Open Forum

From South of the James

Just one week after the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Paul Williams gives credit to Chesterfield for out-stripping Henrico on racial inclusiveness in county leadership, the county’s School Board hired Dr. Marcus J. Newsome away from Newport News to head up the county’s schools. An African American, Newsome replaces Dr. Billy Cannaday, the county’s first black superintendent and Gov. Kaine’s choice to oversee the Commonwealth’s school. Well, well, well, I know that our county’s top leader has the last name “King,” but…

Seriously, this looks like another excellent hire who will continue down the path of high-quality leadership and high performance set forth by his predecessors and adding his own wrinkles. The county has one of the better school systems in the Commonwealth, which makes it a magnet for families moving into the region. Coming right after the Board of Supervisors made a great choice for the Midlothian District’s interim term, Chesterfield’s leaders seem to be on a nice run as of late.

From South of the James

In a move that probably raised a few eyebrows in these parts, The Times-Dispatch’s Michael Paul Williams gave a nod to Chesterfield’s apparently progressive record in municipal hiring. Contrasting the county’s experiences with the on-going controversy surrounding Henrico’s heavily-white government leadership, the Times-Dispatch columnist held that

“Jesse Mayes, Chesterfield County’s first black supervisor, gained his election in 1984 without the benefit of such a lawsuit. Today, 10 of the 88 senior managers in Chesterfield County are minorities, or 11.4 percent. Given Chesterfield’s smaller minority population, its hierarchy is more representative. They’ll deny it, but somewhere south of the James, folks are suppressing giggles. Chesterfield, despite surpassing Henrico in population, continues to sustain the most hits in the image war with its seemingly more sophisticated suburban cousin. We’ve kicked Chesterfield around quite a bit over the years — who could resist all the ammo they provided? But maybe we owe them an apology. Billy K. Cannaday Jr. was its school chief before his recent elevation to state superintendent of public instruction. Chesterfield also has a black deputy county administrator and assistant county administrator.”

In the course of the column, Williams manages to do two interesting things. First, he acknowledges that conventional wisdom about Chesterfield being a bastion of unrepentant lily-whiteness and minority exclusion is not quite on-point. The county has a diverse population, including upwards of 60,000 African Americans. Put another way, Chesterfield has one of the largest black communities within any individual jurisdiction in Virginia.

Second, Williams acknowledges that the RTD has been somewhat unkind to Chesterfield at times. The perception of an anti-Chesterfield bias is one that county leaders and residents have held for years, and Williams’ column validates their sentiments. With Chesterfield having some of the region’s highest household incomes, one has to wonder if this is an example of the RTD shifting its editorial and reporting policies to match its market. Maybe seeing 75,000 (and counting) homeowners as current and potential new readers makes picking on the region’s highest-wealth homes less appealing.

It will be interesting to see if the RTD’s product reflects Williams’ newfound revelations going forward. If so, it will signal real change; if not, it will just be status quo. At any rate, with this mea culpa in black and white, I can imagine Greg Pearson laughing up a storm somewhere in Chesterfield.

This blog is meant to be a central gathering place for online discussions among citizens and leaders in Chesterfield. As commentary here is not endorsed by the RGAC unless otherwise noted, Open Forum is designed as a place where writers and comment-makers can individually express their own personal views. To that end, the bulk of Chesterfield-centric writings featured on South of the James will be moving to Open Forum.

The reaction to the Barber posts, as well as, the political fallout that followed demonstrated that Chesterfield residents are itching for a place to tell it as they see it. Moving the county-focused blog postings to Open Forum will accomplish as least two goals. First, it will generate more readership for this blog, leveraging the existing following that South of the James has developed. Second, it will further reinforce the RGAC’s status as an organization accepting of diverse viewpoints as a means of shaping local government and raising the quality of life in Chesterfield County.

As a first step in this experiment, here are some links and abstracted titles from recent blog postings from South of the James regarding Chesterfield politics and policy.

Chesterfield Democratic Reactions to BOS Appointment Process
Midlothian District Politics
Local RTD reporters profile South of the James

RTD editorialist Barton Hinkle continues with his series of opinion columns on the heated transportation debate going on around the Commonwealth. This issue has direct relevance for Chesterfield as the Board of Supervisors seeks to find it way through the funding of necessary infrastructure improvements to accomodate rapid growth in Western Chesterfiend and redevelopment in the county’s Eastern end. Read Hinkle’s articles, and tell us what you think!

Transportation, Cont’d: State Can’t Fix Its Roads Without Changing How It Uses Land

Road Rage: Keep These Points in Mind As Transpo Debate Proceeds

The BOS appointed attorney Terri Cofer Beirne to the Midlothian District seat, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of previous representative Ed Barber. Beirne has an impressive professional and public service resume, and she is a Chesterfield native, to boot. We wish her all the best as she tackles the plethora of issues facing the county during her short tenure in office.

The RGA is taking a bit of a break for the month of July in recognition of many resident’s much-needed vacation plans. To that end, we will not have a July meeting. However, we will attempt to keep the blog updated with some regularity so that you can express yourselves on key issues that come up. Swing by this site from time to time if you can.

Thanks!
The RGAC Blogging Crew

Here are some recent articles of interest in the local media. Feel free to comment.

Style Weekly: Cloverleaf’s Re-tread

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Chesterfield Permit Renewal Advances

Chesterfield Observer: New high-concept residential and retail development detailed

Chesterfield Observer: A rare opening on the School Board

By Shelly Schuetz

On Wednesday, June 28 at 7:00pm, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing with VDOT officials on updating the 6 year Secondary Road Construction Plan for the period 2006-2007, 2011-2012 and also for the 2006/2007 FY Budget for Secondary Road Construction. At this time, it is at the discretion of the BOS Chairman whether the hearing for the above will occur before or after the regularly scheduled public hearing cases.

A copy of the proposed 6 year Plan will be available later today. If anyone is interested in knowing if the secondary roads in their area are included in the Plan; please contact Marleen Durfee, Executive Director.

As many of you are aware, Otterdale and Woolridge roads should be a priority in the Upper Swift Creek area; however, these roads are NOT included in the VDOT’s current 6 year Plan. We would greatly appreciate your attendance and participation at this very important public hearing on Wednesday, June 28 concerning the 6-year Transportation Plan for Chesterfield County.

Other RGA News:

1. Over the past few months several important zoning cases have been deferred and we will be informing you of their rescheduled public hearing dates as soon as we know them. Two important Zoning Cases located in the Matoaca District will be held on Wed, June 28, 2006 at 7:00pm. They included Reeds Landing Corporation Case #06SN0178 and Swift Creek Realty Case #06SN0163 (Greenwich Walk). Reeds Landing Case involves 350+ single family homes (near Matoaca Middle). Greenwich Walk Case involves 520 multi-family units in the Upper Swift Creek area located near Hull Street/Otterdale Road.

2. The draft summary to the Community Imaging Survey (CIS) is complete and we will be distributing the results of this survey shortly.

3. Notice: The Foxcroft Homeowner’s Association will hold a Press Conference at 9:00am on Friday, June 23 regarding the road entrance and sidewalk project to the new Cosby High School. The conference will be held at the end of Foxclub Parkway and the new road school entrance.

It is essential that as many individuals (children, too) attend this media conference to indicate to our county officials the importance of safety in designing both roads and sidewalks to a new school. We greatly appreciate your time and efforts with the RGA.

This is a reminder to members and the public that the next meeting of the RGAC is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, 2006 at 7pm at the Hampton Inn on Hull Street near Costco. Tonight’s guest speaker is Scott Flanigan of the Chesterfield County Office of Water Quality.