Charlottesville progressives have three sound choices for city council. Two are Democrats for Change. I believe if you compare the platforms of those candidates vying for the third seat, you'll see mine is the only other truly focused on bringing about an equitable and ecologically healthy society.

If you think this is unfair to Meredith Richards or John Pfaltz, please ask Ms. Richards why she thinks the Meadow Creek parkway won't cause sprawl (auto-dependant growth) to the north, increase traffic in the less wealthy southern part of the city and drain regional impetus for a comprehensive regional plan which integrates transportation and landuse policy for the good of all. And please ask Mr. Pfaltz about "ring roads" around Charlottesville, and under what conditions he'd support the parkway and the 29 bypass.

Roads cause traffic. Individual choices are made within the physical and legal context the government shapes. Many times more public money is spent on roads and other subsidies for the automobile than every other form of transport combined. Roads, highways, bridges, traffic signals & signs, public parking, traffic police, auto related court costs & incarceration (drunk driving etc.) emergency services, subsidized emergency care, bureaucracy for licensing, registration, inspection, and a greater area to cover with sewer, gas, and water lines. All this to fuel a pattern of growth which causes air and water pollution, restricts lower income, young, older and disabled people, is dangerous to health, devours greenspace, raises infrastructure costs, promotes an isolated and sedentary lifestyle, furthers racial segregation and inequity, and undermines local business.

Somehow we've gotten trapped into thinking we have to buy a road everywhere someone might want to build. We don't. Recent state legislation allows us to use what was road money for transit, walking and biking projects. Constantly improving Information technology lets us process desired pick up and destination places and times along with the location, direction, and capacity of public (or similarly equipped volunteer privet) vehicles, thus enabling effective on-demand transit which could connect to express busses. We can zone our region to develop physically and culturally diverse compact urban areas infused with and encompassed by accessible nature. This will reduce the need for travel and help us get to know our neighbors.

The other institution which holds the greatest possibility for positive change is the way we collectively raise our children. Instead of training kids people to conform to the inequitable and environmentally destructive present order, we should empower the young people to fashion a life which allows them to contribute to and be supported by a just and sustainable
future. The way to do this is to gradually change the school system into a learning network - a collection of human and material resources to be used by the student for self-betterment and the good of all.

The network would include individual and group activities such as classes, workshops, internships, support groups, peer study groups/teaching, teem projects, pick up and organized sports, as well as the places and tools needed to pursue these endeavors - like classrooms, science equipment, sport facilities, parks, musical instruments, gyms, computers, laboratories, libraries, and art studios.

We should invite business, government and civic groups to have young people play an integral part of what they do. Lists of curriculums made by the state, colleges, professional groups would be readily available to show students what their chosen destinations expect of them. Grading would be replaced by documentation of they've studied, experienced,
learned, and achieved. Each child and their parents could select a long term advisory committee made up of mentors who know the student and are familiar with what the system has to offer.

To begin this process we can offer more opportunities for young people to do independent study and projects during school time, document achievement instead of giving grades, end tracking and lobby against SOLs, as well as support neighborhood preschool/daycare cooperatives with space, equipment, training and compensation.

Thanks for reading all this. Elected or not, I will continue to endeavor to inspire, connect, and aid people doing good things for our community. If you don't know me, ask around, one of your friends does. See what they think. Let's give ourselves the credit to make the changes necessary to keep things as good and make them better for us all. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Stratton Salidis (electronic mail, May 1, 2000).