Dont forget the Democratic Nominating Convention is SATURDAY. Be at the Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center at CHS by 12:30 and make your vote count!
From my inbox this morning:
My Dear Friends,
The City Democrats will have a difficult choice to make on June 2.
There are five highly qualified, competent and able candidates vying to
help lead this City for the next four years.
I have truly enjoyed working with David Brown over the past four years
and I am very glad that he is running again. Whether or not he seeks
another term as mayor, I think we need his experience and judgment on the
Council.
Holly Edwards and Jennifer McKeever are representative of the values,
aspirations, and energy of our Democratic party. Each candidate is a
self-assured, intelligent woman with a strong and supportive family and
a service-oriented career. Holly and Jennifer have made their way and
their life in our community and know its strengths and weaknesses from
direct experience. Both want the best for their young children and have
translated this into a desire to be advocates for all of our
community’s children.
Many of you already know Holly from her many years helping working
families in Charlottesville get to the next level in their lives. She is a
registered nurse with a Masters degree in education from Howard
University. In the fifteen years that she has lived in our City, she has been
a tireless advocate for improving wellness and building leadership in
low income communities.
I first met Holly Edwards in the late nineties when we were allies in
the living wage campaign and in efforts to expand community policing and
workforce development programs. From the very beginning Holly impressed
me as someone who was not only dedicated to helping those in need, but
also as a leader with a gift for motivating others to become involved.
Health care and insurance are large issues and a large cost for our
City government. Holly’s experience as a parish nurse will bring an
important perspective to the Council’s deliberations concerning health
care as a quality of life and a budget issue. Together with David’s
advocacy of community health we can make progress on becoming a healthier
City.
Jennifer McKeever is a new, energetic face in our party, with strong
roots in our community. She graduated from Western Albemarle High school
and attended college at PVCC and at UVA. While completing her law
degree she interned for the Legal Aid Justice Center, and then began a
career of working with Legal Aid organizations across the State.
Jennifer’s life experiences have given her a great perspective on the strength
and weaknesses of our City, as well as the motivation to make our
community a better place.
I have known Jennifer for the past two years, starting from when she
applied to serve on the CDBG task force. She was elected chair within the
year. Jennifer got my attention again last summer when she successfully
advocated for longer hours at our City’s outdoor pools, so that
working families could enjoy our pools. I was impressed by how quickly she
went from being a critic, to developing a good working relationship with
staff, and ultimately improving the service that the City provides. She
joined the Parks and Rec advisory committee this past August and has a
good grasp of our programming and infrastructure challenges.
Jennifer has many qualities that would make any Charlottesville
Democrat proud. She put me to some productive work this past Fall, when as
co-chair of the Recreation precinct, she coordinated our canvassing and
get out the vote efforts. There are also a couple of things that appeal
to me personally about Jennifer. First, like me, she is a social liberal
and a fiscal conservative. We both agree that City residents should be
getting more for our tax dollars. Second, she is a lawyer and she
follows the details. She asks questions. She shows up at work sessions. She
will be a good steward of your tax dollars and the City’s resources,
including its natural resources. We can count on Jennifer not to back
down on protecting our environment and neighborhoods.
On Saturday, Charlottesville Democrats will cast their votes. David,
Holly and Jennifer have earned mine. I recommend them to you without
reservation.
Kevin Lynch
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