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Election Guide 2009

10/26/2009 6:25 AM by

In addition to the state-wide races, on November 3rd voters in the East End will be electing a new city council representative for the 7th District and selecting a House of Delegates representative for either the 70th or the 71st districts. Also on the ballot will be uncontested races for Commonwealth’s Attorney, Sherif, and Treasurer.

This page will be updated until election day. (Last update: 10/31/09 10:33AM.) Please post any comments, questions, or suggestions below.

See also: ALL POSTS TAGGED “ELECTION”


City Council 7th District

KENNEY - POWELL - BOND - LEWIS - ROBINSON - NEWBILLE

Richmond 7th District

There are 6 candidates running in this special election to fill the seat left vacant when Delores McQuinn was elected to the House of Delegates last January. The 6 candidates were recorded at the CHA Candidates Forum on October 16 at the Robinson Theater.

Ronald Bond

A 30+ year resident of the 7th District, Bond is a 1978 graduate of Maggie L. Walker HS, has a degree in Real Estate Business from J.S. Reynolds Community College, and studied psychology at VCU without obtaining a degree. A perenial candidate, Bond ran for the council seat in 1992 and for the school board seat in 2006 and 2008 (winning 6.6% and 11.6% of the vote respectively). A September 2006 interview with richmond.com puts on display Bond’s sometimes fractured approach to the English language. In that interview he cites his main qualification as “a genuine concern”, and goes on to say that:

I am a leader. I have a gift in problem-solving which is a skill. I would use my business knowledge in listening to people’s needs and problems, then finding a solution.

Clarence Kenney

INTERVIEW TO POST THIS WEEK

Was fired from job with City Parks & Rec due to conflict with candidacy. A July 2008 article on richmond.com states that “Kenney is a recreational supervisor, who is studying management at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College”. Kenney first ran for public office, seeking this same seat last year against Delores McQuinn (and took 20% of the vote). In the same article, when asked to explain why voters should choose him, Kenney explained that:

“I have lived here all my life,” says Kenney, “and I would be more honest, more sincere, more creative and more available.”

Deanna Lewis

[CHPN Interview 9/11/09] [website] [email]

47, self employed business woman; professional artist and renovator of homes. Lewis has been in the area for two years. HS grad, some college. Grew up in Detroit, in VA since 1982. Sees the key issues of the 7th as Urban blight, poverty and education. A supporter of the Union Hill O&H District. Opposed to Echo Harbor, proposes a land swap. Has called the Oakwood Heights decision “a political decision” rather than one based on the facts.

The next three years will be very formative for the District and “responsible development” is a key piece of that. My goal is to bring a prosperous Urban Gentrification based community to the 7th District at the heart of the Richmond.

Cynthia Newbille

[CHPN Interview 10/25/09] [website] [email]

Acting executive director of the United Way’s Family Resource Center on 24th Street, previously served as chief of staff to then-City Manager Calvin D. Jamison and managed the city’s East District Initiative. Graduated Armstrong High School, holds a bachelor’s in psychology/linguistucs and a masters in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and is close to completion on her doctoral degree in public policy and administration at VCU. Previous positions include a stint as the executive director of the National Black Women’s Health Project and the director of the Head Start program at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Compton, California. Says of Echo Harbor:

“Any project that would preclude the view and/or public access to that valuable resource is not the project for us to consider.”

Garry Powell

[CHPN Interview 10/31/09] [website] [email]

Human-resources coordinator for Patient First.

Robin Robinson

[CHPN Interview 9/21/09] [website] [email]

Instructional assistant at Metropolitan Day School.A resident of the district for more than a decade, Robinson is a single mother of a teenage son. Former marketing teacher at Armstrong High School, has previously worked in retail sales. Describes herself as “pro-development and pro-redevelopment”, but comes out quickly against the Echo Harbor development. In what is shaping up as a referendum on the local legacy and political interconnectedness of Delores McQuinn, Henry Marsh, et al, Robinson walks a fine line of casting herself as the the viable independent candidate without too stridently denying the influence and impact of Senator Marsh. When asked directly about the notion that there is a replacement candidate already chosen by the powers-that-be, Robinson smiles and replies in metaphore that while she has great respect for the cultivator and what has been grown, that is “time for a new garden”.


70th House of Delegates

house_70-420x352

Henry Otis Brown

INTERVIEW TO POST THIS WEEK

[website]

Independent. Lawyer, former college professor. Cites need for “affordable health care, crime reduction and providing your youth with a better educational system”, desire to encourage entrepreneurship and small business growth.

Delores McQuinn

[website]

Democrat. Cites work “to improve public education, to care for the elderly and less fortunate, and to make our communities a better place to live and work”. Chairman of the Slave Trail Commission. Former 7th District School Board representative, former City Council 7th District representative, elected to House of Delegates in January 2009 in a special election to fill seat left vacant with Jones’ election to Richmond mayor.


71st House of Delegates

Screen shot 2009-10-25 at 7.02.45 PM

Jennifer McClellan

[website]

Democrat with broad community support. Lawyer for Verizon Communications. Elected to the seat in 2005. $125,703 raised as of 10/25/09. Declares top priorities to be “supporting our public schools through better pay for our teachers, smaller class sizes for our children, and increased school construction and renovation funding, helping small businesses thrive in the Virginia economy, and ensuring our public safety officials have the tools and training they need to keep Virginians safe.”

Silver Persinger

[website]

An engaged citizen with no ties to either party. City Council candidate in 2006, State Senate candidate in 2007. $165 raised as of 10/25/09. Publishes Richmond City Council Reporter & Telegraph. Calls for: open government, expanding democracy, citizen control of government, more freedom, more humane government, limiting corporate influence in our government.


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