Phillip Collins
Address: North end of Charlottesville Years Living in District: 34 years Employment: University Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning until June 1-- retired after that.
Education: Undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in history and English, PhD from the University of Colorado in politics with emphasis on public policy.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the area today?
I think the biggest issue is the capacity of the local government to manage issues related to growth. A number of sub-issues span from that: housing availability, education. Not only meeting the standards of learning but also providing exciting education opportunities for it. Housing is a basic need and our society has a need to provide basic housing to its people. I will go to Richmond to fight for more authority for local government. We do not need a permission slip to do what needs to be done in a community of our nature.
What is your opinion on higher education restructuring?
I believe that it's a great improvement over what was originally proposed by the University. We owe professor Rossman a huge debt for working with the teachers unions to see that if we get charter status it will not be at the expense of faculty and non-faculty opportunities.
What do you think of the current relationship between the town and the University and what would you do to improve it?
I believe that the relationship between institutions like the city and the University can always be improved. I would say that it's more like a garden where things always need to be nurtured rather then a problem that needs to be solved.
What is something interesting you like to do in your spare time?
I am an outdoorsman. I fish, play tennis, hunt. I kayak and canoe. My greatest pleasure is being outdoors in any sport. I would always rather be outdoors then indoors. But, when I am indoors, I love reading. I am an avid reader.
What do you like the most about the Charlottesville community?
I can't really portion it out. I think Charlottesville represents for me an ideal mixture of intense cultural life and beautiful pastoral surrounding.
Kim Tingley
Address: Near Martha Jefferson Hospital
Years Living in District: Five years
Employment: Builder of communities of affordable housing, targeted mainly at African Americans.
Education: Undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Swarthmore College. First masters in civil engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the College of William and Mary.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the area today?
One issue that seems to dominate discussion is the issue of affordable housing. I read an article in the paper about Habitat for Humanity coming in and buying area for a trailer park and having to pay $24,000 per unit, which is so much.
What is your opinion on higher education restructuring?
Any time there is a change, there are good and bad aspects of the change. It concerns me that the General assembly wasn't able to fund the University and it had to raise tuition. I am a firm believer in keeping higher education affordable. On the other hand, I think there is a concern about the implications of their contract system. I would like to look at the initial two year contract and see how it is structured. With the additional money coming in from the increase in tuition, we need to make sure the jobs that are being created are good jobs.
What do you think of the current relationship between the town and the University and what would you do to improve it?
The University certainly dominates the region. It's the major employer. It has a huge impact on the region and it's important for the University and the city to work together.
What is something interesting you like to do in your spare time?
I've done a good bit of whitewater kayaking. The New River gorge is beautiful. I do ballroom dancing because everyone needs touch in their lives. So, if you're single, as I was, and you don't want to go out to bars then it's a great way to meet people.
What do you like the most about the Charlottesville community?
The Mall is tough to beat. My wife insisted that when we bought our home it be near the Mall.
David Toscano
Address: Downtown on Evergreen Street
Years Living in District: 24 years
Employment: Lawyer
Education: Interdisciplinary Major BA from Colgate, PhD from Boston College, and Law degree from the University.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the area today?
Education. I think that an educational system that works for the widest cross-section of the population is key for insuring that our children can compete in an increasingly complex society. Education is the key to opportunity.
What is your opinion on higher education restructuring?
I support the framework that was passed by the General Assembly and modified by Gov. Mark Warner. I think that there were many concerns with the initial proposal. Some of the concerns have been addressed. There is still a lot of work to be done and concerns that still need to be addressed, and I want to be at the table when those discussions occur.
What do you think of the current relationship between the town and the University and what would you do to improve it?
I think that there are a lot of people at the University and in the City who continue to work hard to improve the relationship between the two. There will always be issues, but as long as people continue to talk our situation will improve.
What is something interesting you like to do in your spare time?
I like to play with my seven-year-old. I like to get outside whether it is to take a walk or play a round of golf. And I like to eat out.
What do you like the most about the Charlottesville community?
I've spent a lot of time working to improve the downtown area stretching up West Main to the Corner. Charlottesville is so diverse that there are segments of it that you like at different times. There is nothing better then being on the Downtown Mall on a Saturday evening, and there is nothing better then being in the rural countryside of Albemarle County on a Sunday afternoon. So, it depends on the time and the day.
Profiles Compiled by cavalier daily associate editor Maria Tchijov
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