Four years ago today, I stood here, announcing that I was planning to run for Charlottesville City Council. I had no experience in city government, little name recognition outside the Obama campaign, and been to only a few City Council meetings. But I carried a vision that people had shared with me during the Obama campaign, as I knocked on over 2,000 doors in the City and asked what kind of change they were looking for - what did hope mean to them?

What I heard over and over, especially in neighborhoods whose residents tend not to be at City Council meetings or in positions of power and influence, was a vision of a city where all children, regardless of what street they live on or how much money their parents make, can be successful in school and college and life. A city where everyone can have a secure, warm, and affordable place to live. Where people feel safe to walk and bicycle without fear of crime or accident. Where people have the skills and opportunities to work in good jobs that provide an income that you can raise a family on. A city that is the center of a thriving community, not divided by animosities between local governments. A city where small businesses are the core of the local economy, and where those businesses are supported and nurtured. A community that welcomes its prisoners home when they finish their sentences, that gives its children hope for the future, and that honors the humanity and rights of all its citizens.

I had realized that a lot of what people need and expect from government doesn't come from Washington - it comes from City Hall, and that to realize those changes and achieve those hopes, we needed people on City Council committed to that vision.

Apparently that vision is something the voters of Charlottesville felt I could help achieve, and I was elected. I am inspired by that confidence every day, and have worked hard in the past three years to see that vision realized.

Despite the biggest economic crisis in 70 years, Charlottesville has made progress. Our Downtown Mall, whose businesses are almost all locally owned, has the lowest vacancy rate it's ever had. We have added miles of sidewalk and bike lanes and improved bicycle and pedestrian safety and awareness. Our children are eating fresher, local foods in school, and urban agriculture and local food have experienced a resurgence. We are seeing deteriorating housing repaired, new affordable housing constructed, and neighborhoods being protected and strengthened. We have seen the formation of initiatives to train and place public housing residents in quality jobs, to incubate and support minority and women-owned businesses, and to give young people the chance to work in real, paying jobs.

In our local schools, the graduation rate has gone up, the dropout rate has gone down, test scores have risen and more kindergartners enter school ready to learn. The achievement gap between races and incomes is finally beginning to close. We owe a lot of that progress to our City Schools and school board. But we know that children actually spend more than 80% of their waking time outside of school buildings, so some measure of their success - or failure - is on us in the community where they spend the rest of their time.

The rate of children in foster care is dropping, our poverty rate has gone down, and new initiatives like the City of Promise have sprung up - with city support - to bring together parents, nonprofits and decision-makers to make sure that every child in this city has the chance to thrive.

Despite declining revenues as property values continued to fall, and state and federal funding continued to shrink, most of the City of Charlottesville is thriving. But not all. It's still legal in Charlottesville to discriminate against employees, tenants and customers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We still have a waiting list of hundreds of families who are eligible but can't find space in subsidized housing. We still have deep divisions of distrust and miscommunication between races, between classes, between longtime residents and newcomers - between citizens and government.

Just because we've made progress it doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels. Charlottesville may have been named the best small city in the nation to raise children, but many of our children are still being left behind. Charlottesville may be one of the top spots to retire, but until we make sure that affordable housing and a safe community are available to everyone, it's only tops for some. Charlottesville may have been named a great place to start a business, but we need to continue to open entrepreneurship opportunities to folks in low-income neighborhoods. Charlottesville may have just been named one of the most romantic cities in America - well, how could I argue with that on Valentine's Day.

But we're still far short of achieving the vision described by the people I talk to every day, or outlined by the City Council in 2007 of "A Great Place to Live for All of Our Citizens". If we lose our sense of urgency, we won't continue to improve - in fact, we will lose ground. That's why I'm running for re-election. We have a lot of work left to do. I hope you will help me do it, and I hope that those of you who can will be able to volunteer for this campaign.

My campaign manager, Lisa Green, is at the table to sign you up for phone calling or door knocking or - the fun part - hosting a houseparty to give me a chance to hear from your friends and neighbors about how better to achieve the potential that this City has - to become truly a City of Promise.

Contact Information:

Lisa Green, Campaign Manager 434-806-8122

Kristin Szakos 434-987-1042

(February 14, 2013)