Image default

Making the case for Jack Berry (by Bonnie Miller)

by Bonnie Miller

If you agree with me that different leaders are the right choice at different times, then the case for Jack Berry as the best choice for our next Mayor is strong. City Hall is broken administratively, financially, systemically. The schools are at a terrifyingly low point. We don’t have time for a career politician; nor do we have time for someone without experience who may be long on charisma but will have a learning curve. Jack is a career public servant with a range of experience and a strong skill set and will be able to get traction quickly to turnaround city government.

I have known Jack for just about as long as I have lived in Church Hill—over 30 years. I’d like to make the case for him as a qualified candidate and I’d also like to introduce him to you on a personal level. Neighbor to neighbor.

Jack was raised in Lynchburg, VA by parents who were civil rights activists. His father worked In local government ending his career as the Director of Lynchburg’s Social Services. His mother was the only white teacher in a black school. Jack attended UVA and while there worked at an organization that exposed urban disadvantaged children to one of his great loves: nature and camping. After UVA, Jack got his Masters in Public Administration from George Washington University.

Jack’s first job after graduate school was as a Budget Analyst for the city of Richmond. That’s when I met him because my husband and he commuted to work downtown by GRTC bus. As young couples just starting careers, we longed to buy a house but had little money. Jack proposed pooling our resources and buying a house together. We moved into a duplex at 2611 East Grace Street here in Church Hill in 1980. Three years later we sold that house and moved one block east and the Berrys moved 3 blocks west on East Grace.

One of our East Grace Street neighbors, Jean Cunningham, went on to become a 12 year member of the House of Delegates and has endorsed Jack for Mayor.

So like many of you, Jack and his wife, Katherine, bought their first house, started their family and spent much of their early careers in Church Hill. It was just as inspiring and exciting then as it is now and, as you know, you don’t live up here and not have it become a part of your DNA. I think it is a reason that Jack is committed to the quality of life in our neighborhoods and will be effective in all parts of the city. The notion that some of his opponents have put out there that he is only interested in corporate interests is ridiculous in my opinion.

Jack was promoted up the ladder at the City of Richmond and went on to become the Director of Finance and the Deputy City Manager under Robert Bobb—with whom he had a great working relationship. Robert Bobb went on to become the City Manager of Oakland CA (Jerry Brown was his Mayor!) and of Washington DC. He has recently endorsed Jack for Mayor.

Jack’s in depth experience in Finance will be essential to his success as Mayor because this is the fourth consecutive year that the City has been overdue in the production of its annual financial statement. In fact, at this point they are almost a year late. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to straighten out the poor delivery of basic City services and strengthen our desperately needy school system until the City knows how much money is coming and going on a consistent basis.

Jack’s next career move was to become the County Administrator for Hanover County. He worked closely with the School Superintendent to get the funding in place for a strong school system and is committed to doing this in Richmond. He also continued to develop valuable relationships. The current administrator of Chesterfield County worked with Jack in Hanover; the current administrator of Henrico worked with Jack in Richmond. They admire and trust each other and will serve as helpful regional partners when Jack is Mayor.

Jack left Hanover to become Executive Director of what was then called Richmond Renaissance and later became Venture Richmond. Venture Richmond is a public / private partnership for the purpose of promoting Downtown Richmond. Under Jack’s stewardship much progress was made.

A common Church Hill criticism of Jack is that he supported the Shockoe Stadium. It is important to remember the context: he promoted this project as the leader of Venture Richmond. As Director of Venture Richmond, Jack reported to a Board of Directors that included leaders from the business community, local universities as well as members of City council and the Mayor. So his advocacy of the Stadium was an effort to implement what was proposed by our Mayor and endorsed by his board.

None the less, Jack does not try to deflect blame when this issue is raised. He accepts responsibility and repeats that a mistake was made by not correctly reading the sentiment of the people sooner.

Jack is a lifelong Democrat as are all of the Mayoral candidates. Even though this is not a partisan race, the Democratic Party has given Levar Stoney a great deal of support. As of the August 31 reporting period, 67% of the funds raised by his campaign came from outside of Richmond and the surrounding areas. He has received more donations from Northern Virginia than from Richmond residents. Money also came from Washington, DC, New York, Boston, and as far away as Denver, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco.

By way of comparison, over 95% of the contributions for the Jack Berry for Mayor Campaign are from Richmond and our surrounding suburbs and are in much smaller denominations.

In contrast, and unlike any of the current candidates for Mayor, this is not a stepping stone for Jack. He will not be beholden to anyone. He is not running to advance his career or enhance his brand. This is it. This is the capstone for his career—a way to give back to the community he loves by sharing the skills and experiences it has taken a professional lifetime time to build.

Vote for Jack Berry. He will be the Mayor our city needs and deserves.

[sep]

Photo via Jack Berry for Mayor Facebook

A few weeks ago I published A case for Joe Morrissey. Not an endorsement, it was for me a way of sharing what struck me as an important understanding of his candidacy. After that published, I reached out to others for words on other candidates. Thad Williamson wrote a piece in favor of Levar Stoney and Chad Ingold wrote in support of Jon Baliles. The above is Bonnie Miller’s case for Jack Berry.

31 comments

BAF 10/26/2016 at 11:46 PM

The biggest problem with Jack is that his whole message strikes me as out of touch with most of the City but very in touch with his donors.

You never get the sense from Jack that he understands the real frustration people have with Richmond. He talks about his resume and who is backing him but it’s all looking in the rear view mirror.

I don’t hear enough from him about how he is going to change the culture of City Hall that allows CAFRs to be filed ridiculously late. I don’t hear enough about how is going to find money in the budget to pay for some of the desperately needed repairs. I don’t hear him say how he is going to protect the City from money-losing boondoggles like the Redskins camp. I don’t hear a plan to get crime–which has been on the rise–under control.

I don’t want to see him canoe down the river. There aren’t a lot of people leisurely canoeing down the James in any of the “courts” in the East End. But I don’t see him talking about what he will do to break up concentrated and entrenched poverty. I don’t want to hear about festivals. We have too much bread and circus and not real work being done. Instead, I want to know that he is as pissed off as I am and is going to go in there, shake the place up, fire some of the dead weight and fix the basics. Right now, I just seem him as a technocrat under the sway of Jim Ukrop (a nice man to be sure but another one who is pretty out of touch with the day to day dumpster fire of a city government many of us contend with while focusing on bread and circus) and other rich white guys who are going to push for more big projects and show pieces while the schools continue to crater, the roads continue to have craters and crime continues to rise. We don’t need more focus on the concerns of Monument Avenue and Windsor Farm residents. They are doing fine and can spend their own money for a little while. I want to know he will be invested in the rest of the City. I’m not convinced that investment is terribly interesting to him or his backers.

Reply
Scott 10/26/2016 at 11:48 PM

Jack Berry cannot be trusted. He will say anything to get his way, often at the expense of citizen concerns. He has a long track record of supporting the corporate welfare projects that have left schools and basic services in bad shape.

http://www.oregonhill.net/2014/03/27/ohhic-press-release-the-city-of-richmond-and-venture-richmond-renege-on-promised-section-106-review-of-the-future-tredegar-green-amphitheater/

Reply
Matt 10/27/2016 at 8:50 AM

I have to say, as a somewhat recent arrival to the City and Church Hill, I’m surprised at the disdain for what seems to be the only competent candidate with a shot of winning the mayoral election. You have three candidates who can win: one has no ties to Richmond and is only competitive through exorbitant campaign fundraising from out-of-town donors that allows for constant TV ads and mailers, one who should have been disbarred long ago and will likely make the city a laughingstock (see the Washington Post), and one who seems to have no real political aspirations beyond this campaign and who has run successful campaigns for Richmond (RVA branding/Venture Richmond) that drew my family back in the first place. Baliles would have been competent as well, but he has no realistic shot.

Berry has connections to the counties that almost certainly trust him and will work with him. And that buy-in is 100% necessary to see this City grow for all of its residents. It’s pretty obvious to me at least that regional cooperation is critical to Richmond’s growth and prosperity moving forward. Does anyone really believe that Morrissey will get the counties to cooperate and extend bus service to Short Pump or up Route 1? If for no other reason, Berry’s likely ability to get things done gets my vote.

Reply
Cog 10/27/2016 at 8:59 AM

@3 did the Counties trust Jack enough to go in with him on Shockoe? No, they did not. That said, what the Counties think should be the last of our worries.

Reply
Matt 10/27/2016 at 9:13 AM

@4 I don’t think anyone is arguing that Berry got it right on Shockoe. That the counties didn’t want to wade into a war in the City isn’t surprising either. But I don’t think it’s productive to disparage him when no other candidate has any demonstrated benefit to the City. (and we can all wish that the counties should be our last worry, but it simply isn’t true if you care about getting lower income populations to job centers without cars.)

Reply
Dubois2 10/27/2016 at 10:09 AM

@#5, true point. And further, why would anyone not want Richmond’s government to work with its geographic neighbors? By turning our backs we are not more able to solve our problems. And currently, car-driving Richmond consumers seem to do much of their spending out of Richmond, while carless Richmond seems relatively unable to access the jobs that spending makes possible. Bad result.

I don’t see a perfect mayoral option. But @#1, I guess I don’t think Baliles or Stoney are likely to put out the dumpster fire. Baliles lacks the support. Stoney lack of track record seems unfortunately to be leading him to stumble on things he ought to be able to explain and move on from. Like lying to the police and then not lying to the police. I’ve listened to him twice on that and I’m still confused. That doesn’t bode well.

And Morrissey, well, that’s like trying to put out a dumpster fire with another dumpster fire.

And yes, a city needs things to show off or it won’t thrive. Richmond? For now It does seem to be festivals. And beer. And food. I give Berry some credit for making that happen.

I’d like the mayor to make other good things happen for the city.

Reply
Padraig Pearse 10/27/2016 at 11:38 AM

Scott (of Oregon Hill) constantly gripes about “the corporations.” Methinks he has been enjoying too much of his anarchist neighbors’ Kool-Aid.

He has also stated in other forums (The Dogtown Dish) that he’d take Fightin’ Joe Sex With Teenagers Morissey over Berry because he’s upset about a failed attempt to develop the grassy knoll at Tredegar into an outdoor theater.

Now anybody wants to go back to the mess that was the early 90’s with poverty, crime, and drug abuse at an all time high they can vote for Morisssey. I’m content in voting for Jack Berry for the sake of a balanced budget, school reform, and pro-small business incentives.

I’m also not cool with the mayor of my city enjoying underage sex, having untreated problems with drink, throwing people through glass doors, lying in court, or being disbarred for his various antics.

Reply
BAF 10/27/2016 at 3:21 PM

At the end of the day, I think Berry is the best option. He’s just not a good option, if that makes sense. I find it disappointing because Berry could have been a great candidate, but he put burnishing his image with soft Glamour Shot ads ahead of a meaningful message that would show voters he understands how they feel.

I thought Baliles might run a better race and thought he might be a decent candidate but he has totally fizzled. If you can’t run a competent campaign, you don’t get called up to play in the majors.

Reply
Hold yer nose. 10/27/2016 at 4:28 PM

BAF, your last comment @8 pretty much mirrors my discussion last night with some folks. Jack isn’t the evil guy Scott goes on about ad nausea. His main Achilles is the fact that he is too much of a corporate shill, and that bled over into carrying the mayor’s water on the ballpark. He said he learned his lesson over that. He also isn’t the visionary that a lot would like.

But in the end, we need someone that knows Richmond and its baggage, that can right the ship and get it sailing in the right direction. I think Jack can do that if he is willing to throw some bums out on the curb, make some tough decisions, and focus on fixing things, not on empty promises and big projects. He’s not my favorite candidate, but of the three that are viable, he’s the one I would take.

Reply
BAF 10/27/2016 at 7:06 PM

I guess that’s my concern. City Hall is crying out for a nut-cutter, at least as it regards internal operations. Based on the image they are portraying of him in their messaging, he’s going to go easy on them when they need a lot more riding crop and spurs.

Reply
Scott 10/27/2016 at 8:52 PM

What I have said repeatedly is that is if it comes down to a runoff where Berry and Morrissey are the only choices, I will vote Morrissey without hesitation.

There’s a reason that Venture Richmond has been nicknamed ‘Vulture Richmond’ by many citizens under Berry’s tenure.

http://www.oregonhill.net/2014/02/06/editorial-on-venture-richmonds-tax-exemption/

Reply
Dubois2 10/28/2016 at 1:51 AM

@#11, linking to your own words on another site to support yourself? Seems less than helpful. And somewhat disingenuous. Obviously you agree with and support your own positions.
Making the point Venture Richmond ran roughshod over the people re Shokoe Stadium would make sense if that project were a go. It isn’t. There is obviously no ‘running roughshod’ over the will of the people by Venture Richmond, just them, at one time, supporting something you, I take it, do not. When does hyperbole become just plain old lying?

And, um, Vulture Richmond? Really? That’s hilarious. I might be interested in a bumper sticker or a hood ornament if you are selling… Second thought, I’ll keep my RVA car magnet– it does better for my city, and says it all without saying too much.

Reply
BAF 10/28/2016 at 2:37 AM

@11 So you will vote for an corrupt utter sociopath who has total contempt for the law and for his profession, so you can vote against a guy you think wasn’t honest about his amphitheater. Got it.

Reply
Liz 10/28/2016 at 4:17 AM

Scott, you are the only one that I have ever seen call it Vulture Richmond. I do believe that you spend your time googling Jack Berry every day so that you can see where his name has been mentioned and then go and add your same comments – over and over and over.

Reply
crd 10/28/2016 at 11:22 AM

@12 He left for Hanover after the first kid was born. Not a current resident here. Lives elsewhere in the city now.

Reply
Alexander Macaulay 10/28/2016 at 3:08 PM

I recently spent half a day riding around on a hot school bus and touring schools in the East End while Jim Ukrop urged us to support Communities In Schools, an organization he helped bring to Richmond and which is making a real difference. This is the kind of grind-it-out work that Jim has done tirelessly — and thanklessly — for decades. I am grateful for it. https://www.cisofrichmond.org/

Reply
Liz 10/29/2016 at 8:13 AM Reply
crd 10/29/2016 at 1:36 PM

Well all I can say is at least Berry isn’t the “shave your pussy” guy like Fightin’ Joe…which isn’t saying much.

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.