It’s been a week since Election Day and we have seen a lot happen. Many students and City residents erupted in protest that Trump won the Presidency. Some people asked what their demand was (my personal favorite suggestion: a civil action by Bernie Sanders to exact monumental damages from the crooked-at-the-core DNC dealings exposed by WikiLeaks), but truthfully, Trump’s rise to power has installed fear in many different minority groups (including political dissidents) and the marches reflect that.

While the Presidential election was close and had low turnout, one thing is clear- third party voters’ hands are clean, especially here in Virginia where Clinton did win. Although some Democrats are sore losers and still want to scapegoat third party voters, they cannot. Don’t believe me? The Washington Post lays it out: “You can blame the electoral college for Trump winning. But don’t blame Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.”

Locally, the Mayoral election was close. The local media does not want to talk about that too much though. For one thing, the City Board of Elections was pretty strained, and it was not totally clear if someone had won the election for a good day or so. And hey, have they finally come around to announcing an official winner in the 5th District school board race? Last I heard from media outlets, it is likely Dr. Sapini.

For another thing, much of the media prognostication about the Mayor’s race was wrong- many were suggesting that it had come down to a two candidate race between Joe Morrissey and their favorite, Jack Berry, when in fact many residents had already determined the need for and existence of a third.

Perhaps more importantly, notice how the local media is not talking very much about how their candidate (endorsed by both the Times Dispatch and Richmond Free Press) was knocked out. They don’t want to admit that they picked badly and more importantly, that the voters ignored their input. ‘RVA’ rejected their fear mongering against Morrissey, and the corporate pressure for Berry, and went for someone else altogether.

So, a few more thoughts and questions-

Levar Stoney won the 5th District and others to win the election. Jack Berry stumbled here. My personal opinion: He should never have disrespected Oregon Hill. He was too arrogant to even try to make amends and figured his fancy commercials and billboards would make the difference. Thanks to work by Jon Baliles and Stoney’s hard-working campaigners, residents saw and took the alternative. Will Berry try to return to his job at Venture Richmond? Hope not. What can Stoney do for Oregon Hill and other neighborhoods? Well, that is not clear, but I hope to try to make it clearer in the next week or two, when I revisit and renew the Top Ten Issues For The Neighborhood post. Please feel free to submit your own.

On the national level, there are other Election Day outcomes to consider- more marijuana ballot initiatives passed in other states, and significantly, ranked choice voting passed in the state of Maine. Many countries and cities already give their voters more voice and more choice with RCV/IRV. Jill Stein’s campaign is already taking the ‘spoiler’ issue head-on with its enthusiastic support for RCV/IRV.

Locally, consider how close the Richmond Mayoral race came to going to an expensive run-off. Given this, will the local media even mention IRV/RCV? While I give Paul Goldman a lot of credit for almost single-handily obtaining the 10,000 signatures needed to make the City charter change for voting Mayor at large in the first place, it’s time for more electoral reform. We know we need to update and strengthen the City’s Board of Elections anyway, so we might as well join other cities around the world in enacting RCV/IRV.

I know I don’t want to have the same old debates in 2020.

Lastly, regardless of how you feel about the effectiveness of the anti-Trump protests, now’s not the time to stop protesting- reminder: today was a national day of action in support of Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Local water protectors were in force today at the Chesterfield office of the Army Corp of Engineers.

(photo courtesy of David Martin)

With only days left in the election and very little time left for candidates to make an impact with voters, here’s an editorial I did not want to write:

I am still undecided on who I want to vote FOR Mayor.

I already know who I do NOT want to vote for- the two frontrunners, Joe Morrissey and Jack Berry. While I do admire Morrissey’s willingness to speak truth to power (and wish other candidates would learn from him), I can’t get past his tawdry personal history. Yes, I know the media is laying it down thick, but that does not mean I can excuse it either, regardless of whether or not the latest professional allegations prove true or not.

I hope everyone recognizes what Jack Berry represents- corporate hegemony with disregard for citizen concerns. The fact is that Berry, head of Venture Richmond (and previously Richmond Renaissance) has long been behind persistent efforts to put corporate welfare projects ahead of the needs of Richmond schools and neighborhoods, from 6th Street Marketplace to the Redskins to the Shockoe stadium scheme. The local corporate media, as far as I can tell, is sold out and dares not say anything too negative about Berry, lest they incur the wrath of Venture Richmond’s powerful board. The Times Dispatch and other outlets shamefully support Berry without any disclosure of the partnerships with Venture Richmond.

THIS historic neighborhood has particular reasons to distrust and fear Berry as Mayor. He still has not made any amends for breaking promises to community and government. In my humble opinion, Berry represents a bigger threat to THIS neighborhood than Morrissey, and anyone who cares about it will know to vote AGAINST Berry, who long ago labeled Oregon Hill ‘an edge zone’ to downtown, along with other less wealthy areas of the City.

As I have said elsewhere, if we do go to a runoff election where Morrissey and Berry are the only choices, I will vote Morrissey without hesitation. Blame the ‘business community’ that backs Berry if that happens. I find the frontrunners in both the Mayoral and Presidential elections to be extremely unpalatable, and it has not been unexpected in that regard. I can’t help but wonder how different these elections would be with reforms like ranked choice/instant runoff voting.

Let me add right here the old disclaimer that I do NOT necessarily represent the opinions of all my neighbors. A few landlords have been putting a lot of Berry signs up. But people should remember that for a small neighborhood, Oregon Hill residents do vote. And because we are visible in the 5th District, the Central District, our opinions do matter and should be listened to, as we will have a lot to do with who is elected Mayor.

In the past week we have seen a lot of door-to-door canvassing for candidates Stoney and Baliles. Pine Street neighbor Stephenie Harrington wanted me to remind you all that there is still time to RSVP and attend her event for Baliles this Friday, which is now also open to City voters outside of the neighborhood.

Most if not all of the candidates say they want to work for all the neighborhoods. While I may ask candidates about everything from the water to the sun, ultimately my questions zero in on what they can and will do for THIS neighborhood. It’s important to exact promises now, especially given the existing threats and still-existing threats. Hopefully Stoney and Baliles can help me make up my mind between them.

I think everyone can agree that this election year has been especially difficult, and I am sorry to say, things are likely to get darker before there’s a turn for the better. I am thankful to our City Council candidates for serving as a better example. (Where are the 5th District Richmond School Board candidates?) Chins up and keep the brave faces.