My Dear Friends,

The City Democrats will have a difficult choice to make on June 2. There are five highly qualified, competent and able candidates vying to help lead this City for the next four years.

I have truly enjoyed working with David Brown over the past four years and I am very glad that he is running again. Whether or not he seeks another term as mayor, I think we need his experience and judgment on the Council.

Holly Edwards and Jennifer McKeever are representative of the values, aspirations, and energy of our Democratic party. Each candidate is a self-assured, intelligent woman with a strong and supportive family and a service-oriented career. Holly and Jennifer have made their way and their life in our community and know its strengths and weaknesses from direct experience. Both want the best for their young children and have translated this into a desire to be advocates for all of our community’s children.

Many of you already know Holly from her many years helping working families in Charlottesville get to the next level in their lives. She is a registered nurse with a Masters degree in education from Howard University. In the fifteen years that she has lived in our City, she has been a tireless advocate for improving wellness and building leadership in low income communities.

I first met Holly Edwards in the late nineties when we were allies in the living wage campaign and in efforts to expand community policing and workforce development programs. From the very beginning Holly impressed me as someone who was not only dedicated to helping those in need, but also as a leader with a gift for motivating others to become involved.

Health care and insurance are large issues and a large cost for our City government. Holly’s experience as a parish nurse will bring an important perspective to the Council’s deliberations concerning health care as a quality of life and a budget issue. Together with David’s advocacy of community health we can make progress on becoming a healthier City.

Jennifer McKeever is a new, energetic face in our party, with strong roots in our community. She graduated from Western Albemarle High school and attended college at PVCC and at UVA. While completing her law degree she interned for the Legal Aid Justice Center, and then began a career of working with Legal Aid organizations across the State. Jennifer’s life experiences have given her a great perspective on the strength and weaknesses of our City, as well as the motivation to make our community a better place.

I have known Jennifer for the past two years, starting from when she applied to serve on the CDBG task force. She was elected chair within the year. Jennifer got my attention again last summer when she successfully advocated for longer hours at our City’s outdoor pools, so that working families could enjoy our pools. I was impressed by how quickly she went from being a critic, to developing a good working relationship with staff, and ultimately improving the service that the City provides. She joined the Parks and Rec advisory committee this past August and has a good grasp of our programming and infrastructure challenges.

Jennifer has many qualities that would make any Charlottesville Democrat proud. She put me to some productive work this past Fall, when as co-chair of the Recreation precinct, she coordinated our canvassing and get out the vote efforts. There are also a couple of things that appeal to me personally about Jennifer. First, like me, she is a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. We both agree that City residents should be getting more for our tax dollars. Second, she is a lawyer and she follows the details. She asks questions. She shows up at work sessions. She will be a good steward of your tax dollars and the City’s resources, including its natural resources. We can count on Jennifer not to back down on protecting our environment and neighborhoods.

On Saturday, Charlottesville Democrats will cast their votes. David, Holly and Jennifer have earned mine. I recommend them to you without reservation.

Kevin Lynch (Electronic mail, May 29, 2007)