I want the citizens of Richmond to remember back to when a former City Council was in office and corporate Richmond would not work with them. New businesses were locating in the county. The City of Richmond was not growing.

In 1994, a new City Council was elected that included Tim Kaine, Viola Baskerville and others. Corporate Richmond worked well with them.

Vote for a mayor who can move the city in the right direction and keep it growing. Vote for Jack Berry, a man with proven leadership.

The state of our schools is at stake. Do you want the City of Richmond to be another Petersburg?

Also, vote Democratic in November for the Clinton-Kaine ticket. Our future is at stake.

VIESTA WASHINGTON

Richmond

Voters should be wary of aspiring office holders promising quick fixes or easy answers to long-standing problems. Richmond makes the most progress when leaders genuinely establish relationships with and listen to the community and obtain the support needed to sustain long-term efforts.

To make any change in Richmond requires enormous persistence, dedication and the ability to work with all kinds of people over a period of years.

Richmond City Council member Ellen Robertson of the 6th District has shown all those qualities to the benefit of not just her district but the entire city. Without her dedicated effort, we would not have an Affordable Housing Trust Fund or an Office of Community Wealth Building, the city’s new agency dedicated to fighting poverty.

In each case, Councilwoman Robertson worked with citizens and the city administration, as well as her City Council colleagues, to build strong support. She understood that doing one’s homework on the front end helps avoid distracting political controversy on the back end.  

It’s easy to spot problems in this city. It’s harder to develop genuine community-driven solutions. Councilwoman Robertson has been doing just that for more than a decade.

THAD WILLIAMSON

Richmond

The writer is the former director of the Office of Community Wealth Building.