RECENT COMMENTS
Another petition regarding the appointment
On the heels of a petition essentially calling for the appointment of a representative with a history of residing in the 7th District, another anonymous petition has surfaced which offers support for potential appointee Cynthia Newbille.
To: Citizens of Richmond, Virginia
We are asking for your support to ensure that Cynthia Newbille is allowed to represent the 7th district on Richmond, Virginia’s City Council. We are asking for your support in advocating to appoint Mrs. Newbille to fill the recently vacated 7th District City Council seat. Mrs. Newbille is currently the acting director of the East End Family Resource Center. She was not only raised in the 7th District attending Whitcomb Elementary (closed), Mosby Middle School (now Martin Luther King Middle School) and Armstrong High School (31st street) but is also a product of the East End District, and has served her community for the last 13 years. Mrs. Newbille stands everyday as a pillar of our community.
Mrs. Newbille’s areas of service have been health, youth development, education, housing, family services and economic development. She holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology from SUNY. Her work, community accomplishments and collaborative ways of civic engagement have impacted the East End District in a positive way. Mrs. Newbille has facilitated dynamic partnerships within the public and private sector coordinating and interfacing with City departments and agencies, elected officials, community leaders and members, faith based organizations and universities for the enhancement of the 7th District.
The densely populated 7th District contains the most eastern parts of Richmond it is bounded to the north, east and somewhat to the south by Henrico County. Neighborhoods in the 7th include: Fairfield, Church Hill, Fulton Bottom, Fulton Hill, Montrose Heights and the eastern portion of Shockoe Bottom.
With the election of Barack Obama, we as a people are in need of representatives whose first priority is service to the people. We know from our experience that Mrs. Newbille is committed to community, the Commonwealth and our Country. Her primary focus is health from a holistic approach which includes physical health, environmental health, economic health and social well-being. Cynthia Newbille will work collaboratively and not in isolation tapping into our city’s collective resources to build a better Richmond.
Sign the Petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/092480/
When did she move into the 7th District? Why should we have as a representative someone who only moved into the 7th District in order to be appointed? No matter how wonderful she is, fact is that the Democratic process is being futzed around with — What is her position on the baseball stadium?
“With the election of Barack Obama, we as a people are in need of representatives whose first priority is service to the people.” What exactly is that supposed to mean, that Obama is ignoring the needs of the people? What does Obama have to do with the 7th district? Is there some kind of racial implication intended?
“With the election of Barack Obama, we as a people are in need of representatives whose first priority is service to the people.”
I, too, am interested in knowing what Barack Obama has to do with the 7th council district’s representation.
Also, why the emphasis on her patriotism, complete with capitalization of the word “country”? “We know from our experience that Mrs. Newbille is committed to community, the Commonwealth and our Country.”
Do this person truly represent the entire 7th District?
Note: forwarded message attached.
—– Message from “Loving Blackness is Revolutionary” on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:38:12 -0500 —–
To:
Subject: Petition to Support Cynthia Newbille for Richmond VA City Council
For those who don’t know Cynthia Newbille is the director of the Family Resource Center in Richmond VA that opened it’s doors free of charge for a free Community COurse in African Studies this year in partnership with the African Studies Dept of VCU and opened it’s doors free of charge allowing for nightly kwanzaa events to the Richmond Kwanzaa Kollective for the past 3 plus years.
Please support this sister who will represent the interests of the people on Richmond’s City Council by signing the petition and forwarding far and wide to your contacts in Richmond VA so they may support as well.
As you know gentrification affects our communities of color all around the country, and the predominately black 7th District needs representation that will represent the people in it. Cynthia has done that for the past 10 years and we need her on city council. From my understanding in our movement we need people on many different levels from grassroots to city politics to make lasting and effective change. Spread the word and support this effort.
Brother Manifest
—
When did she move into the 7th District? I certainly hope that City Council makes certain that all applicants for the appointment have been bonafide residents of the 7th District for at least 1 year.
I don’t know the 7th very well, but if you look at 2006 votes, there were 4,55 votes cast, with McQuinn taking 57% against Reggie Malone. It was a race with a Marsh surrogate running against a Wilder surrogate, with no Obama on the ballot to swell turnout. McQuinn’s overall margin was about 57%. In 705 and 707, the most gentrified precincts, I think, she took about 54%. There seems to be a very small difference between black and white voting patterns as reflected by precinct votes. With a turnout in November that will probably be below 3,000, it appears that any well-funded, well-organized campaign can win…no machine needed.
Ron… I think it is because people have become so complacent with what has been for so long that they rather just blindly vote the same. Or they just know trying to fight the system in place is an uphill battle so they go with the flow?
Ramzi… that statement also popped out at me and the first thing that ran across my mind after also reading her background was “black support”.
I also see ZERO comments about the historic aspect of Church Hill or its preservation as a Old & Historic District.
And no, she has not moved to the 7th yet. And NO, I will NOT be voting for her.
Eric
Have you also looked at who signed the petition so far (19 signatures)? The majority are African heritage sounding names and one even came out and said “Cynthia Newbille is a great woman, and a asset to the black community” So there you go… Race again even self admited by her supporters.
Eric
Something brother manifest had to say in StyleWeekly online about the petition for honest government/against the appointment of an outsider: “With all the gentrification taking place in Richmond especially Church hill & the east end – I think whoever started this petition is trying to get somebody in office who is complacent with the egregious land-grab that is rapidly shifting the East End into another gentrfied Community. Hate to boil it down to black & white but gentrification is just that blacks are moved out whites move in. This is a major issue for Church Hill and I suspect that this has something to do with this anonymous petition.”
How long has he lived in the east end? Blacks and whites have been moving in and out for sometime.
We need a council member to represent all in the district, not just the blacks or the whites.
But when it comes down to brass tacks…
Church Hill started as an all white community. After the Civil War sections became mixed and eventually by the 1940s onwards was predominately if not all black. In many communities the “east end” is where the blacks have settled (or at least where I grew up). By the 1960s it was basically a slum with many houses falling down and boarded up until the 1980s when whites started to come back and restore the oldest and largest of the houses since they could buy them on the cheap. At that time there was an uproar by the blacks about “gentrification” related to this invasion. You still have old rooted black families in Church Hill who maintain the old mindset. They resist change and want their community to stay predominately black which includes not selling off long held properties no matter their condition or price offered.
So you end up with a 2-fold situation. A part of Richmond that at one time was mostly all black which is slowly changing to predominately white again and blacks do not like this so try any way possible to keep a stronghold within the community. This in turn affects progress in the housing situation and stifles the initiative to rehabilitate and restore the remainder of Church Hill to its original 19th century glory .
So it does essentially boils down to black and white and the neighborhood as a whole. If you don’t have a populace that can co-exist, you end up with segregation and that also affects schools, businesses, etc… not just historic buildings.
Eric
“Hate to boil it down to black & white but gentrification is just that blacks are moved out whites move in. This is a major issue for Church Hill and I suspect that this has something to do with this anonymous petition.â€
Pretty strong statement. This is something where I would like to see demographic support. Also, how are “blacks .. moved out� I’d like a full understanding of where he is coming from with this, too.
One of the reasons that I like the East End is that it is racially diverse. I feel like the statements made by Brother Manifest indicate that some folks might feel like there is some kind of turf war going on. I’m not sure if that’s true or not; regardless, that perception could have a great amount of power in this situation.
I wish that there could be more focus on commonalities as humans. What do folks need – all folks? Food, love, clothes, etc. How are we alike? We all love our grandmas, we all want someone to care about us. Pretty simple stuff.
I would like to see a representative that comes with an open mind, dedicated to the forgotten skill of listening. A person with a focus on service and empathy. I don’t want a patsy to the administration or a plant, no matter how awesome of a woman she may be – and it sounds like she is.
I’m just so, so tired of the divisive rhetoric, and it doesn’t bode well for Ms. Newbille to be associated with it, in my eyes. I want someone who will fully dedicate themselves to the safety of kids in the area schools, someone who has some current investment in the area, someone who is behind Historic Preservation where applicable, and someone who will be hands-on involved with crime eradication and gang activity. I don’t care what ethnic background they come from. And I don’t care what ethnic background the people who made this mess come from, either. There are a million different oipinions of that, and the bottom line is, who cares? Get in the present tense, Richmond. Just do it already.
The fact is that the messy aspects of our neighborhood can be cleaned up whenever we are ready. It’s far from impossible.
Let’s stop with the us-against-them, and get in a unified solution. That attitude is so crusty and hopeless that it’s ridiculous.
Also to add to my above comments…
As long as you have a community that is fired up by city officials who think the same way, there is little room for “change” so what happens? Living conditions continue to worsen to the point of houses being condemned and people evicted. Attitudes and Morals take on either a high of “black power” or a low of “suppression” and little middle ground.
I have yet to see (unless someone can cite one) – a black contractor come in to Church Hill and do a “correct” and total restoration on one of the old 19th century houses. If they have show me and more power to them and hope they can do more. But all I see are people living in borderline condemned housing year after year and at some point they too will be displaced because of the lack of funds to fix it up on their own. If you want change I believe on the simpelist level it should begin with housing and everything else will follow. But in a protected area like Church Hill, you have standards to follow so not to loose the historic fabric so do them right the first time.
PS… I hope I am not the only person who feels that at least half of the black population (if not more) voted Obama into office only because of race… to vindicate equality. I have seen it posted about, advertised within black communities, and even spoken of. I feel this may widen the racial barrier gap rather than close it in many communities like Church Hill. This is my own personal feelings – your mileage may vary.
Eric
I looked at the names of the persons who signed the petition. How many of them live in the 7th District?
I hear there is a split happening over Cynthia Newbill. Ellen Robertson is publicly supporting her, while telling other people that she should not be appointed because she just moved back into the district. Don’t you think the closed session council discussions on this appoitment are going to be interesting, since Newbill moved back into the district across the street from Betty Squire?
Obama was elected because he was the superior candidate. I do not care if some people voted for him simply because he is black, any more than I care that some people voted for Bush/McCain simply because he was white.
This time the best candidate won. Black and white separatists did to get over it.
Obama is both Black and White and he is the superior candidate.
Newbille is not. She moved into this district to do the behest of McQuinn, Marsh and Jones. By going along with this effort, she is demonstrating her LACK of integrity and honesty. Any Council member that goes along with this game is will be demonstrating their LACK of integrity as well.
Black and white separatists NEED to get over it.
Let us choose our leaders based on their intelligence and integrity.
post 12, eric, in an effort towards transparency, could you please disclose that your are a freak? exactly who do think built all of these old historic buildings that your heart bleeds for. without the benefit of any research i know a number of good contractors that do work to nps standards, but i am not exactly sure what your “correct” standards are. and of those good contractors some happen to be black which has nothing to do with good or bad contractors. what jack leg painter ripped you off? spokesman for historic gated neighborhoods.
Joe, once again you’ve said it all. Thanks.
This is not about White or Black, it is about inclusiveness versus exclusiveness. It is making sure we sure the needs of the whole community, not just a small minority within Church Hill.
Mostly, I think it is about judging appointments for their suitability for the job. Let’s make sure we make these judgements on visible abilities rather than out of fear of some political conspiracy.
So for the sake of discussion, should council appoint a candidate who has pledged not to run in the fall, or is that irrelevant? Should council consider a position on a single issue, such as the Shockoe Center proposal, or is thought process and work habit more important? How about CAR standards vs. property rights? Is length of time in the District a qualification? Lots of things to discuss other than race but with Richmond’s history, it is the 900 pound gorilla in the room.
Now, it is about whether City Council will demonstrate the intelligence and integrity to resist a ham-handed attempt to move an individual into the district for the express purpose of securing for that individual — who has not heretofore been a legal resident of the 7th District — an appointment to City Council to represent the people of that District.
No matter how you dance this one out, it is wrong. City Council should not appoint anyone to that seat who has not been a resident of the 7th District for at least one year — not because there is any legal restriction in place, but because there is something morally and intellectually repugnant to anyone manipulating the system in this manner.
Betty Squire the next 7th District Person.
bill2
When I speak of a “correct” restoration I will direct you to the Old House Authority’s website.
Okay, I didn’t read all the comments, so please forgive me if I am repeating something, but this petition IS NOT anonymous. It clearly states it is sponsored by Citizens For A Better Richmond and written by Duron Chavis (duronchavis@gmail.com).
The racial tension is sad, I have an upcoming interview and the research that i have done seem to support the fact that Richmond may have a serious race issue.