Slutzky ousted; Machine coasts to victory in City
Kristin Szakos and Dave Norris won in the city.FILE PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE
Democratic machine candidates Dave Norris and Kristin Szakos held off a challenge by independent Bob Fenwick to retain an all-Democratic Charlottesville City Council, according to data from State Elections Board. But in the more politically diverse Albemarle County, the data show that a political newcomer has upset the establishment by ousting Democratic incumbent David Slutzky.
Slutzky, who raised the most money, who aligned himself with the controversial Nature Conservancy plan to create a single mega-reservoir, and who has been serving as the Chairman of the Board, joins fellow Democrat Madison Cummings, the protege of retiring reservoir-backing Supervisor Sally Thomas, in going down to defeat.
The man who beat Slutzky, Republican Rodney Thomas, was the only party candidate who refused to sign a reservoir-backing pledge foisted on the candidates by Conservancy plan backers Liz Palmer and Don Wagner. The man who defeated Cummings is Republican Duane Snow.
Fenwick, who ran on a platform of "saving" McIntire Park from the YMCA and the Meadowcreek Parkway as well as his support of dredging the existing reservoir, nearly tripled the tally of the other independent on the Council ballot. Yet his 3,280 votes fell short of the 5,074 garnered by Szakos and the 6,292 for Norris.
"I can't remember the last time an independent set the agenda in a Council race like I did," said Fenwick as the final precincts were reporting. "We raised some important issues, and it's been a privilege to speak to the community."
18 comments
"Do you think last night’s Governor’s races don’t have national repercussions? This morning the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard announced she is running for the senate against Barbara Boxer in California."
um, that has actually been common knowledge for months now. not sure one has a single, solitary thing to do with the other.
but thanks for playing. now get back to watching Beck.
so Tom, a single driver in a 3000 pound car, getting 20MPG is not the very definition of living out a "self-centered and myopic view of the world" or worse yet, a "self-centered and myopic" treatment of the world? I am intrigued by this 1950s perspective. tell me more about the golden age of americanism!
realist: Why is always 'libs' this and 'libs' that? Liberals represent about 20% of the population, so obviously, Democrats bring in a lot more than just the supposed 'libs.' Deeds ran like a DINO, and a poor campaign to boot.
Stop blaming the libs for the fact that GOP has a single message " Only the little people should pay taxes, and government is meant to tell you how you live your life."
Americans have not forgotten the Bush years of declining real incomes. Even under Carter people who had jobs had INCREASING real incomes.
Hopefully this will at least bring some balance tothe debates that have been too long dominated by UVA types who decided to stay and save us from ourselves.
By your headline. I get the feeling you think you and your magazine are not part of the machine?? Now that is rich irony!
PS If I am misreading it and you are just celebrating the fact your "machine" won. Then sorry you can disregard the post.
Dirt Worshipper - Are you known by the name "Slutsky" in the non-blog world? The post sounds a lot like the voice of a former Supervisor. ("I'd be delighted if they both prove me wrong.")
It looks like Mr Slutzky is now free to try his hand at ousting Rob Bell in 2011, as he expressed in this 2008 quote: "We will pillory him in the press. Then we run against him and we kick his ass out. Not to be subtle."
...I guess Fenwick's platform (Park & Water) didn't have a lot of takers.
This article is misleading. Rodney Thomas was also for the water plan. It was biased reporting like this pushed by the editors of the Hook, and egged on by the Sierra Club, that helped cause the upset in the BOS race. The water issue had nothing to do with it. Now you're likely going to get the water plan, the parkway, and lots more paving in general.
Now, we in the county have to live with the practical results of this election. Regarding the county Thomas says he wants to: ââ?¬Å?Work with Ken [Boyd, a Republican] and we can change the cultures of the county and the board. We can give it a new look, a good look..." Anyone who knows Boyd's record on environmental and rural preservation issues should find that disturbing. So you hate roads and paving huh? Hollymeade Town Center happened under Thomas' watch (a "new look" we certainly don't need...) and now you very well might get to see more of that. I'd be delighted though if they both prove me wrong...
Dirt Worshipper - The fact that Hollymeade Town Center's parking lot is full signals that many of your fellow citizens don't agree with you. I know that you and your kind want to make rules that benefit your limited view of life, and that Mr. Slutsky is your patron saint, but the rest of the county is tired of your self-centered and myopic view of the world, and the election proves this.
It's amazing that Fenwick pulled in more votes than the ever-popular Maurice Cox and still lost by a considerable margin. However, I think he serves an a good example for people running as independents in the future. His run is also important in that he brought up issues that the Democratic Party didn't want brought up. He should have reminded the voters of who was in power when these problems became issues in the first place. Still, well done, Fenwick!
I'm surprised that someone hasn't done an article about the rise in voter participation in the city in the last 10 years. Who are these people and where have they been?
Thomas and Slutzky both back the MCP and the Conservancy's water supply proposal. Nothing's new there. It's p to Council to take possession of the property, thereby setting the course. I doubt if there's a cheerleader on Council to get that going. As I say after every city election, ââ?¬Å?The city voter has gotten exactly what he deserves.” A lot of city residents are happy that the gravy train will just keep rolling along.
Amazing that Republicans won every race in the region (but one) in which they had a candidate. Now if the C'ville city council could just celebrate diversity, you know, like they have in New Jersey!
When will politicians realize that most of us are fed up with both parties? Oh - I guess when we keep kicking them out of office.
Do you think last night's Governor's races don't have national repercussions? This morning the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard announced she is running for the senate against Barbara Boxer in California.
Libs never seem to get the msg. It will take voting more of them out of office next November. Perriello's days in office are numbered...so too are other libs who'll be voting for ObamaCare, Cap and Tax, etc. Good riddance.
I predict if the Democratic Party sells us out on the parkway, it will be the end of democratic hegemony in this city.
Councilors Taliaferro and Brown told voters they would not support the parkway unless the city’s conditions were met, but so far have acted otherwise. I hope they value their word more than Blake Caravati did his.
The parkway/interchange proceedings have been based not only on broken promises, but also on a lie; that Charlottesville agreed to build a parkway without an interchange, and that this road will be there before construction starts on the interchange.
Charlottesville explicitly rejected this at-grade version of the parkway, and the actual plan is for VDOT to build a parkway which ââ?¬â??without the interchange- would end in a field 775 feet away from the Route 250 Bypass
This falsehood forms the foundation of the argument that Federal money can be spent on the interchange without the rest of the parkway having to comply with the U.S. laws that come with funding. The lie also serves as false premise from which to determine the need for, impacts of, and feasible alternatives to the interchange.
75 million for the parkway would be the most efficient way we could possibly spend our taxes to promote county sprawl and traffic through the city.
She did say ââ?¬Å?Nay”. It remains to be seen if Ms. Szakos will align with the Democratic City Councilors who act like Republican County Supervisors, or make good with Mayor Norris and Councilor Edwards as a new generation of Democrats who can be trusted.
The parkway is the ultimate Councilor litmus test ââ?¬â?? the worst you could do to the city, but what the powers that be want most. To stop it, City Council only has to tell the truth.
I've stopped believing what comes out of City Hall a while back. How often do the residents of Charlottesville have to catch city officials in lies and half-truths before they catch on. I question everything.
'Bout time we got rid of some of dem yankee Democrat no good carpet baggers.... and put in sum real talented home grown businessmen and Republicans. People with some smarts and tax saving abilities to make Albemarle Co. decent to live in once again. Democrats never met a program they didn't like or didn't fund. Snow and Thomas will do some real budget crunching for us all. I can't wait to see the staffers start to sweat and to be uneasy in their chairs as the new guys start to make them all accountable and to try to make some reasonable sense when they do our county business for us all. God bless Rodney and Mr. Snow... yes and the Independent too!
You think they'll number crunch the water plan too ? Problem is, half their constituents don't pay water and sewer bills, and the Albemarle County Service Authority is stacked with those folks. Crozet and Scottsville, even though they wouldn't get a drop of new water from this plan, will have to see their water and sewer bills rise as well, in order to pay for the $200 million dollar I-64 hugging new reservoir at Ragged Mt. and no route/no cost pipeline to fill it. Interesting when it looked like the W. By-pass would come near the Reservoir at South Fork the supervisors screamed foul --too dangerous to have a road near our main water supply, and now those same supervisors want a road on top of, what will be our only water supply, if they get their way. Hope these new Republicans have common sense as well as financial sense and kill this plan and start dredging ASAP !
And the supes want a water pipeline partly on the W. Bypass route but not the beginnings of a road from the 250W parallel to 29N to lessen traffic count on 29N.