Press Release from Linda Seaman campaign:

"At 10 AM today in front of the First Amendment Chalkboard on the Mall former City School Board Chairman Linda Seaman announced her candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for City Council. She has been a resident of the City for 33 years. Her two daughters are graduates of Charlottesville High School. Her years of leadership and service to the City have prepared for this office.

A former Chairman of the CATEC Board, Executive Director of the Charlottesville Area School Business Alliance (CASBA), and a member of the Piedmont Workforce Network Board, Seaman led the region's efforts in preparing our students for the world of work. As a City Councilor she will work for expanded opportunities for all students to graduate with work-readiness skills. She believes that it is essential to our economy for all Charlottesville students be well prepared to be productive citizens.

With the City Council and the School Board now equally elected bodies, Seaman's nine years of experience on the City School Board puts her in a unique position to help build on the relationship between the two bodies.

Linda Seaman knows the power of a community working together. As a member of the IMPACT Board, she was part of the effort that brought over 1,300 people to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center to discuss affordable housing and transportation. She will take a regional approach to solve community problems - affordable housing, transportation, fire and rescue service, parks and recreation, and environmental sustainability. The citizens in both the City and the County expect their public officials and governments to work together - in good faith - to seek solutions to our problems that are beneficial for everyone. Seaman will build on her experience working with our county and University neighbors; she is committed to seeking collaborative solutions to improve the lives of all our citizens.

As a city, Charlottesville must reduce our local contribution to global warming. Seaman will promote more energy efficiency in our buildings through incentives to build and renovate using green designs and standards. She supports expanding out transportation system to encourage greater use of buses and other forms of mass transit. She wants to develop partnerships with employers to provide vanpools. She will work to protect the trails and parks and increase the tree canopy.

For additional information about Linda Seaman's campaign for City Council, please check her website: www.LindaSeaman.net or call her at 434-973-8753. (Electronic mail, April 9, 2007)