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Charlottesville City Council Race 2002: CAAR's Policies With Regard to Endorsements and Contributions, Meadowcreek Parkway and Other Campaign Issues
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This month, the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS will be interviewing all of the candidates for City council to decide how much candidates will receive from their PAC.

In the 2000 Charlottesville City Council race, the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS said that they would not endorse any candidates, but that they would give money to "Meredith Richards, Maurice Cox, Kevin Lynch, Kevin Cox, Jon Bright, John Phaltz and Elizabeth Fortune' adding that "CAAR appreciates everyone's willingness to run for office and serve the city. They also understand that it is costly for the candidates to get their message out and wanted to support these candidates in their efforts."

Records from the Charlottesville Voter Registrar for that election indicate that Elizabeth Fortune received $500 from the Realtors Political Action Committee of Virginia; Jon Bright received $300 from the Realtors Political Action Committee of Virginia; Meredith Richards received $300 from the Realtors Political Action Committee of Virginia; and John Pfaltz received $300 from CAAR.

CAAR's records show that they also contributed $100 each to Democrats Maurice Cox and Kevin Lynch and $100 to Independent Kevin Cox: $100 contributions do not have to be individually reported.

In the 2000 Charlottesville City Council race, CAAR joined with the Chamber of Commerce and the Blue Ridge Homebuilders Association in support of the Meadowcreek Parkway.

In that race, Maurice Cox, Kevin Lynch, John Pfaltz and Stratton Salidis were against the Parkway while Meredith Richards, Jon Bright and Elizabeth Fortune registered support for the Parkway.

CAAR's Policies on Endorsements and Contributions 2002

[The Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS]
will be interviewing ALL candidates for City council later this month and deciding how much candidates will receive from our PAC.

These interviews will be open to all CAAR members to attend. We see these interviews as an educational opportunity. We will base our decisions on the following guidelines:

a. Polling data
b. Interview responses
c. Voting record on REALTOR issues
d. Possibility of being elected
e. Credibility of candidate in the community
f. Knowledge/experience in the real estate business

[CAAR is] not prohibited from "endorsing" candidates. If the interview team (approximately 20 people from a wide cross-section of our members) wants to endorse a candidate, we require the approval of our Board of Directors. Funding decisions are able to be made by the interview team.

Dave Phillips (electronic mail, April 10, 2002)

According to Dave Phillips (electronic mail, April 12, 2002), "the issues that CAAR sees as important in the 2002 City Council race are as follows (not in priority order):

* BPOL taxes - currently the City is at a lower threshold on this business tax than the surrounding counties.
* Consolidation of services with other counties in the region
* Transportation/parking - how do we support downtown businesses in their need to attract customers and employees.
* Mixed use development - how can this be used more effectively in the City."

He adds, "it is important to note that we are not a single issue group. Our membership is very diverse in their political interests. We are looking to support candidates that are interested in the overall health and prosperity of both the City and the region. We see great potential for our community if we can find leaders who are willing to look outside of political borders and realize that compromise and cooperation are the keys to maintaining our quality of life. Candidates that are focused on only one (or a few) issues or who fail to consider the regional consequences of their positions are less attractive to CAAR."

In the 2002 Charlottesville City Council Democratic nomination process, Democratic candidate for the Charlottesville City Council Alexandria Searls said she opposed the Meadowcreek Parkway, while Democratic candidate for Charlottesville City Council Blake Caravati said he favored construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway in some form.

Independent candidate for Charlottesville City Council Stratton Salidis has also said he opposes the Parkway, while Republican candidate for Charlottesville City Council Rob Schilling has expressed support for Meadowcreek Parkway in some form.

More recently, it appears to some that Charlottesville City Councilor Maurice Cox is opposed to both the Meadowcreek Parkway and the 29 Bypass and the current election could determine whether there will be a majority on the Charlottesville City Council for or against the Meadowcreek Parkway.

With this in mind, what do you think about Meadowcreek Parkway as a campaign issue? What do you think about the issues CAAR sees as important? Do you think building Meadowcreek Parkway would support or detract from CAAR's goals of attracting customers and employees downtown?

Please send your thoughts to george@loper.org where the most representative comments will be placed on my web site with full attribution.

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