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About 200 people attended the 8th District meeting at the Satellite restaurant at 4000 Jefferson-Davis Hwy on Tuesday. Councilwoman Reva Trammell thanked the crowd and invited people to write their concerns on forms distributed through the crowd. She then introduced Sheriff C.T. Woody who is running for re-election against Major Antionette Irving from the Henrico Sheriff’s office. City Council President Kathy Graziano was also in attendance.

Sheriff C.T. Woody cited his 41 years of experience working in Richmond. He discussed the upgrade to the city jail cells, which were under schedule and budget, and included video conferencing equipment and surveillance cameras.
He also said the city jail is now certified by the state. He believes it’s important to stop putting the mentally ill in jail.

“There are more non-violent than violent offenders in Richmond’s jail. We need more proactive treatment programs. When people leave Richmond city jail they should be a better citizen than a better criminal.”

Sheriff Woody then introduced Mayor Dwight Jones.

“I am working hard to build a better Richmond through communication and collaboration. When I became mayor the city employees were demoralized . . . valuing city employees is important,” said Jones.

He emphasized that he works in collaboration with the city council and then began discussing the recession and budget shortfalls. He explained that schools are to see a 4% decrease, while police and fire departments will see a 5% decrease. Because we are the only locality without a tipping fee at the dump, he believes that we should enact one to help pay for city services. Upon further discussion of this issue with DPW Director Dexter White, it was made clear that this fee would not effect most citizens, but would be applied to contractors and the like, who dump large volumes of material. He mentioned his desire to develop an AAA bond rating for the city.

On the Shockoe baseball stadium initiative, Jones described it as more than a baseball field, for it would include a hotel, condos, residences, and retail. After completing a $100,000 study, he seems to believe that the effort is worthwhile and that “using the city’s credit rating” to accomplish this effort is necessary. However, he reiterated the importance of protecting the Lumpkin’s Jail site and considering the needs of the train station and GRTC.

Jones went on to praise Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Brandon as a “capable, new age educator to lead our school system into the next era.”

“It doesn’t take a lot of courage and investment to complain; you can stand on the sideline or get in there. I am convinced that a child can get a good education with parental involvement,” said Jones.

The Mayor then introduced Police Chief Norwood. Norwood spoke eloquently about the services, efforts, and community partnership, but more importantly, he listened. The racially and economically mixed crowd asked many questions, declared their support of the police department, and vented their frustrations. Chief Norwood answered as many questions as he could and referred people to the officials who could assist with the questions he could not answer.

Finally, Chief Norwood introduced the Richmond Public School Board’s 8th District representative, Dawn Page. With little time left before the convening of the meeting, Ms. Page stated her thanks for support from the city, and her dedication to making Richmond Public Schools a world-class system.