Democrats hold City Council Candidate Forum

On Saturday, February 18, 2006, Charlottesville and Albemarle Democrats held their monthly breakfast at the offices of the Jefferson Area Board of Aging (JABA).  The two declared Democratic candidates for City Council, Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro, participated in a candidate forum, in front of about 60 citizens, which was moderated by Kay Slaughter, former City Councilor and currently Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Charlottesville Tomorrow, a non-partisan organization, will be covering the 2006 City Council elections and developing a voter guide focusing on land use, transportation, and community design issues.  At this time, Mr. Norris and Mr. Taliaferro are the only declared candidates for the two seats on Charlottesville City Council for the May 2, 2006 election.  You can review Charlottesville Tomorrow’s coverage of the 2005 Board of Supervisors election here. 

The Democratic nominees will be selected in a mass meeting on Saturday, March 4, 2006, at 1:00 PM in the Burley Middle School Auditorium.  Republican nominees will be selected in a mass meeting on Sunday, March 5th.  Current Councilor, Blake Caravati (D), has indicated he is not running for a third term.  Rob Schilling (R) has not yet announced if he will seek a second term.

This podcast is a jointly produced by Charlottesville Podcasting and Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Candidates answered questions related to growth and development in the City and County, affordable living choices, the City’s relationship with UVA, student housing issues, rising property assessments, issues of poverty, and interactions with the business community.

Listen to Podcast: Download CityCouncilForum20060218.mp3 (14.4 MB)

1:07 - Russ Linden, Co-Chair City Democratic Party – Intro and announcements

6:08 - Uriah Fields sings Old Man River in honor of Black History Month

9:17 - Additional announcements

11:24 - Kay Slaughter, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center – Candidate introductions

Opening statements
17:10 - Dave Norris
20:41 - Julian Taliaferro

26:22 - Question #1: Given growth in the County, what’s the City’s role in dealing with this issue?
27:04 - Julian Taliaferro
27:57 - Dave Norris

30:05 - Question #2: Asks candidates to reflect on big issues of sustainable development and resource protection in context of specific issues before City Council like a new vehicular crossing of Downtown Mall or the Meadow Creek Parkway.
32:29 - Dave Norris
34:34 - Julian Taliaferro

36:00 - Question #3: Asks candidates about their ideas on affordable living choices for our residents.
36:35 - Julian Taliaferro
38:20 - Dave Norris

40:58 - Question #4: Asks candidates what they might do about impact UVA has on availability of affordable housing because of current need to house students off-grounds.
42:18 - Julian Taliaferro
43:52 - Dave Norris

45:20 - Question #5: What is your view of new City ordinances that allow for increased housing density around UVA?
46:10 - Julian Taliaferro
47:27 - Dave Norris

48:31 - Question #6: Can you speak to rising property assessments and how that impacts affordable living choices of people on fixed incomes?
49:49 - Dave Norris
51:51 - Julian Taliaferro

53:58 - Question #7: What will you do to provide assistance to poor citizens and to address issues of poverty in Charlottesville?  What will you do for tenant rights?
56:48 - Dave Norris
58:20 - Julian Taliaferro

1:02:19 - Question #8: Should City Council encourage Governor to appoint someone from this community to the UVA Board of Visitors?
1:03:17 - Julian Taliaferro
1:03:58 - Dave Norris

1:04:05 - Question #9: How are you working to develop ties with the business community on issues like the vehicular crossing on the Downtown Mall?
1:05:20 - Dave Norris
1:06:45 - Julian Taliaferro

1:08:08  - Question #10: How can we do a better job telling our story?  How can we talk about and publicize positive things that are happening in our community?
1:09:43 - Julian Taliaferro
1:11:22 - Dave Norris

1:12:38 - Question #11: Virginia localities have a poor tax structure.  I would like our City Council to keep going to Richmond and advance the idea that we should not be so dependent on the property taxes. Kay Slaughter asks candidates to address this question and make their closing statements.
1:15:09 - Dave Norris
1:17:39 - Julian Taliaferro