7th District School Board member Keith West will join mayoral candidate Paul Goldman at an 11AM press conference at Bellevue Elementary School to discuss “the need for a citywide school uniform policy”. The announcement quotes West as saying that “Goldman is the only candidate willing to challenge the failed status quo and call for a badly needed citywide School Uniform policy. He will be the Education Mayor.”

Today at the 7th District Meeting, Seventh District Representative and Council VP Delores McQuinn announced officially that she will be running for reelection. Petitions of support are circulating the community.

In line with recent discussion, this autumn’s school board races look to be feisty. Style Weekly’s Sabers Rattle, Missiles Launch In Schools Fight has more on Keith West’s tattered relationships with many of the other members and his move to rebuild the Board:

“Quality candidates will be running in every district,” West writes, warning that “of course, as always, money will be an important factor, and the issue has been addressed. I would imagine that, unless some wealthy benefactor intends to buy your seat, significant spending will be necessary for a competitive race.”

7th District School Board Rep. Keith West will not be running again and School Board Chair and 4th District Rep. George Braxton has announced that he will not seek re-election either. Council VP & 7th District Representative Delores McQuinn hasn’t said one way or the other; the slowdown from her knee replacement surgery is feeding rumors that she might not run though no one else has announced an interest in her office.

Councilwoman McQuinn will hold a Community Meeting on Monday, March 31st at 1:00PM at the East District Center to discuss a threat by Mayor Wilder to cut trash pickup if city council reduces the real estate tax rate.

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Style Weekly’s The Insubordinate, a profile of Richmond PTA leader Tichi Pinkney-Eppes and her take on the Richmond Public School, includes as damning evidence a piece on the issues of a parent of a 9-year-old student at Chimborazo Elementary.

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7th District School Board rep Keith West was spurned in his bid last night to lead the Richmond School Board. Afterward the voting, West said that the board has lost the confidence of the city and that a whole new board should be elected. He further stated that he will not run for the position again and will instead work towards recruiting, training and financing new candidates. [via]

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Before and 18-months-after photos of the somewhat notorious house at 3416 East Clay Street.

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The New York Times peeps our recent Mayor/City Council/School Board issues in Famous Mayor Under Fire in Virginia, and, apparently unable to find a Wilder supporter in office, quotes the Mayor’s 7th District Roundtable representative (and former 7th District School Board Representative) Reggie Malone backing the mayor.

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After saying last month that “the [school] board has failed by not giving direction”, Keith West and the rest of the RPS School Board have unveiled an idea for a program aimed at “raising student achievement, broadening choices for study and career paths, expanding sports and other out-of-school activities, and involving the public in reshaping education in Richmond”. Public forums will be held at area high school to get parents’ input and suggestions. [via] [via]

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7th District School Board Representative Keith West, elected last November, quoted on a recent proposal to change the school board from being an elected body:

“We’ve had appointed school boards before and they didn’t seem to do such a great job, and I don’t know why it would be so different now.” [via]

The 7th District Town Hall meeting hosted by Councilwoman Delores L. McQuinn yesterday at Asbury United Methodist Church touched on personnel changes at the 1st Precinct, the proposed zoning change for 1903 East Marshall, property tax relief for the elderly and disabled, and the idea of landlord licensure.

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Following up on his threat, Mayor Wilder had 7th District Representative and Council VP Delores McQuinn locked out of her offices at EDI yesterday, and then during the early morning Tuesday the contents of her offices were moved to offices at city hall.

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We were forwarded an email that appears to have been sent out from Sam Patterson (liaison to 7 District Council Representative McQuinn) as a response to a request by Mayor Wilder to move from her office space at the East District Initiative building.

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Richmond City Council Vice President Delores McQuinn will appear in Richmond General District Court May 22 due to code violations on the garage of her house undergoing renovation at 31st and Broad Streets. [via]

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Invoking Don Imus, the article Church Hill gentrifier says it’s hard living around poor people in the May/June issue of the leftist Richmond Defender quotes an Aug 2006 email to Church Hill Neigborhood Block Captains and a comment on this site in a character assassination piece on Laura Daab (leader of the CH Block Captain program and force behind the push for O&H designation for Church Hill North).

Mayor Wilder will be holding a townhall meeting on Wednesday, May 23rd, at the The Temple of Judah at 2120 Venable Street from 7:00 PM until 8:50 PM.

The first of the Mayor’s 7th District Roundtable Meetings of 2007 and the first chaired by Reggie Malone drew approximately 20 people to EDI. The core of the meeting was a 45-minute presentation and Q&A by Anthony Scott, Executive Director of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA).

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The first of the Mayor’s 7th District Roundtable meetings for the year with the new Liaison Reggie Malone will be on Monday April 16th at 6:00 @ East District Center 701 N 25th Street. The Executive Director of Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority Mr.Anthony Scott will be the guest speaker.

Laura Dabb has a turn as a Richmond Times-Dispatch guest columnist today with Zoning Overlay: Church Hill North Area Deserves Old and Historic District Label.

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