By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Retired attorney
Peter McIntosh
announced Wednesday that he is entering the race for one of three seats on Charlottesville City Council. McIntosh said he would seek the Democratic party’s nomination at the unassembled caucus, or “firehouse primary,” to be held on August 20.
McIntosh, 67, moved to the city in 1975 to accept a job as director of the
Legal Aid Justice Center
where he provided legal services to low income clients, a position he held for 13 years. During 1989-2006, McIntosh was an attorney with
Michie Hamlett
.
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McIntosh held a press conference outside the Charlottesville Transit Center and told a gathering of media and campaign supporters that he had broad experiences in leadership and community service.
“I don’t think there was a day in my time, 36 years here, that I wasn’t on one board or another, so I am very adept at working with groups and reaching consensus,” said McIntosh. “I also practiced mediation for 12 years and that requires you to get both sides to talk to each other in ways that they might not have before.”
McIntosh said his campaign would be organized around several major issues including improving access to “workforce housing,” economic development, and maintaining the city’s AAA bond rating. In addition, McIntosh called for the city to move forward with the Meadow Creek Parkway, the water plan, and the YMCA facility in McIntire Park.
“I want the city to be looking through the windshield and not the rear view mirror,” said McIntosh. “I think we need to go forward. The decisions [past] councils have made were struggles, they were difficult, they had detractors, I understand that…but it’s time to focus on the benefits.”
McIntosh said the Meadow Creek Parkway, which has been almost completed in Albemarle County but not yet started in the city, will provide the benefit of allowing more access to the park.
“[We can] create a beautiful garden in McIntire Park and make it our Central Park,” McIntosh said. McIntosh is on the board of the McIntire Botanical Garden, a project he has encouraged city council to include in the park’s next master plan.
“The benefit of the water plan is that we will not have to go through the agony of the 2002 drought,” said McIntosh. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when the next drought happens.”
“If the question is between underbuilding or overbuilding [the water supply], I favor the approach the city used in 1966 when they overbuilt, and that water supply has lasted us to this day,” McIntosh added.
McIntosh said he would support dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.
“I think maintenance dredging will have to take place,” McIntosh said. “I think the [University of Virginia] should contribute since their rowing team is one of the prime users.”
McIntosh also said city-county cooperation was “not a choice, it’s an imperative.”
“Now it’s easy to fixate on where the disagreements arise between the city and county,” said McIntosh. “It is…often forgotten that the city and county cooperate on a wide range of policies and services.”
McIntosh joins Kathy Galvin, James Halfaday and incumbent city councilor Satyendra Huja in the race for the Democratic nomination. Three other candidates have already announced they are running for city council. Independent candidates collecting petition signatures to get on the November ballot include Scott Bandy, Brandon Collins, and Bob Fenwick.
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:
McIntosh announces campaign for Charlottesville City Council
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Charlottesville Tomorrow
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