Until a few years ago, Richmond held the mentality that our City could not do better nor should we make any attempt. That changed in 2003 when 80% of you voted for a Strong Mayor form of government because you knew change was needed in order to begin to transform our City.
Those changes have now permeated throughout City government, yet many are unknown outside City Hall because good news is seldom reported and many citizens are just beginning to see the numerous improvements underway.
Journalist David Brinkley once said, "A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." The foundation for our City's success is in place and we can become even more successful, but without the dedication and sincerity to continue making these changes and being honest with the people, our house will never be in good, strong order.
To begin, I feel it is necessary to dispel the myths that our City is at a standstill. The loudest proclaimer of such misinformation unfortunately comes from one of our own elected leaders. Council President Pantele claims loads of experience, yet he never hesitates to belittle City staff or the ongoing progress of our City when in Council chambers or in media interviews. Just last week, Mr. Pantele finally did speak glowingly of the City's future direction - however, it was during a speech at a country club in Chesterfield County.
Closer to home, many of his negative claims are more than just incorrect. For example, time and again he has questioned if the "City of the Future" program ever existed, although he has participated in numerous City Council presentations outlining the $305 million now in the pipeline for projects such as new schools and improving sidewalks, streets, parks, and libraries.
In his May 28, 2008 speech announcing his candidacy, he claimed the City of the Future program had accomplished nothing and "yet five years later we still have little more than that same outline." The City of the Future plan was only announced on January 10, 2006. The City has used that time to carefully plan and budget the use of that money rather than throw it down the drain like many projects in Richmond's past.
For example, the Carpenter Center project has seen construction and progress only because I committed City of the Future funds to begin the work. Without it, there would still be the infamous "hole in the ground" on Broad St. The City funded the project only after securing the deed and title to the property. Without that money, this project would still be dead in the water and our investment would not be protected.
Mr. Pantele does, ironically, switch gears to acknowledge the City of the Future when claiming credit for the $149 million it provides for new school construction. In reality, the School Board debated for more than a year over a Facilities Plan that proposed building new schools without first closing any old ones. When the final plan was approved by Council, it was done in one night - with little debate or effort to verify the process by which the money would be spent.
Mr. Pantele also boasts about already successfully implementing savings of $16 million from recent audits of school operations. Yet, if you examine this most recent budget summary from the School Administration, you only find total adjustments of $2.57 million, almost all of which is due to not filling staff vacancies. In December 2007, the School Board claimed to have applied $14 million in savings as a result of implementing audit recommendations, although no documentation has ever been provided to substantiate either account.
Implementing controls based on the audit recommendations in order to correct past problems that could save "14 million" or "$16 million" is not the same as actually realizing those savings, because those savings only appear over time.
Another myth is that Mr. Pantele has put new Police officers on the streets. In some speeches the claim is 150 officers; in one recent mailer, he claims it was only 100. He has also claimed to have funded increases for the Police Department each year. As you can see in this spreadsheet, however, in the last four years Council submitted amendments that reduced the Police budget by more than $10 million.
Council proposed cuts on average of $2.5 million per year over the past four years, which translates into about 260 starting level Police officer positions. By restoring that money in my budget, I helped ensure the department had no officer vacancies and crime is now at its lowest point in nearly 30 years. The link between the extra funding and the results is not a coincidence.
Mr. Pantele also claims on his web site that "The murder rate is down but other street-level crimes are on the rise" and we must "enforce traffic laws and apprehend speeders and those who drive recklessly." In fact, theft from motor vehicles is down 13%, commercial burglaries are down 35%, and speeding arrests are up 83% in response to community requests. Over the last four years, violent crime is down 44% and property crime is down 42%.
So when and how precisely did Mr. Pantele "put 150 officers on the street"? By what ordinance did the success in the City's crime fighting occur? Is the ongoing successful effort against crime done by him emerging from the Bat cave at night to fight crime and we, the residents of Richmond, are unaware of his true efforts?
And while Mr. Pantele says on his web site that "Many of our larger problems regarding more violent crime are due to a lack of leadership," I can assure you that Mayors all over the U.S. are asking me how they can replicate our success, not whom we should criticize for a lack of leadership. Crime does not decline by 44% because of a lack of leadership.
Mr. Pantele's assertion to have "instituted community policing" is contradicted by the fact that the policy was the specific recommendation in 2003 by the Richmond Community Crime Control Steering Committee, a citizen-led group created by the RPD which fully blossomed under Chief Rodney Monroe and continues today.
His claims of lax code enforcement and his pledge to "provide leadership at the top that makes it a priority to eliminate blight" ignores the fact that our efforts are already succeeding. Proactively eliminating blight is a top priority. The Code Enforcement division has increased the number of inspections from 26,000 in FY2006 to more than 47,000 in FY2008. In fact, in the first seven months of 2008, Code Enforcement has issued 28,000 citations and overseen 16,000 code corrections from property owners.
There are many clear signs the Police Department and the City's code inspectors are doing their jobs and deserve our support, as do all our City employees. That means much more than just talking about how "experience" will solve our problems because talk is always cheaper than action.
81% of the people have not been fooled into thinking this City is sitting still; they know we have been moving ahead in spite of the constant naysayers and obstructionists.
As one who has lived in - and loved - this City for nearly eight decades, I can tell you that the road to our future is at a vitally important crossroads. While some often accuse me of speaking too harshly, I do so for the love of this great City. President Harry Truman once said: "I never give them hell; I just tell them the truth and they think it is hell." |
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VISIONS VIDEO CLIP
 The Mayor talks about the promise of the changes we have made and calls out those who would criticize rather than actively working to improve our City.
Click here to view the video.
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| City of the Future
Nothing Happening?
$149 million for new school construction
$42.4 million for new and improved streets and sidewalks, curbs and gutters neglected for years
$16.8 million for major improvements to the City's parks, community centers and playgrounds $8.8 million to provide state-of-the-art computers in the City libraries $25 million in primary funding to renovate the Carpenter Center, scheduled to open in Fall of 2009 $4 million to renovate The Landmark Theater.
$3.9 million to upgrade the Richmond Technology & Vocational Center
$4.8 million to enhance the major gateways into the City
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RELATED
The Mayor comitted $25 million from the City of the Future to eliminate the "Hole in the Ground" on Broad St.
Violent Crime stats
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