Councilors-elect Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro were sworn in at a brief ceremony at the courthouse yesterday afternoon, ten days before their terms will official begin on July 1, John Yellig writes in today’s Daily Progress. The two Democrats enjoyed a sizable victory over incumbent Republican Rob Schilling on May 2, and will attend their first City Council meeting on July 3.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
12 Responses to “Norris and Taliaferro Sworn In”
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Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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Archive for Sideblog »
Yay. I applaud Charlottesville’s returning to the era of actually having five city councilors.
Those construction “workers” down at the mob job perpetually buidling the transit center are just as happy. How fitting that the first thing they did as city councilors was grease the guys another $75,000 – which will balloon to $400,000 of taxpayer money by the time the state and feds are forced to ante up.
Yes, its obvious that the tax and spend democratic gang now has no one to ask the tough questions as they start throwing other people’s money around greasing the construction unions.
The Bloods are just as happy to have them around. They will be invaluable as they turn Friendship Court into their own privately run hood.
Come to think of it, how is it that a guy who gets 24% of the vote can’t keep his seat on a 5 person council ? Ah yes, the good ole’ blue blood southern democratic election tricks. A little bit of Tammany Hall right here in Virginia in 2006.
That was interesting and potentially persuasive until you accused Sherri Iachetta and the Charlottesville Electoral Board of federal election fraud. You managed to discredit everything else you wrote in just three little sentences.
My third grade math teacher taught me that if a pie was cut into 5 pieces, each piece would equal 20% of the pie. But the “new math” in Charlottesville is simlply that 24% is not enough to win 20% of the seats on council. The way the elections are run is a page right out of the old southern democratic handbook.
You don’t have to go to Texas to find “funny” elections that are designed very specifically to minimize minority voters and shut them out. In this case, the minority voters are local republicans. And you don’t have to go back to Jim Crow days either. We got it all right here, right now.
I don’t know or care who is running the show. But I can count. And when the majority imposes an electoral system that shuts out 24% of the voters from having any say at all on a FIVE person council, well, even a third grader could tell you that something is really rotten with that.
That’s not new math, that’s very old math — that’s the math used in localities throughout Virginia, regardless of which party controls them. The alternative is to have all five seats up for election simultaneously, which could well lead to a totally-fresh Council, not a single person with the slightest clue of how to be on Council. (That’s the same reason why senate elections are staggered.)
Even if we had five seats up all at once, Republicans still ain’t going to win any of them. The best shot that they’ve got is to change our election system to Instant Runoff Voting. If you want to see a system that’s more fair to non-Democrats, IRV is what you want to agitate for.
But I don’t need to explain this — you can learn all of this in last year’s Charlottesville Elections Study Task Force report. The city’s recent website redesign has rendered all old links useless (something they seem to do every few years), and I can’t find the study on their site, but see this Progress article for more and, if you’re feeling motivated, walk into City Hall and ask them for a copy. The group that put it together was very balanced, very fair, and the study actually makes for great reading. I think you’ll find it enlightening.
Do you condesend to everyone, or save that just for me ? Not everyone who has ever disagreed with you is an idiot in need of education. Really. Wow, you really are a local – aren’t you ? Anyway, you can put as much lipstick on this pig as you want. A quarter of the voters in this town cannot get 1% representation on city council – even though each city council member represents only one FIFTH of the voters. IRV is only one possible solution. There are others, such as having all five seats up each election cycle – or even using a PR system (Proportional Representation) like they do in Ireland for example. But whatever the solution, the fact remains that the current system disenfranchises a large segment of the voters – and it exists exactly for that reason. That is the point. I know I’m farting in the wind here. Corruption and funny electoral schemes are an ingrained part of both our major national parties. I’m just here wasting my time reminding a few more “democrats” that their party continues to bend over backwards to be as undemocratic as they can if it helps them. The current gang runningthe show in C’Ville is no different than the “democrats” who ran Virginia in the 1930’s. Then as now, they get away with disenfranchising a large minority voting block so they can run the town thru back room deals while the media lets them do it at will.
Perhaps you forget that you are a complete stranger to me; I have no knowledge of you, your background, or your experience in the realm of electoral mechanics. If you perceive my polite and detailed explanation as condescension, I’m not about to feel badly about it.
Oh, and you’re welcome.
wow. ah, nevermind about you. Nevermind about me. I could – but I won’t. In that department I’ll just remind you that you were not thanked for anything – so I’m not sure why you responded with a “you’re welcome.”
First, online discussions have the ADVANTAGE that everyone is a stranger. Pretend I’m an elderly man in Fiji – OK ? I can access this site as easily as you. And you’re trying to change the subject by trying to find out who or what I am and all that.
We’re discussing ideas here – and they don’t belong to anyone – or any group. I appreciate that you provided some links and mentioned some possible solutions – fair enough – but the overriding problem is that nobody seems to know or care enough to know how corrupt and rigged the current system is.
The math speaks for itself. And your response that it is common is right up there with a third grader’s excuse that “everybody’s doing it, ya know.” Well, let me channel your mother’s energy here – and remind you of the old addage that if if “everyone” rigged a electoral system to disenfranchise a large minority in their community – would that make it OK ? Was in OK in Jim Crow Virginia ?
WHY IS IT OK NOW ?
You don’t need to be a 20 year veteran of electoral science. You don’t need all that “experience.” All you need is 12 year old’s knowledge of math. And I suppose a bit of knowledge of the long history and entrenched traditions of the democratic party doesn’t hurt either.
*sigh*
I really wasn’t trying to start an argument, or even get a suurrender. But Ill take that towel if you’re gunna throw it. I actually thought that people might be interested in knowing about minority disenfranchisement in C-Ville. But likle the rest of America, let’s continue to suck our thumb instead. As long as we are protected from information and truth – it cannot hurt us.
Speaking of which, why no more comments allowed on the article regarding the Transit Center Mob Job cost overruns and delays ? hmmmmm ?
Reminds me of years ago when someone said that building a better mousetrap is not gunna happen if the mice are running the show. Most of Charlotteville’s ruling class are AOK with the electoral tricks and kickbacks to the unions.
To quote David Byrne: “same as it ever was…”
All discussions are closed after 21 days, as is standard for blogs. After about that long they become spam magnets, receiving dozens or hundreds of “comments” promoting penis enlargement and pornography. Also, old posts are rarely read, so any additional comments will only be so much urine in the wind.
OK. Fair enough. Did not realise that. Thanks for your response.
BUT, it is my – individual, humble – opinion that this SHOULD be the biggest story in town right now. Maybe second behind the drive by shootings that signal the Bloods taking over the projects as we speak.
Yet the media keeps rehashing old “stories” like underage drinking and chidren getting solicited online. Diversionary dribble, I would say. Just gets my ire up. In a lot of places in the USA, the very obvious situation where politicians grease local contractors at taxpayer expense – two of them on their first day in office – would be THE news story.