Two Republican candidates for Charlottesville City Council have come forward. Mike Farruggio is a former member of the Planning Commission, now retiring after 25 years on the Charlottesville PD. Buddy Weber is a former Navy pilot, a defense attorney and chair of the local Republican Party.

At the kickoff, Weber said, "During my time in Charlottesville, I have grown increasingly frustrated with a City Council that pontificates with faux authority on issues that do not matter, but dithers endlessly on issues that do."

Each has selected a specific issue for emphasis in the early going. Farruggio mentions the new stormwater utility fee and its disparate impact on churches and other non-profit organizations. Weber has chosen what he calls the chronic mismanagement of the city's public housing units as his issue.

This will be the first Republican candidacy for council since 2006, and the first multiple-candidate Republican slate since 2000.

Dave Sagarin (Aoril 26, 2013)