McQuinn, West in 2006
The unofficial city results are saying that Delores McQuinn holds onto her city council seat and that Keith West pulls out a win in overnight vote counting. Congratulations!
The unofficial city results are saying that Delores McQuinn holds onto her city council seat and that Keith West pulls out a win in overnight vote counting. Congratulations!
When we shut down for the night, it looked like Delores Murray was going to be the next School Board Rep.
Yeah, the numbers were slanted all evening because the 707 precinct(Church Hill proper and a little of Church Hill North) was the last to report. We were at the Malone headquarters waiting to see the results and hoping that 707 would go big for him and give him the win like it did West. From the numbers on that website it looks like McQuinn won 707 by about 300 votes, which is kind of hard to believe.
Ooops… make that a 137 win in 707, I didn’t see the breakout.
Here we go again. 2 more years of the same old thing. Does anyone think maybe she’ll wake up and see what is happening in the district or will it be business as usual?
Thanks to everyone for their support. My election was possible only with votes from every corner of the district. It’s going to be a difficult task, but I’m ready to get the ball rolling for meaningful improvement of Richmond’s schools.
Congratulations Keith West!
As for McQuinn, the larger issue is that she doesn’t understand the changing demographic in Church Hill. She seems to be able to muster support from the traditional Church Hill base.
However, she has not done a very good job representing the folks that are responsible for much of the improvements in the area. It looks like progress-from a city leadership standpoint- will be stifled for a few more years while she is pandering to the poor, the homeless, the lazy, the drug addicts, and every other derelict bum in the 7th. The Historic District should secede and merge with a more progressive district LOL..
Hey Homes, strange analysis. Rev. McQuinn need only “pander” to African American women and the church going set to win. The lazy, homeless and criminals, etc, tend not to vote (the disenfranchisement of AA men pretty much cinched Malone’s defeat). Anyway, this is why we probably won’t see much progress in reforming our public housing developments around here, at least until she takes the last two year seat again (too many easily marshalled votes there).
But, she won, so she pretty much understands her political numbers (if not how to actually govern). I am guessing Mr. West is regretting he did not run for council, he might have squeaked a victory there as well with the vote splitting phenomena we saw in the Board seat. I guess Mr West owes Mr Bond a bottle of wine or something. For without his quasi-presence, those 265 votes would have no doubt gone to one or both of Mr. West’s challengers. But, after he gets to actually sit on the school board, the bottle of wine (or 6) may be owed Mr West. So, good luck Mr West, you seem a political plebe (I guess that is your charm), here’s hoping you are good at learning on the job.
Had enough yet? Obviously not. Arrogant abuse from your council representative will now reach new levels. McQuinn cannot and will not do anything for you or your neighborhood. District 7 has gotten so little so long that most voters demand that nothing be done. Zero in the past. Less than zero in the future. But it might not be another 2 years with McQuinn following in the footsteps of Lee Young.
I am just curious when Delores McQuinn will do her victory parade down Broad St?
Of course she will be dressed like King Kamehameha
and we will have to offer her pineapples….(Ugh two more years) Lets take bets on how long those billboards of hers will stay up. They remind me of a a mix of George Orwell’s Big Brother meets Chairman Mao.
Congratulations West!
McQuinn I do hope you will respond to all constituents for the next two years because this election was not a landslide victory for you.
Now a question for the chnp folks: Did J of Jumpin J’s host a meet and greet for McQuinn? I’m curious.
hg
Some folks need to wake up and smell the roses .The same folks who complain are the same folks that are on here representing fake names.
I’m willing to bet that the complaints are coming from persons who blink their eyes every second. Maybe its coming from Malone’s troopers.
Congratulations Mrs. McQuinn… The 7th district is very proud of you.
Toni…no such luck… my position all along was that both Malone and McQuinn are not equipped to represent the entire district. The area has grown and changed in a manner that their combined levels of experience are not able to handle. We need to surface a savvy business-person who has a diverse perspective and political ambitions to run in the future… I know…most savvy business folks would certainly not put themselves in that position.
RTD: Richmond’s 7th had early glitch
Well, She got two more years. The only thing we can do now is make sure she does her job. That means, calling, emailing, going to the 7th Dist meetings and council meetings and letting her know what we want and what we need, what we like and dislike..even if it has to be done publicly.
b-
“The African American women and church going set” as you have described, is indeed who voted for McQuinn. These folks do not have very high expectations for the economic advancement of the area. Through McQuinn’s work in the poor and economically deprived areas of the district, these groups have a high regard for her “enabling” of the losers in their midst. Therefore, she gets a vote. Nobody ever said that you had to have an education in order to vote. As we all know, we have an overwhelming number of illiterate and undereducated folks in our district. What these folks don’t get is that economic development creating opportunity-combined with education will be the only answer to their issues. McQuinn has not proven much success in either arena.
It should be noted that McQuinn won every precinct. She didn’t win them all big, but she won them all. This wasn’t a couple areas carrying her.
Well, now we once again have a council woman who will ignore white constituents and take credit for things she had no hand in, like the sun rising and setting everyday.
Malone should have brought a towel….that would have done the trick
Thanks to everybody… On a quick drive through the Historic Distric, it looks like everybody did a great job at taking away most of the campaign signs. Granted, there are pockets where the signs are still posted (Government Rd., Williamsburg Rd., Fulton, Broad St at Shockoe). Now, if we could just get all of the realtors on board to remove these trashy signs…
now we once again have a council woman who will ignore white constituents
That’s harsh. I would very much urge you to resist injecting race into this, unless you are willing to back up what you are saying with something more specific and under your own name. If you are going to make this kind of allegation, stand behind it.
I’m going to try to derail this bitchfest one more time… I keep seeing complaints that McQuinn does nothing. Please please please tell me: what would you like to see happen?
Well it is evident that the people of the 7th district have spoken.The same eronious complaints from this website who continues to try and tear down an anointed woman. Keep on with your lies and evil spirits.The more you talk about McQuinn…. She’ll continue to bounce back and get stronger. This is a word from the wise.
Speaking of signs, I’m getting to them as fast as I can, but if anyone comes across one and feels inclined to dispose of it, they’re not reusable.
John,
I would not classify the comments posted on this site as a “bitchfest”.. They are the legitimate concerns of the people in this district. This site does a great job at opening a forum for folks to express ideas and conerns. Democracy at work. You have done a great job at opening the channels.
Hopefully, Rev. McQuinn is reading these posts and willing to listen to how much dissatisfaction exists with her leadership.
The folks continue to state that she absolutely has no presence in certain areas of the district. She has been unresponsive to letters, phone calls and emails asking for her help, input, direction, guidance..etc. There are simple things that she could do to help address the residents concerns. Coordinating efforts between city services and the citizens to get “trees in every treewell”. Folks are willing to help by providing labor, funding, etc. to get some of this accomplished. However, it takes responsive leadership to make it happen. The list can go on forever of what it takes to make a neighborhood beautiful, clean, and economically desirable. These are the things that she doesn’t seem to care about (or respond to). If you want to attract quality investment in the area, the infrastructure must be maintained without flaw. This is where she can help. She is a public figure–criticism is part of the territory… She asked for it–didn’t she? Hopefully, she will use the criticism in a positive way to affect change.
An answer to john m’s question–
I would like to see McQuinn return calls and respond to letters. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 21 years and Mcquinn has been the only representative along with former Senator Allen and current president Bush, I have not been able to reach by phone, email, or letter. Right now, if I needed to, I could reach Doug Wilder, Tim Kaine, Reggie Malone, any number of other folks on city council,former governors Mark Warner and Gilmore, etc. Even Senator John Warner sometimes replies to my letters blasting the republican party.
We want to know that our voices are being heard and not just before election day rolls around.
Another thing I would like to see happen–a thriving 25th street business district. As everyone knows McQuinn did absolutely nothing about that.
hg
Dear Church Hill People’s News,
In my opinion, we do not have a council representative for our district – yet again.
Our neighborhoods will continue to work with law enforcement to eliminate the crime and blight that we are battling. We are strong and relentless and so is our police department.
It is unfortunate that the 7th District continues to suffer due to the lack of initiative from a council representative; however, we will continue to do what we do best – work with law enforcement and improve our community.
I, personally, do not know what is going on in the 7th District with regards to the rational of the continuous election of a reactive individual who does not have the personal attributes to be proactive and represent ALL of the citizens in the 7th District. Something is really wrong here. Only dead fish go with the flow, as the saying goes, and there seems to be quite a lot of dead fish just floating with the current. I will always go against the current and fight for what I believe in – and there are many others who will also. Change sometimes comes slower than most of us would like – but it will come.
Our neighborhood is full of “fighters” and we will continue to work on the positive developement of our community -WE are our own guiding force and WE represent our community – as it will stand until we have a proactive leader to represent us in City Council for the 7th District. Until the next election, I encourage everyone to continue with all of the positive initiatives that they have taken to improve our community. WE are representative of our district – the people, not one person alone.
Kristen Konate
Rev McQuinn won the election and now its time for all of us to direct our energy toward improving our district. Regardless of who you voted for, we have to move on and work together while still holding all of our elected officials accountable. But we also have to put our time and energy into improving our neighborhood. It is not all about what Government can do for us, but rather what we can do with Government to make our community stronger. CHPN was not around 2 years ago and it is a fantastic forum for organizing a community full of activists. It is also a wonderful way to put the truth out there. My only caution is that we dont turn this into a total — if I might borrow the term- “bitchfest”. I would rather like to see a positive conversation about solutions to the issues that keep us from reaching our full potential as a community. Peace. -Bill Conkle
Twenty-five years in Church Hill. I have worked on numerous campaigns to overthrow the established regime. We never seem to understand that all of us in 707 will have to vote in a block without personal agendas. We allow one of our best candidates in many years to go down in defeat because of his perceived history. Reggie Malone has a record of returning phone calls; a record of being responsive; and an absolutely accomplished politician. Yet we could not get people to get beyond the BS to overthrow a destesible representative. So when do we get it? Words alone will no longer be valid. We must get behind a candidate and work for this candidate to get the representation we deserve. Even though we just finished a campaign, we have just two years to rid ourselves of a tyrant. However, this will require effort. If not Reggie, than who?
John, to answer your question about what would we like to see happen: 1) For McQuinn and son to stop intimidating voters. 2) Pass a City Historic District for North of Broad. 3) Get on board with the changes that have been made in City government. Don’t use “balance” as a stonewalling tactic. 4) Are there any citizens North of Broad on boards and commissions and especially of color.? 5) Can she get on board with reorganizing the schools in the 7th District? 6) Now, that Reggie is gone, will she talk to the incoming school board representative? 7) Will she put citizens above private developers? 8) Forget that she was not for the new form of government and work with the Mayor to get the services we need in the 7th District. 9) Review important papers like affordable housing so the discussion can come before City Council. This so important in our district and she should have been out front on this issue. 10) Listen to all constiuents, even those who don’t vote for her. I have been personally told by her that in order for me to get services, I must talk to her. I pay my taxes to the City of Richmond and not Delores McQuinn. John, twenty-five years of repressive regime, my list is very long.
Some fascinating reading and ideas here. I tend very much to agree with Ms. Konate and apparently recent history in the 7th supports a lot of what she’s saying: so much progress without much help or input from a council-person. I know that in the past few years when I hit a wall of silence trying to deal with a problem through Ms. McQuinn and her office I just went elsewhere in the city or even at the state level…and managed to get things done anyhow. So, while it would be nice to have a voice at city council that speaks for all of us, who needs it?
Ann has it right. Since 1974 I cannot remember and council representative that was responsive and worked to meet the needs in District 7. But some good things have happened in spite of the council representative. That is because people figured out how to get it done. Forget the election results. Keep figuring out how to get it done. Use this news outlet to document how to get it done and share the information. McQuinn cannot and will not help. People, well informed can make the changes needed. Good news is that McQuinn cannot stop you.
There is a great article in Thursday’s Times-Dispatch
about illegally placed campaign signs. http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191594778
Its about time that the bitchfest complaining persons reveal themselves.By the way John, the complaints are coming from the same folks.The district has spoken. Kristen and Art are Malone’s troopers. There are still 3 more persons to complete the mysterious puzzle of lies and evil.
I just want to puke…I can’t beleive the folks voted for her especially the folks South of Broad. All you folks complian about her all the time. Let someone move in and do something in the Historic District that does not follow the guidelines and they are all over you, but let an elected Councilperson oversee your district and not return phone calls, and do very little or nothing for the residents of the Disrtict and man they like her so much they overwhelming voted to keep her in office.I guess they are happy with the way things are. She did not tell any of us what she was going to do for the citizens of the 7th District. She did not state her position on the Echo Harbor project!! You will get what you deserve!!!! NOTHING!!!!
Carolyn- I’m still laughing uncontrollably over your post. I love your passion! Rest assured, there are plenty of folks SOB who do not support the Rev. and did not vote for her. However, as I mentioned before on this site–there are folks SOB who really agree she is not a solid representative of the 7th. They continue to vote for her because they feel they can get her to support their own individual agendas (zoning, real estate, SUP’s, etc.) I referred to it as “pulling her by the nose”. If they can get her to support their for-profit ventures–all is good and she gets a vote. Granted, most of the items that I’m aware of do not seem to pose any degree of harm to the district as a whole. They do know that she does not have an out-front, proactive leadership style. But, that’s not really their interest at the moment. Their interest is their individual real estate/ business deals at hand.
Also, SOB is not yet a homogenous group of folks representing the same demographic–yet. There are still pockets of folks that would still be representative of areas outside the Historic District. These folks are still in McQuinn’s camp.
Then, a huge portion of the base is African-American women and “the church goers” NOB and in Fulton.
Moreover, there are folks SOB who want no change as evidenced by the cries over Echo Harbour, Stadium, etc.
If she does nothing, that suits them just fine. They want to maintain status quo.
I have to agree with many of the other posters… If we want to get something done, we will have to organize and work around her to get things done.
This is a great forum to organize folks who are interested in taking on certain projects of interest.
homie “THE CLOWN”
You sound like a fool. your ignorant racist remaks do nothing to improve the relations in the neighborhood. Keep you remarks to the issue and avoid hiding behind gender and color
The election is over. Love or hate McQuinn, it’s time to put it behind us and focus our energy on being constructive. Bickering after the fact doesn’t accomplish anything except to further divide the community. If you don’t think McQuinn can or will do something, we must get organized and do it ourselves.
mad Blak woman-
If there was anything that I said in my posts that offended you or any other reader, I sincerely apologise.
This was certainly not my intention to inflict racial or gender exclusive wounds. I’m very sorry.
Homie, you did not say anything that wasn’t true. (People use the race card to avoid the real issues at hand). You are absolutely right, there are people both BLACK and WHITE, SOB and NOB who voted for mcquinn because they could lead her by the tip of her nose, not because she’s an effective leader. We must organize as a district, not just on the neighborhood level, to make her do what she should as an elective official. We can no longer allow her to divide the district to serve her own propose. We must force her to represent the district interest and not her owns. We can start by having a district meeting (maybe use the roundtable meetings), to develope a 2 year strategic plan for the entire district and then hold her accountable for moving it forward. We must take an up in her face approach.
“Puzzle of Lies and Evil”? Hmmm… maybe reading too many comic books, ehh, Derek?
Just have to look at council for your puzzle of lies and evil. Look hard and think even harder. Please inform ALL of us of your findings.
Again, OUR community will continue to be proactive in working with law enforcement to create a peaceful and safe community for EVERYONE. We have done so for years and our relationship with the RPD is strong. Our accomplishments are attributed to the RPD and proactive citizens.
I suppose you felt that you had to pick at least two individuals who weren’t anonmyous for your “Puzzle of Evil” campaign – or comic book – whichever you are working on.
You can call me Hill’s Angel – Art can pick his own comic book character name – anyone else want to join in and become a character?
Best of wishes on your puzzle and CHEERS to the continuous assistance from the RPD! We rock as a team!
Response to Mad Black Woman
I read your post and think it is a wonderful idea to develop a strategic plan for the district. I will be more than happy to use the Roundtable for this purpose. Please contact me at scburton@comcast.net
Response to “Derek”
I would also like to be a part of your comic book “Puzzle of Evil” – you can call me SuperTorg since I have always liked Superman.
It is very odd that you would pick out only these two people for your comic book. I know both Kristen and Art and both are very strong-willed individuals – along with many others on this site. But for some reason, their particular comments hit a cord with you. Good for them.
Information for you for your puzzle: Henry Marsh is a big piece, Delores McQuinn, Eleanor Robinson, Viola Baskerville and Jackie Jackson are also pieces. If you are going to make a puzzle of evil – make sure you get the correct individuals.
I also think that the the roundtable idea is great – please post details.
Lieutenant Jack King and Kristen Konate are currently putting together a meeting that will involve particpants presenting their IDEAS for dealing with the troublesome issues in Sector 111 (narcotics, drunkards, prostitution, trash, etc.)
We will continue to prosper without a council representative – as previously mentioned – and we will continue in the ongoing revitalization of our neighborhoods. Credit is given where credit is due – and it is not with Delores.
Eric Torgersen
7th District Rountable meetings have been in place for the past 8 months or so. These meetings have been consistently informative && a good place to put faces to some of the names that you might see on this site. The next scheduled meeting is Nov.20th@6:00 PM @EDI on 25th Street.
Derek, I to will become part of your fantasy comic book. I will be Torey the Explorer, because it will take exploring new ideas and doing innovative things, to begin to have different outcomes for the 7th district.
Derek, I would like to be “Rufustafarian” because I am a man of strong conviction and a lover of peace and I just like the name. I will teach Delores how to be non-combative in community meetings if she will accept my coaching. Just like Ms. Edmonds said – explore new ideas and do innovative things!
I just want to point out that this forum has turned out to be an efficient and possibly theraputic communication tool with potential for organizing and coordinating efforts of Church Hill’s computer enabled citizens. The high level of participation in this little debrief is a testimony to the poptential of democracy in the 7th district. Personally, I was glad to see so much support for holding the current council member accountable for her unresponsiveness.
However, I do want to point out that many people (including Reggie) seemed to underestimate Delores McQuinn’s hold on the community leadership from the traditional African-American base in the 7th district. She has a very well oiled political machine that turns out the vote as part of the Democratic party and Afro-centric elements in the district. She may be corrupt, incompetent, and disingenuous in her politics, but she knows how to cling to power. In fact, that defining attribute is evident in almost all of her actions. Delores, the McQuinn family, and her supporters routinely engage in strong-arming voter intimidation and misrepresentation on voting day, by informing voters that she is the only Democrat on the local ballot, while blocking the entrance to the voting cites. In fact, in the 7th, as in many other districts, it almost looks like the incumbant is hosting the election and we are all invited to participate at her pleasure (Ellen Robinson in the 6th crafts the same illusion). When a political machine like this takes hold, it takes years of intense organizing to break the grip of control over a community, primarily because it IS precisely the community that perpetuates it.
My point is that bloggers and discussion boards often deceive themselves by convening a consensus of the minority without truly looking at the problem directly or talking to one’s opponent regularly. Maybe some of you have ideas for repositioning yourselves for 2008. I’m interested to hear about 7th district forums where people from North and South of Broad come together to learn to look at their district from one another’s point of view and come up with a list of top priorities for the 7th district. Maybe something like this already exists. Chances are, Delores will be threatened by this kind of cross-cultural exchange and disinterested in fulfilling any of the requests that come out of it. Perhaps then her hold over the electorate will be loosened a bit.