cam footage proves that there was no chase, and he was unarmed. The family is now petitioning VSP to release the footage to the public.

Locals arrested in D.C.

An area man was arrested this week for bringing a gun and 37 rounds of unregistered ammunition near the U.S. Capitol complex on Sunday, reports the Washington Post. Guy Berry, a 22-year-old Gordonsville resident and truck driver who attended Monticello High School, is “one of those open-carry people,” says his aunt in the Post piece. Berry is not the first Virginian to be arrested at the Capitol since January 6—last week, a Front Royal man was caught trying to make it through the secure perimeter with fake identification and huge amounts of ammunition.

No more death penalty?

The death penalty is one step closer to being abolished in Virginia. With a 10-4 vote, the state Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Monday that would eliminate the practice. Those in support of the bill—including Governor Ralph Northam—argue that death penalty sentences are disproportionately given to Black people, while others who oppose the repeal believe the penalty should still be reserved for people who murder law enforcement. In last year’s session, a death penalty abolition bill was voted down in subcommittee, so this week’s vote represents a key step forward.

Caption: Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) is the chief patron of the death penalty bill that’s moving through the General Assembly.PC: File photo

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Not over: Activists reflect on Black Lives Matter protests, next steps in 2021

Protesters march through Charlottesville in July. PC: Eze Amos

While the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color this year, Black people have been dealing with “a pandemic of racism” in the United States for centuries, as Black mental health advocate Myra Anderson told C-VILLE over the summer.

When Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25, ultimately killing him, these deep wounds of systemic violence and oppression were once again ripped open, sparking protests across the globe—and here in Charlottesville—in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

From June to September, local activists led a string of demonstrations demanding an end to police brutality, and calling for justice for Black people who’ve been murdered at the hands of cops. The events drew large crowds of all races and ages.

“The killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery…they woke people up,” says activist Zaneyah Bryant, a member of the Charlottesville Black Youth Action Committee and a ninth grader at Charlottesville High School. “It put a spark on people, like wow this is happening to our people. This could happen to anybody—this could happen in Charlottesville.”

While protests against police brutality continue in places like Portland, Oregon, it’s been several months since people in Charlottesville have taken to the streets. Though there haven’t been any drastic changes made in the city—CPD’s $18 million budget has not been touched, for example—some activists believe progress has been made toward racial justice.

“These are tough and difficult conversations. Up until at least recently, people were reluctant to begin to initiate them, but now [they] are actually being had,” says community activist Don Gathers. “We’ve reached the point in the…racist history of this country where people are willing to have these conversations.”

“[The protests] really just opened up more conversation surrounding how the police interact with the community, and allowed for us to envision a police-free society,” adds Ang Conn, an organizer with Defund CPD. “We have community members looking at budgets, policies, things that never prompted their attention before. And when you have a lot of eyes on things, there is bound to be change.”

With the support of the community, Charlottesville City Schools was able to end its school resource officer program with CPD in June, another step in the right direction, says Bryant.

Other activists like Rosia Parker say they have yet to see any progress in the city.

“[My protests] were peaceful, decent, in order, and orchestrated with Captain Mooney. For them to deny me my march, I don’t feel it was right,” says Parker, referring to the city’s threat to fine her and other activists in August, and its denial of her event permit in September. “Other protests, no they didn’t help Charlottesville. A lot of people came out and supported Black Lives Matter, but at the end of the day, [it] didn’t do anything.”

“There’s been no change in the governmental structure—it has gotten worse,” she adds, citing the resignation of City Manager Dr. Tarron Richardson in September as an example of the city’s pattern of staffing instability.

Pointing to the police assault of a Black houseless man on the Corner last month, Bryant also fears that, despite the months of protests, Charlottesville police “have gone right back to their old ways—harassing Black people.”

In the new year, the fight against police violence and systemic racism must continue, the activists emphasize.

Though it may be a few months before protesters hit the city streets again, there are plenty of ways to remain involved in the fight, says Bryant. She encourages allies to participate in city government meetings and mutual aid programs, especially for people experiencing homelessness or food insecurity.

“If you are white and you see someone of color or Black being harassed, stand up and use your voice,” she says. “When you say something to those officers, you have power to stop them.”

The city government must also strengthen its relationship with Black communities, especially in light of multiple recent shootings in town, says Bryant.

“Those people in those communities are asking for more police presence. [They] feel unsafe,” she says. “But we can’t use [that] as a reason to say, ‘Oh they’re asking, so we have to keep harassing them.’ We need people to help them understand what they are asking for, and what they mean by wanting more police presence.”

For Parker, ensuring police and government accountability is a priority for next year, as the Police Civilian Review Board works to update its bylaws and ordinance, per the new criminal justice legislation passed in the General Assembly this fall.

“If that means the mayor and police chief have to go, then so be it,” she says.

In addition to advocating for the CRB, Parker plans to offer programs for Black youth through her community organization, Empowering Generations XYZ, with a huge focus on mental health.

“If we can educate our own, become peer-support recovery specialists, become more trauma informed, we can be around for our community, and won’t have to be overpoliced or underpoliced,” she says. “We won’t even need the police—we can do what we need to do ourselves in our own communities. It’s just about getting the resources and education.”

Finally, Gathers and Conn say they will keep on pushing City Council to slash CPD’s $18 million budget, and reallocate those funds to various social services and programs within the next year.

“That’s a lot of money, and people are really struggling out here with a lot of things,” says Conn. “We must continue to work towards hacking away at that police budget until it’s zero.”

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In brief: Turkey time, planner peace out, and more

Volunteers hand out birds at the We Code, Too turkey drive on Saturday. PC: Zack Wajsgras

Turkey time

Community is hard to come by these days, especially as we’re all hunkering down for a long winter indoors. But at the Jefferson School on Saturday, the community put on an impressive show. During the annual We Code, Too turkey drive, 200 birds were handed out to those in need ahead of the holiday. Some of the turkeys were contributed by retailers, and many more were purchased using money from individual donations. Cars snaked through the parking lot, as recipients remained socially distant during distribution. It’s the seventh year in a row that the drive has taken place, proving that even in difficult times, some things remain constant.

Planner says peace out 

Charlottesville city government’s staffing woes continue. On November 4, the city announced that Parag Agrawal had been hired as the Director of Neighborhood Development Services. Agrawal even made an introductory appearance at a press conference the next day. But less than two weeks later, Agrawal is gone, after announcing last week that he’s taken a job as the planning director in Prince William County instead. There’s been a lot of turnover at City Hall recently, but this is a new record.

Looking on the bright side, at least the city won’t have to pay Agrawal a severance package. Mike Murphy got nine months of additional pay after spending a year as interim city manager, and former city manager Tarron Richardson got a $205,000 lump sum after less than a year and a half at the helm. Maybe it would’ve been in Agrawal’s best interest to stick around for another week or two—who knows what he might have walked away with.

After 16 months on the job, former city manager Tarron Richardson walked away with $205,000 in severance pay. PC: Eze Amos

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Quote of the week

“Quite honestly, I just don’t have the time to address every crazy thing she says. It would be a full-time job.”

—Virginia Senate Republican Mark Obenshain, when asked to respond to Republican gubernatorial candidate Amanda Chase’s latest remarks

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In brief

White House bound?

After just two years as UVA president, Jim Ryan may be moving on to the White House—at least, if Nicholas Kristof has his way. The New York Times columnist floated Ryan as a secretary of education pick for Joe Biden’s cabinet last week, praising his “strong moral compass” and more than a decade of experience in higher education. Ryan was “flattered” by the mention, but said, “My focus has been and will continue to be leading the University of Virginia.”

Durty deal

You can get anything on Craigslist—even a much-loved Charlottesville bar. Durty Nelly’s Pub is for sale, and last week the whole shebang was briefly posted on the online classified board with a price tag of $75,000. Durty Nelly’s is still open and doesn’t plan on closing, but the post suggested that the owner is looking to move on.

Pass it around

After Governor Ralph Northam’s recent announcement that he would support marijuana legalization in next year’s General Assembly session, State Delegate Lee Carter proposed that money generated from pot sales be spent on reparations for Black and Indigenous Virginians. It’s “a moral commitment our history demands of us and a necessary first step in Virginia,” Carter wrote in a press release.

Bottom lines up

It’ll come as no surprise that one business in particular is thriving during the pandemic: Virginia ABC stores have reported record sales through the last few months, turning in $22 million more in revenue in October 2020 than during October 2019. Usually, restaurants make up roughly 20 percent of the ABC stores’ businesses, but the liquor shops are having no trouble making ends meet even with that flow interrupted.

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In brief: Remembering John Conover, flicking off UVA, and more

Former city councilor John Conover, pictured here in 2007 with his wife, Virginia Daugherty, passed away on October 4. PC: Eze Amos

A fond farewell

Charlottesville superstar John Conover, 74, passed away over the weekend. Conover arrived in town in 1970 and started a printing press, before serving as a city councilor from 1980 to 1984. He later worked as an attorney with the Legal Aid Justice Center, served on the board of Live Arts, and helped spearhead the creation of the Rivanna Trail.

Conover was a “creative and quirky thinker,” said City Councilor Lloyd Snook at council’s Monday meeting. “I didn’t always agree with him, but I always listened to him…His was a full life, a life of service to the community and the poor.”

Conover’s personality shines through in all of the stories written about him during his time in Charlottesville—in a 2004 interview with The Hook, Conover said his perfect day featured “some competition, some reading, some affection,” and that his proudest accomplishment was “consistency in love and community.”

Court conflict 

For nearly 25 years, the Charlottesville Albemarle Adult Drug Treatment Court has helped local residents struggling with addiction get the treatment they need, rather than punish them with jail time. However, one aspect of the court has been a recent point of contention: Participants must plead guilty to their charges in order to enter the program.

Charlottesville attorney Jeff Fogel has brought up the issue numerous times to City Council, leading Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania and Deputy Public Defender Liz Murtagh to give a presentation on the program during Monday’s meeting.

“With the post-plea docket, there’s an acceptance of responsibility and a desire for intensive treatment very quickly,” said Platania. “That is a component that leads to more success.”

Mayor Nikuyah Walker, who worked directly with clients battling substance abuse while at Region Ten, pushed back on Platania’s definition of responsibility.

“They don’t walk in the door, even after those guilty pleas, saying ‘I’m going to change my life and I’m thankful…’ All the people usually know at that time is that they don’t want to go back into jail, which they know does not serve them well either,” she said.

During public comment, community organizer Ang Conn urged council to think about the many people who did not graduate from the program, and in turn were given a sentence, as it considers future changes.

Since there have been only 400 graduates in the program’s history, “that’s approximately 16 successful cases per year,” said Conn. “That doesn’t seem to be a successful program to me.”

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Quote of the week

“Even if businesses fail, they can start another business…What we cannot do is bring someone back to life if they die.”

—Mayor Nikuyah Walker, on her Facebook post suggesting that indoor dining should be banned

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In brief

Disproportionate contact

For the third year in a row, crime charges dropped in Charlottesville—yet Black residents continue to be disproportionately arrested. According to the Charlottesville Police Department’s new annual report, 52 percent of the people arrested last year were Black, even though only about 18 percent of the city is Black. In 2018, 57 percent of people arrested were Black. Meanwhile, complaints made against the department have resulted in few repercussions: Out of the 50 internal affairs cases conducted last year, only 10 percent were sustained.

Sign up

UVA prez Jim Ryan penned an open letter to the university community this week, expressing his distaste for the controversial “Fuck UVA” sign on a student’s Lawn room door. Ryan didn’t like the profanity and also didn’t appreciate that the sign “fail[s] to acknowledge any of the progress that this University has made.” Though the sign is protected under the First Amendment, Ryan claimed UVA admin would consider “additional regulations” for the Lawn before next school year. Many students have pointed out that, ironically, last week the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ranked UVA the No. 6 university for “open climates for free speech” in 2020.

Blair with me, here

With Dr. Tarron Richardson’s resignation finalized last week, Charlottesville’s new interim city manager appeared at Monday’s council meeting for the first time—or rather, appeared for the first time as a city manager. John Blair has been the city attorney since 2018, and has been a fixture at City Council meetings, sorting out the council’s procedural questions in a measured, deliberate drawl.

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On the record: Departing City Manager Tarron Richardson reflects on his tumultuous tenure

Dr. Tarron Richardson at his introductory press conference last April. After a year and change, he's out as city manager. Photo: Eze Amos

“What’s been the hardest part of this job?” is, to outgoing Charlottesville City Manager Dr. Tarron Richardson, “a loaded question.” 

The city’s top executive tendered his resignation on September 11, and will finish his time at City Hall on September 30, after 16 months at the helm. (For reference, the three city managers before Richardson stayed in the role for an average of 16 years.) City Attorney John Blair will take over as interim.

On his way out, Richardson says he was hampered by city officials who didn’t respect where their authority ended and his began, and that the media portrayed him unfairly.

“The primary job of a city manager is to make sure the budget is done correctly,” Richardson says.

“My role as city manager, in this form of government, I run the day-to-day operations, but City Council puts the policy in place. You never heard me, in a City Council meeting, try to influence a policy one way or another,” he says.

It’s true that Richardson rarely spoke up at council meetings—he spent most of his time on the dais expressionless, silently watching city business unfold around him.

He attributes this reserved public demeanor to a desire, as a new member of the community, to listen first and act second. But he also concedes that communicating his budget philosophy—“having people see that we look at the budget from a holistic standpoint and not just one department”—was the biggest challenge during his tenure.

“It’s never a good topic of discussion when you’re talking about the budget,” says the man who spent the last 16 months crafting the city budget. 

Richardson rejects a suggestion that he had a bad relationship with City Council.

“I worked well with Wes Bellamy, Kathy Galvin, Mike Signer. I worked well with Sena Magill, I worked well with Lloyd Snook, and I worked well with Michael Payne.” 

If you’re keeping track, that list includes every city councilor Richardson has overlapped with except Heather Hill and Mayor Nikuyah Walker. 

Friction welled up between Richardson and those council members because “a lot of people were expecting me to come in and say yes to everything, rubber stamp it,” Richardson says. “But I’ve been doing this for a long time…So when you’re someone who says no to things that have been traditionally said yes to, you have issues.”

Hill declined to comment for this story, and Walker did not respond to a request for comment.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, Richardson’s last as city manager, Walker addressed his previous suggestions that she had micromanaged him. “The topics that I might have dug a little deeper with you are related to procuring supplies for the pandemic,” the mayor said, “making sure people had utilities during the pandemic, making sure we keep people employed during the pandemic.”

“In terms of micromanaging, if that means I strongly suggested that we take care of people in this community, then yes I did push a little harder,” she continued.

Two other notable city employees clashed with Richardson in the last year. Deputy City Manager Mike Murphy resigned suddenly last October, and penned a mysterious memo alleging mismanagement that has yet to see the light of day, according to reporting from The Daily Progress.

After a dispute over the timeline for the acquisition of new firefighters, Andrew Baxter, who had served as the city’s fire chief for four years, resigned in June. Baxter wrote in an email to a colleague that Richardson was a “transactional, unfocused, disengaged, dismissive bully,” and that his resignation was a direct result of Richardson’s management style.

That Baxter email was publicized by The Daily Progress in June, in an article co-authored by the Progress’ City Hall reporter Nolan Stout. Stout has repeatedly pulled back the curtain at City Hall by publishing employees’ verbatim email transcripts, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Richardson has some choice words for Stout: “He doesn’t report the entire story. He reports bits and pieces of it. And for the most part it always portrayed me in a negative light, no matter what I did. All the positive things I’ve done have never been reported.”

When asked why he thinks that is, Richardson implies that his race has played a factor.

“If you look at history of The Daily Progress, has it always shown people of color in a positive light?” Richardson asks.

The Progress drew criticism for a 2017 piece about then-council candidate Walker, though the reporter who wrote the story left the paper in 2018. 

Daily Progress Managing Editor Aaron Richardson says: “I stand behind Nolan’s coverage of and reporting on the city.”

The media made his job “very hard,” Richardson says. “What was said impacted me from a community standpoint.”

At his final appearance before the community at Monday’s council meeting, Richardson did not address any community matters but did take one last opportunity to reaffirm that he felt the Progress’ coverage had been unfair, specifically regarding the dispute between himself and the fire fighters.

Looking back, Richardson says he feels he did make positive changes during his time, listing a handful of bureaucratic reforms:

“What really went well was the reorganization of the various departments. Streamlining processes. And this was primarily to get departments that were similar within one portfolio,” he says. “We got our triple-A bond rating reaffirmed. We didn’t increase the tax rate…We had a lot of good hires. CAT, human resources, we just hired a new public works director. Overall we’ve been moving in the right direction.” 

Richardson also points to his work in public housing communities as a successful element of his tenure.

And he does leave with some admirers in town. “You were out there feeding people when no other members of council were out there,” said local activist Tanesha Hudson to Richardson at Monday’s council meeting.

The resignation announcement didn’t come as a total surprise: City Council held an 11-hour closed session in June to discuss Richardson’s job performance, a meeting long enough to suggest that council members weren’t just heaping praise on their chief executive. 

Richardson will walk off with a lump-sum payment equivalent to a year’s salary—$205,000. Hefty severance packages are not unheard of in the city. When Murphy resigned in December 2019, he took home almost a full year’s worth of his $158,000 salary.

Richardson says there wasn’t a specific incident that drove him out, nor a single moment when he knew he was finished.

“I ended up resigning for the simple fact that I was working a lot of hours. Day in and day out. And it just became a little too much for me… it just got to the point where I said okay, I’ve done my best, I’ve made a significant number of changes, and it’s time for me to move on.” 

Asked if he has any hobbies that have been put on the back burner while he’s been working, Richardson says, “No, not actually. One thing I haven’t had a chance to do here is get a rest.”

Does Richardson have any advice for someone considering stepping in to this job? He takes a long pause before answering. “I would say really understand what you’re getting into,” he says.

 

Updated 9/24: NBC29 first published a selection of emails between Baxter and Richardson in February. The email quoted in this story was first published by the Progress in June.

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In brief: Richardson steps down, Johnny Reb goes down, and more

A crew removes Johnny Reb from his pedestal. PC: Eze Amos

One down

Johnny Reb, the bronze Confederate soldier who has stood, musket in hand, outside the Albemarle County Courthouse since 1909, has been replaced by a patch of hay.

After the Unite the Right rally accelerated the national debate over Confederate monuments, Charlottesville finally took down one of our own. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted to remove Johnny Reb, officially known as “At Ready,” earlier this summer, and on Saturday morning a truck arrived to haul off the Lost Cause relic. A small crowd gathered to watch as the crew’s yellow ropes slowly lowered Johnny Reb off his pedestal.

The removal revealed a time capsule encased in concrete below the statue’s concrete plinth. Charlottesville Tomorrow found an old Daily Progress clipping in which the monument’s erectors declared that the capsule shall remain untouched “until the angel Gabriel shall put one foot on the land and one in the sea, and proclaim that ‘time shall be no more.’” Those plans went awry sometime in the course of the last 111 years—the capsule was breached by groundwater long ago, and when the Confederate relics contained within finally saw the light of day, they were so waterlogged as to be almost unrecognizable.

The time capsule buried below the “At Ready” statue is in bad shape after more than 100 years underground. PC: Eze Amos

UVA religious studies professor Jalane Schmidt, who has spent years researching Johnny Reb and lobbying for his removal, says “it was a relief” to see the statue come down. “It’s gratifying to see public opinion shift, especially among elected leaders,” she says.

Still, Schmidt has serious concerns about the monument’s future. As per the new law, these Confederate statues must be offered to a museum rather than just melted down. A dubious list of organizations volunteered to take Johnny Reb, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans. In the end, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted to send him to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, a New Market-based public history organization with a checkered record: In February, C-VILLE wrote a story about the foundation’s (unsuccessful) attempt to secure state funding for a Black history museum, despite the all-white board neglecting to consult any Black people about it. Last year, the foundation actually installed a new Confederate monument on a Winchester battlefield.

Schmidt says we’ve “disposed of our toxic waste” elsewhere, but that plan “doesn’t bode well for the disrupting of the transmission of Lost Cause narratives.”

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Quote of the week

“Our work is not done…The forces of destruction who didn’t want him to go are alive and well and in our midst.”

—UVA professor and activist Larycia Hawkins, at a ceremony held to cleanse and reclaim the former site of the Johnny Reb statue

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In brief

Richardson rolls out

City Manager Tarron Richardson, the most powerful individual in Charlottesville’s municipal government, resigned Friday afternoon. The move won’t come as a surprise to those who have followed his tenure here. Richardson, City Council, and other city officials have repeatedly clashed during budget discussions and in the course of regular business. After helming the city government for 16 months, Richardson’s severance package includes a year’s salary: $205,000. City Attorney John Blair will step in as interim while a search is conducted.

Clark conquered

UVA’s Board of Visitors voted this week to remove the statue of George Rogers Clark from the Corner. The monument, which shows Clark and his men attacking Native Americans, has been the site of several protests this summer—one activist even tried to saw Clark’s head off, but couldn’t make it through the metal neck. The BOV also agreed to strip the names of slaveholders Curry and Withers from university buildings and “contextualize” the Jefferson statue outside the Rotunda.

Voting begins

Early voting in Virginia begins this Friday, September 18. Get registered online or at the registrar’s office, grab your ID, and make your way to the polls as soon as possible. This is the big one, folks.

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Coronavirus News

In brief: Activist fined, white supremacist jailed, and more

Organizers could be fined for events that happened weeks or months ago, according to City Manager Tarron Richardson. PC: Zack Wajsgras

Cracking down

Just days after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back, sparking national outrage and protests, City Manager Tarron Richardson decided to crack down on gatherings in Charlottesville—targeting those organized by Black residents.

While Richardson supports the right to “peaceably assemble” amidst the pandemic, he explained in a press release Thursday evening that “obstructing city streets and using parks without the proper permits will no longer be allowed.”

The city also will begin fining organizers for events that happened weeks or months ago. Rob Gray, who helped plan a Juneteenth celebration in Washington Park, received a $500 fine, and the Black Joy Fest and the Reclaim the Park celebration held last month at city parks are currently under review.

In a letter sent to Gray last week, Richardson claimed he had discussed the city’s ordinance on COVID-19 restrictions with him the day before Juneteenth, explaining that the city was not issuing special use permits for events held in public parks, and that gatherings of 50 or more were banned. But Gray refused to cancel his event, and agreed in advance to pay the civil penalty.

Though Richardson didn’t name names, it sure seems like the warning was meant for Black activists Rosia Parker and Katrina Turner, who planned a Friday night march from the city police department to Tonsler Park in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He threatened to issue them citations for not having a special event permit, but the pair took to the streets anyway, along with 30 or so other protesters.

“They won’t shut me up,” Parker tweeted shortly after the press release came out.

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Quote of the week

“Today, we are marching for criminal justice reform. Today, we are marching to end police brutality. Today, we are marching for the right to be seen as human.”

—Richmond activist Tavorise Marks at the August 28 Commitment March on Washington, held in honor of the 57th anniversary of the original march.

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In brief

FourFiveSignatures

After gathering the required 5,000 signatures, Kanye West has qualified for the November ballot as an independent presidential candidate in Virginia. But the Washington Post reports that some of those signers felt they were hoodwinked into signing in favor of West, and that representatives from the campaign misrepresented how their signatures would be used. It’s unclear how the controversy might affect West’s floundering run.

Tech check

Senator Mark Warner stopped by the new WillowTree offices in Woolen Mills last week to celebrate the completion of the 80,000 square-foot office renovation. Meanwhile, downtown, construction of the CODE building chugs along, with some new COVID-friendly tweaks—to keep ventilation going, the building’s windows will now actually open, a feature that wasn’t initially planned.

Jail cases

Seven inmates total have now tested positive for COVID-19 at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Pointing to severe outbreaks in nearby correctional facilities, Defund Cville Police sent a letter to the ACRJ demanding the jail ramp up its testing procedures, distribute more hygiene products to inmates, and halt all new admissions to the facility.

Harassment sentence

Daniel McMahon, whose online harassment and racist threats caused activist Don Gathers to suspend his 2019 City Council campaign, has been sentenced for his crimes. The Florida-based man will spend 41 months in federal prison and, upon release, serve a three-year probation during which he won’t be allowed to use the internet without court supervision.

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News

In brief: No pipeline, name game, and more

Activists in Buckingham have been fighting the pipeline since 2014. On Sunday, they won. PC: Friends of Buckingham

Pipeline defeated

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is history. In a surprise announcement on Sunday afternoon, Dominion Power called off the 600-mile natural gas pipeline that would have run from West Virginia to North Carolina. “VICTORY!” declared the website of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The news is a major win for a wide variety of environmental advocacy groups and grassroots activists, who have been fighting the pipeline on all fronts since the project was started in 2014. The pipeline would have required a 50-yard-wide clear-cut path through protected Appalachian forest, and also disrupted a historically black community in rural Buckingham County.

Dominion won a Supreme Court case earlier this month, but that wasn’t enough to outweigh the “increasing legal uncertainty that overhangs large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the United States,” says the energy giant’s press release.

Litigation from the Southern Environmental Law Center dragged the pipeline’s construction to a halt. Gas was supposed to be flowing by 2019, but less than 6 percent of the pipe ever made it in the ground.

The ACP had the backing of the Trump administration, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette blamed the “obstructionist environmental lobby” for the pipeline’s demise.

“I felt like it was the best day of my life,” says Ella Rose, a Friends of Buckingham member, in a celebratory email. “I feel that all the hard work that all of us have done was finally for good. I feel like I have my life back. I can now sleep better without the worries that threatened my life for so long.”

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Quote of the week

“It is past time. As the capital city of Virginia, we have needed to turn this page for decades. And today, we will.”

—Richmond mayor Levar Stoney on the city’s removal of its Stonewall Jackson and Matthew Fontaine Maury statues

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In brief

Loan-ly at the top

On Monday, the government released a list of companies that accepted loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, designed to keep workers employed during COVID’s economic slowdown. A variety of Charlottesville businesses accepted loans of $2-5 million, including Red Light Management, St. Anne’s-Belfield, and Tiger Fuel.

Renaming re-do

An advisory committee recommended last week that recently merged Murray High and Community Charter schools be renamed Rose Hill Community School, but this suggestion immediately raised eyebrows: Rose Hill was the name of a plantation that later became a neighborhood. The committee will reconvene to discuss options for a new moniker.     

City hangs back

Charlottesville is one of a handful of localities that have pushed back against Governor Ralph Northam’s order to move to Phase 3 of reopening. While some of the state has moved forward,  City Manager Tarron Richardson has decided to keep the city government’s facilities operating in accordance with Phase 2 requirements and restrictions. As stated on its website, this decision was made in order to “ensure the health and safety of staff and the public.”

Soldier shut in

Since at least the beginning of July, the gates of UVA’s Confederate cemetery, where a statue of a Confederate soldier stands, have been barricaded, reports the Cavalier Daily. A university spokesman says the school locked the cemetery because protesters elsewhere in the state have been injured by falling statues. Or maybe, as UVA professor Jalane Schmidt suggested on Twitter, “they’re tryna keep the dead from escaping.” 

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News

In brief: Masked up, KKK attacks, and more

Masked up

On May 26, Governor Ralph Northam declared that all Virginians 10 years and older must wear masks while in public indoor spaces, including retail stores, buses, and restaurants (when you’re not eating, of course).

Some have wondered how business owners would enforce such a rule with recalcitrant customers, and Tobey’s Pawn Shop owner Tobey Bouch, along with Charlottesville radio host Rob Schilling, filed a lawsuit over the mandate on June 1, claiming that masks are illegal in Virginia. But most local business owners say the directive has not been a problem.

At Corner sportswear staple Mincer’s, more than 90 percent of shoppers are wearing face coverings, says company V.P. Calvin Mincer.

“I would say a couple I’ve seen come in just with no mask. But we don’t really want to fight with them about it, so we just assume they might have some sort of medical condition.”

A few doors down at Bodo’s, the bagel chain has set up a table in its patio area for customers to order and pick up food without having to go inside. And though masks are not required outside, most customers have been wearing them, an employee says.

In Barracks Road Shopping Center, The Happy Cook has also not had any problems enforcing the rule.

“I was uncertain if there would be any sort of pushback…but honestly almost everybody who comes in has had a mask with them and already on,” says owner Monique Moshier. “We do have a thing posted on the window for people to give us a call if they don’t have one with them and we give them a mask…[But] we’ve only had to use those a couple of times, and it’s mostly just been that somebody ran out of their car without grabbing their mask.”

As for the many other businesses around Charlottesville, the Downtown Business Association’s Susan Payne says that, while it is not able to force businesses to follow the mandate, she has yet to see an establishment that’s not complying.

Charlottesville radio host Rob Schilling filed a lawsuit over Governor Northam’s mask mandate, claiming face coverings are illegal in Virginia.

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Quote of the Week

“Put your bodies on the line. Our bodies are on the line every day. America has been one long lynching for black people.”

—UVA Politics professor Larycia Hawkins, speaking at the June 7 Black Lives Matter march

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Richardson review

City Council gathered (virtually) on June 8 for a closed meeting, to discuss City Manager Tarron Richardson’s job performance and the legal state of the Confederate statues. Richardson has had a contentious relationship with council, which he’s accused of “meddling” in his operations. Even by the glacial standards of municipal government, this meeting was a doozy—it lasted five hours, according to The Daily Progress.

KKK attack

In a disturbing echo of Heather Heyer’s murder, Harry H. Rogers, a Ku Klux Klan leader, drove his car through a crowd of protesters in Richmond on June 7, injuring one person. Rogers was arrested and faces multiple charges. More than a dozen such vehicle attacks, a terrorist tactic increasingly used by white supremacists, have been committed against Black Lives Matter protesters over the past two weeks, including several in which police were at the wheel.   

Bug off

As if this spring didn’t feel apocalyptic enough, here come billions of bugs. After nearly two decades of life underground, hordes of buzzing, whining cicadas are beginning to tunnel out into the fresh air. The 17-year cicadas will be especially plentiful in western Virginia, where less development has left their tree habitats intact.

Eviction halt

As unemployment climbs past 10 percent, Virginia has halted all eviction proceedings through June 28, a move that many activists had called for in recent months. Governor Ralph Northam’s administration says it is working on a relief program for families facing housing insecurity from the pandemic and its associated economic downturn.