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February 2000
Letters to the Editor: Paul Gaston on Meredith Richards
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To the Editor:

If I had been on City Council I probably would have voted against building a road through McIntire Park. Meredith Richards voted for the road. We would have been on opposite sides.

If I had the power to rank-order the Democrats seeking nomination for the upcoming City Council race Meredith Richards would head my list. You don't make crucial electoral decisions on the basis of one difference of opinion, especially when there are honorable and persuasive arguments on both sides.

Meredith Richards would also head my list because she has shown energy, commitment, and imagination in fulfilling and expanding the progressive leadership Democrats have given to this city for more than a generation.

When the Labor Action group marched for an $8 wage at the University she was the Councilor who also marched and spoke out. Her vigorous advocacy then helped lead the Council to make a commitment to pay a living wage to all city employees.

She has been on the right side of every issue that matters to progressive Democrats, more often than not as a catalyst or leader, from naming the West Main Street bridge after Drewary Brown to achieving greater diversity in the city work force to enlarging the number of African Americans on the school board to opposing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to condemning the death penalty.

The Democratic party's progressive tradition of working to expand opportunity and secure justice for all citizens has a worthy champion in Meredith Richards.

Deserving of nomination for these reasons alone, she has achievements in many other areas that commend her. They include: leadership in planning a regional transportation system (including light-rail development) as president of the Virginia Transit Association; cross-jurisdictional work with the county and the University; and initiatives to preserve the city's historic resources and enhance the quality of our neighborhoods.

Finally, Meredith Richards is a listening kind of Councilor, open to her constituents and sensitive to their needs and wishes. We need her on our City Council.

Paul Gaston (electronic mail, February 17, 2000)


Comments? Questions? Write me at george@loper.org.