Snow in Poggio

I received this picture on Thursday from my counterpart in our Italian Sister City, Mayor Marco Martini of Poggio a Caiano. This is the beautiful Medici villa in their city center. Poggio looks a lot like Cville this week!

Unsolicited & Unpaid Advertisement for a Good Local Builder

The construction business is hurting these days and many small "mom and pop" contractors are struggling mightily. Since I have a bit of a bully pulpit with this here blog, I thought I'd do my part to support one small businessman here in our community, Mr. Charlie Rogers. This fall, Charlie and his crew built a new addition on my Belmont home. Charlie does good work and pays close attention to detail. He is quite affordable (I had a very limited budget for my project) and very easy to work with. The project was completed on time and I couldn't have been more satisfied with the outcome. Though Charlie is not a "green builder" per se he was happy to incorporate a number of green features (including a high-efficiency heating and air system, dual-flush toilet, eco-friendly insulation, etc.) at no additional cost. So if you're looking for someone to do a small or large construction/renovation project at your home or business, please give Charlie a call at (434) 981-1738 and I'm sure he'd be willing to come out and give you a quote. Feel free to tell him I sent you. Charlie's a native of this area and does most (if not all) of his subcontracting with other locally-owned firms, so your dollars will be recycled right here in our community.

Mustache 4 Kids

We are now entering the final week of the "Mustaches 4 Kids" competition and as you can faintly see in the photo below, my wooly red caterpillar of a mustache is coming along. We "growers" are supposed to be soliciting donations in honor of our 'staches, donations that go to charities that help kids -- in my case, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge. If you'd like to make a small (tax-deductible) contribution to that cause, please click here. It sure would help me feel like this whole 'stache thing has been worth it. :-) Thank you.

Befores and Afters

This was a weekend of personal transformations. On Friday my new home addition passed final City inspection, bringing to an end 4 months of living in a construction zone. On Sunday I decided to take the "Mustaches for Kids" plunge so shaved off my beard; I now have until Dec. 18 to grow a sweet 'stache for charity. And on Saturday...well, check out what happened to me and Sarah on Saturday, among all the before/after pics below.





















Chloe, during and after construction




















I'm told I now look 12 years old.

She said yes!

Join the Dialogue

From Assistant City Manager Maurice Jones:

Dear friend,

Just a few hours of your time can change Charlottesville forever. The City's Dialogue on Race initiative aims to engage Charlottesville area residents from all walks of life in a thoughtful, constructive discussion of race relations.

By utilizing the study circle model of dialogue, the initiative will increase the understanding of our historical and cultural differences as we work toward a more united future.

Each small group will include 10-12 people and two trained volunteer facilitators. The small groups will meet six times over a two month period beginning in January of 2010, during which they will get to know each other, identify racial barriers that currently exist in our community and provide possible solutions to those issues.

We need everyone from every segment of our community to participate in this project. Join the Dialogue on Race either as a participant or volunteer facilitator by registering online at www.charlottesville.org/dialogue or by requesting a hard copy form by calling 434-970-3101.

And please join us at the Dialogue on Race Kick-Off event at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville High School on Saturday December 5th from 10:00 a.m. to noon to learn more about this exciting project.

My New Job

As of Nov. 1, I went to full-time in my new job as Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge. Right now we're in rebuilding mode but expect to hear a lot more from us very soon. Thanks to Chris Graham of Augusta Free Press for the positive write-up last week:

http://augustafreepress.com/2009/11/06/afp-focus-norris-helps-big-brothers-big-sisters-turn-the-corner/

The Daily Progress covered the initial announcement of my hiring back in late September:

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/news/local/article/norris_named_chief_of_mentoring_program/45915/

Heck of a Fortnight

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur, and so much has transpired in the news that some important and interesting developments in the life of our City have not gotten the attention they surely deserved.

For example, on Nov. 2 Charlottesville announced the largest expansion of City parkland since 1987 (thanks to the largest private donation of land to the people of Charlottesville since 1974), expanding Forest Hills Park by 20% in one fell swoop. Thank you to Charlie Armstrong and his colleagues at Southern Development for making that happen; stay tuned for news on more parkland acquisition opportunities in the very near future.

That same night, Cville City Council unanimously approved Winneba, Ghana, as our fourth Sister City. A very special unannounced guest joined us all the way from Ghana for the public hearing -- our friend Joe Baami, the chair of Winneba's own Sister City Commission. What a wonderful surprise!

Also on Nov. 2, City Council approved the formal agreement establishing the new Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP), which aims to produce 20-40% energy savings in 30-50% of Charlottesville-Albemarle homes and businesses in the coming decade (and will create many new "green jobs" in the process). Huge potential there.

The next day was Election Day. A big night for our City Democratic candidates, and a big night for Republican candidates almost everywhere else. (Interesting piece of vainglorious trivia: now that City Council elections are held concurrently with state/federal elections, more voters are participating in the selection of City Councilors than ever before; as a result, my 6,300 votes on Nov. 3 were the most ever received by a candidate for Charlottesville City Council. It's a record that's likely to be broken in the not-too-distant future, but for now it at least gives me marginally more standing when I try to pull rank with my children. My cat, on the other hand, seems entirely unimpressed.)

Last Tuesday, Nov. 10, the Charlottesville Planning Commission gave a welcome and gratifying "thumbs up" to two separate projects that I have helped to shepherd for several years now. One vote granted approval of a site plan for the new YMCA next to Charlottesville High School, and the other vote granted approval of a special use permit for the new SRO (Single Room Occupancy) supportive housing apartments for the homeless, on 4th St. NW. Once their doors are opened to the public, both of these facilities will positively affect the lives of many, many local residents in the years and decades to come.

Last Wednesday, Nov. 11, the CRHA (Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority) Redevelopment Committee met to get a status report on the Master Planning process for revitalization of our public housing neighborhoods in Charlottesville. We're about 3/4 of the way through the Master Planning process, and hundreds of public housing residents have been involved in it some form or fashion (by attending community workshops/charettes, participating in site visits to other redeveloped communities, completing resident surveys, taking an urban design class for students at CHS, etc.). We are committed to this NOT becoming another example of top-down urban renewal like Vinegar Hill, and our friends at PHAR are doing an excellent job of keeping everyone accountable to the Residents Bill of Rights that CRHA, PHAR, and City Council all approved before we started work on Master Planning.

Last week, the City announced that we had ended FY'09 with a surplus, despite the woeful economic climate and despite Council's decision not to increase the property tax rate last year. Chalk it up to City departments tightening their belts and our Commissioner of Revenue and Treasurer's offices doing an excellent job in collecting taxes owed to the City. One more reason we continue to be one of the only cities in the country to enjoy the highest possible bond rating from the leading bond agencies.

Tomorrow, Nov. 16, City Council will be asked to give the green light to a major environmental improvement initiative that too has been years in the making -- the $3.2 million Meadow Creek Stream Restoration Project. It's one of the largest ecological restoration projects in our City's history and I'm excited to see it moving forward.

That's just a sampling of things that have been going on here in Charlottesville, Virginia the last couple of weeks. Heck of a fortnight indeed.

***I would be remiss if I did not put in one more plug for this important effort, which has largely overshadowed much of everything else in Cville the last two weeks. Let's hope it ends with a positive resolution.

End the War in Afghanistan

The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice and other local groups are sponsoring a series of events this week to push for an end to the war in Afghanistan:

Thursday Nov. 19: Anti-War Demonstration, 4:00-5:30pm at the Federal Building (corner of Water St. and McIntire Rd.)

Thursday Nov. 19: Speakers Forum, 7:00 pm at the Albemarle County Office Building (401 McIntire Rd.)

Friday Nov. 20: Food and Culture of Afghanistan, 7:00 pm at Random Row Bookstore (315 W. Main St.)

Sunday Nov. 22: Screening and Discussion of "Rethink Afghanistan," 7:00 pm at T.J. Unitarian Church (yellow house to left of the church at 717 Rugby Rd.)

Glad to see this happening here in Cville.

For more info.: www.charlottesvillepeace.org

Thank You Charlottesville

To all of the Charlottesville residents who voted in yesterday's election, to all of the supporters who donated time, energy and/or money to our campaign, to all of my fellow candidates, to my family and friends, I offer you all a huge word of thanks. While I am a bundle of mixed emotions today due to some of yesterday's other results, I am humbled by the trust you've shown in me and I hope to sustain your trust in the years ahead.

10,265 residents of Charlottesville cast a ballot yesterday. Typically, around 10-15% of people who vote in presidential or gubernatorial elections do not vote for down-ballot contests, like the one for City Council. If that pattern held true yesterday (which we know it did for other down-ballot positions), we can estimate that around 9,000 people participated in this year's City Council election, each of them voting for up to 2 candidates. Of that group,

* 6,300 people (or approx. 70% of voters) cast one of their votes for me
* 5,083 people (approx. 57%) cast one of their votes for Kristin Szakos
* 3,293 people (approx. 37%) cast one of their votes for Bob Fenwick
* 1,214 people (approx. 14%) cast one of their votes for Paul Long
* 382 people (approx. 4%) cast a write-in vote (presumably, many for Andrew Williams)

In the race for City Sheriff, James Brown won with 62% of the vote vs. 38% for Paul Best.

Kristin, James and I have each been running for 9 or 10 months, first for the citywide primary in May and then for the last 6 months as a general election ticket ("Your Charlottesville"). It was a long haul, but the destination was worth the journey. I am looking forward to serving with both of them in the years ahead.

Daily Progress recaps: "Szakos, Norris Get Easy Victories"; "Brown Wins Sheriff Post"

below: James, Kristin and I at the Election Night party @ Siips, photo by Jim Nix; following, Election Day portrait by Rick Sincere (http://ricksincerethoughts.blogspot.com/2009/11/election-day-2009-photos.html)

A Personal Appeal Regarding Tuesday's Elections

Dear Friends,

Election Day is almost here and I hope you are planning to come out and vote on Tuesday!

In addition to Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner and Steve Shannon, all of whom need our strong support, I am sharing the ballot on Nov. 3 with my friends Kristin Szakos (for City Council) and James Brown (for City Sheriff). As we enter the last few days of this campaign, I wanted to share with you why I feel so strongly that Kristin and James are our best choices on Tuesday. (And no, it's not just because they're Democrats.)

First and foremost, Kristin Szakos understands that Charlottesville has many challenges before it and she is committed to working through those challenges in a thoughtful, diligent, creative and collaborative manner. Kristin is the ONLY other candidate in this year's Council campaign who's come forward with positive, constructive ideas for addressing the achievement gap and reducing the dropout rate in our schools, for making Charlottesville a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly community, for strengthening the voice of neighborhoods in City decision-making, for bringing the community together around new and better approaches to reducing poverty, for encouraging citizen participation, for making City Council more accountable to our residents, etc. Kristin is the ONLY other candidate on Tuesday's ballot who's said she'll support the establishment of a dedicated fund for affordable housing in the City budget; if she wins, she'll be the critical 3rd vote we've needed to finally pass this important measure. And, along with independent candidate Paul Long, Kristin is the ONLY other candidate who has come forward with specific ideas for making our public transportation system more efficient and user-friendly so that we can reduce congestion on our roads and improve our environment. I may not agree with Kristin on 100% of the issues, nor should I, but I have full confidence that she will tell the truth and keep focused on what's best for all of Charlottesville and not just narrow special interests.

Anyone who knows Kristin, as I have for some years, is not surprised by the positive, issues-oriented, community-based campaign she has run this year. Kristin is an accomplished author, journalist, community activist, PTO President, non-profit professional, foster parent and mother. She mobilized thousands of volunteers from across Central Virginia last year to help get Barack Obama elected President, and has been an energetic leader in the effort to mobilize citizen support for meaningful health care reform in Congress. In other words, she knows how to bring people together and she knows how to get things done. That's exactly the kind of leader we need on City Council.

For these reasons and more, please come out and vote for Kristin Szakos for City Council on Tuesday. And while you're at it, please vote for me too. :-)

As for James Brown -- James has impressed me mightily during his campaign for Sheriff. He won a convincing victory in the May primary election, but didn't let it go to his head. Instead, he set out to meet with as many people as possible (both he and Kristin have knocked on hundreds of doors the last few months) and let them know his vision for the Sheriff's office. James grew up in Charlottesville and has ably served our community for over 15 years in the criminal justice field, as a police officer, pretrial investigator and probation officer. I know he will do great honor to the Office of Sheriff. He has specific ideas for building on Cornelia Johnson's outstanding legacy as our current Sheriff and intends to use his position as an elected official to influence kids in a positive direction. He also plans to "green" the Sheriff's office by phasing in hybrid vehicles, to reduce fuel usage and save taxpayers' money. Last but certainly not least, James is a genuinely good and decent and compassionate human being, which should count for something in politics. His campaign slogan says it all: "With respect, communication and diversity we can all progress."

*** Do you have 5 minutes you can spare in the next couple of days? Please forward this message (or better, one of your own) to any friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members who live in Charlottesville, and encourage them to get out and vote on Tuesday. If you're on Facebook, Twitter, etc., you can do the same there. Feel free to point folks to our website, www.YourCharlottesville.org, for more info.

*** Do you have 1 hour you can spare on Tuesday? We need folks to hand out sample ballots at the polls and/or make reminder calls to favorable voters. Please contact Jim Nix at jim-nix@comcast.net or (434) 987-3321 to sign up.

Thanks for all the support you've given me over the years, and for any help you can give over the next few days. And if you're free on Tuesday evening, we'll be gathering with volunteers from all the Democratic campaigns at Siips on the Downtown Mall from 7pm onward to await the election results, and hopefully celebrate victory -- come join us!

Best,

Dave Norris

Kristin, James and I with Congressman Tom Perriello

Daily Progress Endorses Norris for Re-Election

I was pleased to receive the endorsement of the Daily Progress today. Below is their editorial, in full:

Norris Earns Council Return

Charlottesville needs Dave Norris’ experience on Council.

Mr. Norris has become seasoned in his first term in office, including his current stint as mayor. He has a broad view of the city’s strengths and challenges, and is particularly qualified to address several of the major issues facing Charlottesville.

Take the issue of affordable housing, which has been one of his main themes in both campaigns. Specifically this year, Mr. Norris notes that the city is facing the complete revitalization of its aging public housing stock. The effort will be both expensive and fraught with emotional pitfalls, since the city’s (and nation’s) last major effort at reinventing low-income housing brought us “urban renewal,” the scars of which still linger.

Mr. Norris and council have already taken steps to alleviate residents’ fears by involving them in the planning process. Mr. Norris’ background as a nonprofit leader with housing expertise will help the city continue to negotiate this difficult path.

Mr. Norris is also well acquainted with the details of many other critical issues, from the need to upgrade outdated sewer and stormwater lines to the problem of school dropout rates and achievement gaps to the necessity of ensuring adequate water supply for the city and the larger community.

On several issues, including the controversial one of dredging the South Rivanna Reservoir and/or raising the Ragged Mountain Dam, Mr. Norris has shown himself capable of listening to wise counsel and taking into account evolving information. This is an important quality in a public servant.

Dave Norris has proved his mettle, and he deserves to be returned to Charlottesville City Council.

Newspaper Ad/Flyer for Norris-Szakos-Brown Campaign

Here's the full-page newspaper ad that we're running this week -- feel free to print out and post at your place of work or on your favorite local bulletin board!

http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/2419659_cr6cx/YourCharlottesville_Newspaper_Ad.pdf

New Radio Ad for Norris-Szakos-Brown Campaign

Check out our hot-off-the-presses radio ad for the Norris-Szakos-Brown campaign -- to begin airing tomorrow. Many thanks to Cle Logan of 92.7 KISS-FM for lending his smooth voice and good name to the cause! As always, for more info.: www.YourCharlottesville.org

"Charlottesville Candidates Need a Broad Vision"

I used to serve on the Piedmont Housing Alliance Board of Directors with Helen Flamini and have come to know her even better through her impressive work with the exciting McIntire Botanical Garden project. I was honored to see the Letter to the Editor from Helen that was published in today's Daily Progress:

City Council elections will be here on Nov. 3. There are many issues confronting the citizens of Charlottesville in the days ahead, and it will take dedicated and informed leaders to meet those challenges.

With so many important issues facing the City Council candidates, this would be the wrong time to elect a candidate whose entire focus is on a single polarizing matter. What is needed is a candidate who is focused on all the important issues affecting the city: affordable housing, transportation, education, recreation, environmental sustainability, revitalization of public housing, fiscal responsibility and McIntire Park.

Dave Norris has worked toward addressing those issues as well as continuing to promote and support the goals from City Council's Vision Statement 2025 that will continue to make Charlottesville a great place to live for all its citizens.

Innovative and thoughtful ideas to improve community representation are but one example of the leadership role exemplified by Dave Norris. City voters should re-elect Dave Norris and elect Kristin Szakos to City Council, as they work to ensure continued progress in making Charlottesville the great city it already is.

Helen Flamini

Women Rally for Szakos

WCAV CBS19 ran an excellent piece on the "Women for Szakos" Rally earlier today on the Downtown Mall. Check it out!

Strengthening Charlottesville's Neighborhoods

Yesterday, Kristin Szakos and I unveiled several proposals for strengthening the voice of Charlottesville's neighborhoods in City decision-making. For the full text of the proposals, click here: http://yourcharlottesville.org/neighborhoods.php. As with our bike/ped proposals from a couple of weeks ago, we cannot claim original authorship of any of these ideas -- they were all gleaned from conversations we've had with neighborhood leaders across the City over the course of this campaign. Kristin and I are both committed to more meaningful and proactive engagement between City government and Charlottesville residents in the decisions that affect their (your) lives.

Guess Who Said It? "To not support a YMCA would be a disgrace to Charlottesville."

Wow. Here's a fascinating nugget of information unearthed by some intrepid researcher at the Piedmont Family YMCA, as told in a Letter to the Editor by YMCA President Kurt Krueger in today's Daily Progress (emphasis mine):

I am writing in response to the Sept. 20 Daily Progress article "What did McIntire really want?"

It seems that a small but vocal minority opposing the building of the YMCA in McIntire Park have spent a lot of time and energy attempting to leverage language contained in a deed for a small part of the park (and not even the part on which the Y will be built) to argue that McIntire would not want the Y built in the park. Perhaps a truer indication of Mr. McIntire's desire can be gleaned from the fact that he was a member of the YMCA Board of Directors in the 1920s. He is quoted in the Nov. 26, 1923, board minutes as follows:

"Mr. Paul G. McIntire spoke earnestly to the effect that to not support a YMCA would be a disgrace to Charlottesville. He further stated that Charlottesville could raise money for anything it wanted, and that the failure of Charlottesville to maintain a YMCA would go far and wide, and that a YMCA was a necessity for a city of this size."

Building a Y in McIntire Park would fulfill the dream and vision Mr. McIntire had for Charlottesville. We look forward to realizing this vision and providing all members of our community, regardless of age or economic status, with the kinds of facilities and programs offered by the 2,700-plus YMCAs in the U.S.

Kurt J. Krueger
Albemarle County

Toward a More Bike-Friendly and Pedestrian-Friendly Charlottesville

Today, Kristin Szakos and I unveiled a set of proposals (based on input we solicited from local citizens and bicycle/pedestrian advocacy groups) to make Charlottesville a more bicycle-friendly and pedestrian-friendly community. This is an issue that Kristin has a real passion for and I'm looking forward to her leadership in this arena. For more info., see http://www.yourcharlottesville.org/bikesafety.php.

Batten Students Tackle Cville's Affordable Housing Challenge

Last week I had the honor of participating in the opening symposium for this year's Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at UVa. This year's class of Batten students are taking on a semester-long project to educate themselves on the issue of affordable housing in Charlottesville and explore ways that we as a community can better meet this urgent need. I was quite impressed with the students I met and very much look forward to seeing what ideas they come up with. Media-Newswire.com has an article about my presentation, which gives a good overview of this multi-faceted problem and touches on some potential solutions -- click here to read it.

World Peace...and other 4th grade achievements

A few years ago, my son Eli and his 4th grade classmates had the great fortune of participating in Mr. John Hunter's "World Peace Game" at Venable Elementary School. A local filmmaker, Chris Farina, captured the experience for a documentary ("World Peace...and other 4th grade achievements") that's about to be released. Stay tuned -- click here for more info.

On a related note, from the Interfaith Cooperation Circle of Central Virginia:

Thousands of communities in countries around the world will celebrate their commitment to a more peaceful, just and sustainable world on International Peace Day. Locally, this celebration will take place on Monday, September 21, from 7:00 to 9:30 PM at The Unity Church, located at 2825 Hydraulic Rd, in the Charlottesville area. Performances will include peace-related music, stories, and poetry offered by people from our community, including some well-known talent. The event is co-hosted by the Interfaith Cooperation Circle of Central Virginia, a URI affiliate, and the Unity Church, along with several partners, in a local effort to create a world-wide culture of peace. Donations are welcome and will support awareness of interfaith cooperation locally and globally. For further information, see http://interfaithcooperation.org/events/