After record-breaking voter turnout and 10 hours of voting at Jackson P. Burley Middle School, officials announced this past weekend the Democratic City Council nominations for the upcoming general election in November. Polls closed at 7 p.m. Saturday, but a series of recounts delayed the results from being announced until 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The nominations in Saturday's firehouse primary include incumbent Satyendra Huja, Kathy Galvin and Dede Smith. Llezelle Dugger clinched the nomination for Clerk of Charlottesville Circuit Court, defeating 30-year incumbent Paul Garrett.
Huja received the most votes, while Galvin and Smith followed with the second and third nominations, respectively.
After five rounds of counting votes, Smith emerged as the third nominee, just barely securing her lead by 31 votes ahead of Paul Beyer, who immediately called for a recount.
Officials totaled the unofficial ballot count to 2,582, a 60 percent increase from the 2009 firehouse primary.
As the general election approaches, nominees will work closely with the University to focus on hot-button issues within the Charlottesville community.
"Really we'll be focusing on the same issues we focused on during the primary, such as housing and transportation in Charlottesville, specifically in providing alternative modes of transportation, and both of these are issues where the University and students become involved," Smith said.
Huja, the only incumbent nominee, also reiterated the need to focus on transportation. He said he hoped that the University would encourage students to use the bus system and bike lanes, especially with a renewed focus on improving these alternative modes of transport both within and around the University. Huja also said he plans to hone in on the issue of affordable housing and job creation within the community.
Smith expressed similar hopes.
"A lot of issues we hope to focus on revolve around poverty and affordable housing, and having the University next door impacts our focus on that," he said. "One of the issues is the ability of students to pay, and you also have to consider the ability of low-paid employees; the reality is that there is a difference in ability to pay, and it's integral to have effective policies that consider both the University and community members when addressing this issue."
Candidates also will examine poverty in the City. Brandon Collins, one of five independent candidates, said the City should be more proactive in its approach toward achieving a living wage, especially for the lowest-paid employees at the University.
"Despite all the talk about poverty, we don't do enough to deal with it here in Charlottesville," Collins said. "A lot that has been accomplished has been too little too late. We need bigger approaches."
The three Democratic nominees also will address the issue of the region's water supply, especially with regard to dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.
"The water issue has been highly debated over the course of the primary, and I suspect it will be paid attention to in the general election," Smith said. "The South Fork Rivanna Reservoir is the main water facility for our urban area, which includes U.Va. It's allowed to silt in, which reduces its capacity and in turn compromises our largest water supply facility, which make dredging a hot topic that needs consideration. Also, look at it from a University perspective: The crew team practices there, and allowing it to silt in deprives U.Va. of a pretty major facility. The dredging is a big issue, and right now it's not slated to be done."
Past elections indicate that the firehouse winners from Saturday will be the favorites in the November general election. The three nominees will be challenged by independents Collins, Paul Long, Bob Fenwick, Scott Bandy and Andrew Williams.
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