Remarks by Former Mayor Virginia Daugherty at the Democratic Picnic (electronic mail, June 29, 2004):

No one is going to be able to take the place of these two colorful Council members, Mayor Maurice Cox and Vice-Mayor Meredith Richards. We may not miss them trying to outtalk each other.

But seriously, let's take Meredith first. Who else is going to provide such glamour in City Hall-a good-looking redhead who dresses out of Vogue? Who else is going to put on a bustier and pose on a Vespa in a two-page spread in The Hook?

And Meredith has raised a lot of hell while on Council. I loved her demonstrating for the living wage right on the UVa grounds, and she carried the banner against Virgil to every one-horse town in the Fifth District. An alien would guess Meredith was a six-foot tall labor boss.

I claim it's because she's a Texan. Texas women do everything in a big way. Colonial Jeffersonian Civil War history site Virginia may not have been quite ready for Meredith Richards.

I worked with Meredith on City Council and the Housing Authority, and I saw her dedication to education and opportunity for low income citizens. At one time we had the "Mother's Mafia," Meredith, Kay Slaughter and me. We often used our female majority to pass improvements in child care, youth recreation and schools.

Meredith has delivered for us on Computers 4 Kids, and she is known state wide for her work to strengthen Virginia cities. She fought for more money for mass transit, including the Trans-Dominion Express. She has been an award-winner in technology business development, and has used her interest in history to push the Court Square project and the Lewis and Clark Center.
Let's give Meredith a big hand!

Speaking of colorful councilors, how about the Mayor who came from the Big Apple, tarried for years in Florence, and came home with his lovely Italian wife to Charlottesville. We and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Biking Association are going to miss the Mayor showing up all over the place on his bike. Of course, he couldn't have got home on a couple of cold, snowy nights in December without me and my truck.

Maurice has energetically worked for grass-roots neighborhood action, citizen participation in planning decisions and for open government. It was his proposal to have school board candidate forums. One of his greatest strengths has been getting people involved in government individually, through his enthusiasm and friendly manner.

Some wag complained that Maurice wanted to design (or re-design) every building in Charlottesville. But as Russ Perry said once, it has been really cool having a Councilor who talks about Beauty. Maurice calls it good urban design, and it has affected many projects from Kellytown to the current Transit Center project. He has promoted pedestrian-oriented street scapes, mixed use development. . .Maurice brought some great ideas from academia to our reality show.

He's also represented the city well as Mayor for the last two years. For example, he used his influence, with others, to get six large hotels to raise pay for their lowest paid workers. Now being mayor is not an easy job under the best of circumstances, but it's much worse with Rob Shilling on Council! Thanks, Maurice!