Support Dems Huja, Galvin on Aug. 20

By: Kay Slaughter | Charlottesville
Published: August 14, 2011

I support Satyendra Huja and Kathy Galvin for City Council because I believe that each has the vision, the wisdom and the practical abilities to make wise decisions for our city that move Charlottesville forward.

Mr. Huja served for decades as our city planner, and understands core issues in policymaking. As a former City Council member, I remember especially his role in promoting greenway paths around our city and helping to build the first one from Riverview Park to the U.S. 250 bridge. In my time on council, issues such as bike paths, cross-mall traffic and two-waying Water and Market streets were controversial, and I recall Mr. Huja advising that if we believed it right, “just do it.” As councilor, he has continued that pragmatic approach while speaking up for those — like the poor and the disabled — who do not always have a voice at the table.

Kathy Galvin is a new star on the horizon, and she is smart and strategic. She has done a great job on the School Board working for a holistic approach to education that includes family support systems and early childhood education. But she also has given time to the less glamorous duties of looking at school system inefficiencies and trying to devise a fair way for student evaluations. As a City Council member, Kathy would work to improve the quality of life for all citizens, which includes a vibrant and green urban environment, improved schools for our kids and better economic opportunities for the less fortunate among us.

I hope people will support Mr. Huja and Ms. Galvin in the Democratic primary on Aug. 20 at Burley School or vote absentee at the Independence Resource Center 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Aug. 9 and 18.