George,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on rumors that I am considering running for City Council. The rumors are true. At this point my candidacy is in the exploratory phase: I have found a few advisors and started contacting people and organizations to discuss important issues facing the city.

Aside from developing proposals to improve our community, I will use my candidacy to expand the Democratic base as much as possible, reaching out to young people and minorities. I hope to engage these under-represented constituencies and encourage them into active participation in the Democratic party by working on issues important to them.

In some ways, it seems that a part of the lack of participation by some core Democratic constituencies may be due to the Democratic domination of City Council in Charlottesville for so many years. I believe this has led some people to feel that voting for city council and participating in local politics does not matter -- Democrats will win in any case. To re-engage these key constituencies we need to demonstrate a diversity of views and solutions within our party. An open and thoughtful dialogue between the people from all parties interested in running for Council next year will be very valuable to the residents of Charlottesville.

In the last election cycle, the Democrats for Change (DFC) showed that the Democratic party in Charlottesville is diverse and vibrant. They also demonstrated that outsiders can earn the nomination and win elections. Many people have forgotten about the DFC and the important contributions they made to broadening the Democratic tent in Charlottesville and raising important issues.

I will pursue a candidacy based on an updated version of the platform the Democrats for Change used in the last campaign. Specific issues of interest to me include education, transportation, and improving transparency of local government. I have started talking to people about resurrecting the DFC. In the meantime, I encourage people interested in discussing and updating the platform to contact me directly at citycouncil@piratecat.com.

Sincerely,

Sean O'Brien (electronic mail, August 31, 2001).

Sean is a Circuit Rider and the Webmaster at the W. Alton Jones Foundation. As a circuit rider, Sean offers technical support ranging from advice on local area networks to strategic planning for Internet and communications plans to grantees of the foundation. The foundation funds nonprofit organizations working on a variety of environmental and global security issues around the world.

Sean graduated from the University of Virginia with a Ph.D. in Environmental Science in 1994; he completed his B.A. in Environmental Science at UVA in 1988. While working on his dissertation on tropical forest ecology he spent ten months in Costa Rica and Panama. After completing his degree UVA he worked with Professor Hubbell at Princeton University on temperate and tropical forest ecology. Sean is a co-author on papers in Science, Ecology, Climatic Change, and other publications.

Though trained as a scientist, Sean’s interest in community and politics compelled him to pursue several unusual opportunities, for example, in the spring of 1996 he worked as the Finance Director of the Rush Holt for Congress campaign in central New Jersey. Dr. Holt is a physicist with a background in nuclear non-proliferation and alternative energy technology.

After the candidate lost in the primary election, Sean accepted an apprenticeship at a boutique investment banking firm in Princeton. Later he returned to Princeton to complete a project with Professor Hubbell and to work for the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. While at the Center Sean helped organize several workshops, including one on scientists following nontraditional career paths.

In the spring of 1998, Sean again worked as the Finance Director on the Rush Holt Campaign--accepting the job in the same week his first child was born. He left the campaign to work for the W. Alton Jones Foundation after Rush Holt won in the primary election in early June (Dr. Holt is now serving his second term in the US Congress).

Sean lives in the Kellytown neighborhood of Charlottesville, where he and his wife are co-presidents of the neighborhood association. He commutes to work on the bike his wife won for him in a raffle at a bluegrass festival.

Editor's Note: If you have thoughts about the candidacy of Sean O'Brien, the 2002 race for Charlottesville City Council and/or about the resurrection of the Democrats for Change, please contact Sean directly at citycouncil@piratecat.com or send your comments to george@loper.org where the most representative will be placed on my web site with full attribution.