Charlottesville City Council member Julian Taliaferro announced Monday that he will run for re-election against fellow incumbent Mayor Dave Norris and local newcomer Kristin Szakos.
The three Democratic candidates will be narrowed down to two at an unassembled caucus held between May 8 and June 9. The general election for the two open council seats will be held Nov. 3. No Republican candidate has yet announced his candidacy.
Both Taliaferro, who was elected to Council in 2006, and Norris, who was elected mayor in 2008, said they would like to continue the progress Council has made regarding issues like the water supply, the economy and public housing.
“Three years ago, I was elected, and I want to continue that mission of service to the city,” Taliaferro said. “I think we have a lot of unfinished issues. Primary among my concerns is the community water supply. We’re trying to decide the best way to increase our water supply.”
Taliaferro suggested building pipelines and dredging from alternate locations as possible solutions to the problem.
“We don’t have a problem with water supply, we just don’t have the storage capacity,” Taliaferro said.
In support of his candidacy, Taliaferro also highlighted Council’s successful ability to weather the recent economic downturn.
“We’re presenting a good budget this year that contains no tax increases, no reduction in services to residents and no layoffs,” he said. “We have put aside a $2.8 million economic downturn fund in anticipation of next year.”
Norris unofficially announced his candidacy through e-mail and on his online blog Thursday. He will host his official public campaign kickoff tomorrow at South Street Brewery. Like Taliaferro, Norris said Council has several unfinished projects, including those related to public housing, that he would like to see through to the end.
“City Council has made a lot of progress in the last few years on environment issues, promoting opportunities for youth, affordable housing, upgrading our city’s infrastructure — just a wide range of issues,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work left to do on all of those fronts. We’re about to enter into a master planning process to revitalize our public housing neighborhoods in Charlottesville. That’s a process that’s going to have huge consequences for both the families that live in public housing and for the city as a whole, so I want to make sure that process goes well.”
Szakos, who has lived in Charlottesville for 15 years, most recently served as the local volunteer coordinator for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Szakos announced her candidacy Feb. 14 and said she was motivated to run for Council when she saw the public enthusiasm that surrounded Obama’s campaign.
“People were excited by the opportunity to participate in the democratic process and I decided it was time to bring that energy home to Charlottesville,” she said.
Szakos noted that while she has no shortage of opinions, she is not approaching the election from an issues-oriented perspective. Rather, she said she hopes to engage the city’s various and diverse communities if elected.
“We have a divided city of communities who don’t communicate very well with each other,” she said. “We tend to listen to those who show up to Council meetings, whose neighborhoods are very well organized. We need to make an effort to hear everyone.”
All three candidates expressed a commitment to the spirit of competition and praised the democratic process.
“The fact that this is a contested race is a positive for bringing people into the process,” Szakos said. “It forces people to get involved and vote, which can only be a good thing.”
Though the race currently is contested on the Democratic ticket, no Republican candidates have yet announced their candidacy. Should none declare, the Nov. 3 election would become a formality following the Democratic party’s unassembled caucus.
“I think it’s sad in a way,” Taliaferro said about the lack of Republican challengers.
Norris echoed Taliaferro’s senitments.
“It’s a healthy thing to have electoral competition,” he said.
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