City's Edwards won't run for re-election

City Councilor Holly Edwards announced Monday that she will not seek re-election, opting to step down when her term expires at the end of the year.

“There is a time for everything, and everything on Earth has its special season,” Edwards said during an emotional news conference at the Crescent Halls public housing building, where she first announced her candidacy in April 2007.

Edwards becomes the second of three city councilors up for re-election this year to bow out of the November contest. Councilor David Brown announced last April that he would not seek a third term, leaving Councilor Satyendra Huja as the only incumbent who has yet to announce plans for November.

Huja said he plans to make an announcement near the end of March.

Mayor Dave Norris and Councilor Kristin Szakos are not up for re-election until 2013.

"It’s a very personal, prayerful decision to be made," Edwards said after thanking her husband, Kendrick, and their two sets of twin daughters for their support.

Edwards, the only black member of the council, cited the "snowball effect" of the city’s “Dialogue on Race,” a city initiative to foster discussion on racism and diversity, as one of her most important achievements. She pointed to the naming of Winneba, Ghana, as a Charlottesville sister city, the council’s apology for school segregation and Maurice Jones, who is also black, being named city manager as results of the dialogue.

Her colleagues on the council said they were sorry to hear of her decision, but appreciative of the insights on poverty that she brings to the table.

"I’m disappointed, but not surprised," Brown said of Edwards’s decision, saying he had been "amazed at how hard she’s been able to work."

Edwards brought expertise in the area of public housing, Brown said, but she avoided being pigeonholed into a narrow area of focus by taking on issues related to the environment and economic development.

Edwards still has plenty of key votes to cast in her remaining term, including an expected vote by City Council tonight on the size and type of dam that is at the center of the community's 50-year water supply plan. Three councilors in January voted in favor of a 30-foot increase in the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, a preference that more closely aligned with the plan supported by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

Edwards, along with Mayor Dave Norris, voted against the 30-foot preference. Norris has favored a smaller dam, built on top of the existing structure, combined with dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

A former program coordinator for the city’s Public Housing Association of Residents, Edwards campaigned in 2007 on a platform of community activism and social justice by stressing expanded access to housing, education, jobs and health care.

At Monday’s announcement, Edwards said the city still needs to do more to redevelop public housing, improve employment opportunities and build greater collaboration between police and social services.

"There’s still much work to be done, history to be made and questions that haven’t been asked yet," Edwards said.

Public activism will continue to play a role in her life after the council, said Edwards, who works full time as a nurse. But she has yet to decide what she’ll do next.

Edwards said she plans to remain an effective city councilor as she fills out the rest of her term.

"Lame duck? I quack not," she said. "My philosophy has always been, you are only as good as your last day of work."