But after spending the last 12 years of my life working in Carytown, I can tell you that much of the vitality and energy of the area comes from the traffic. Yes, it is a nuisance sometimes, but we live in a city, and traffic and noise are part of the symphony of all of that… in my opinion at least.

Now all that said, driving down Cary Street is misery on a lovely Saturday. And parking is a bear too, with best bets being on Ellwood or Parkwood. In that example, I can only say that those are the days when people really want to be out shopping down there, and it is just a case of popularity. But even Short Pump mall gets crammed on days like that, and they have cavernous parking lots and wide streets.

Tell me how you would solve the problem of the traffic congestion in Carytown?

And Get Real Richmond, the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville is *not* doing “incredibly well”. A large portion of those storefronts are empty, and the ones that seem to be succeeding are on the fringes of the Mall and, surprise, close to parking.

Goldman is gifted with “out-of-the-box” thinking and understand the governmental process far better than the other candidates combined.

Burlington, Vermont has a shopping area that forbids cars as does Charlottesvile. The merchants in those areas all do incredibly well.

Still, if the majority of citizens do not want to go that, Goldman is savvy enough to understand that. He is not rigid in his thinking.

Still there are bigger Mayoral issues than CaryTown…..

Goldman: You want to put in a pedestrian mall? Enclose the 17th Street Market and allow the local surrounding restaurants to use the market for dining AND let them serve alcohol(the market can be used for it’s original purpose during the day). This model is a proven success in many areas. That would do more to revitalize downtown than any other idea.

I find it very disturbing that Jones and Pantele are practicing the politics of division and negativity.

Grey is the only one who is willing to take what HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED and build on the positive of the last four years as opposed to wallowing in the negative.

Goldman is the only one who seems to have a clue as to what is necessary to bring the change to get city government back on the course he envisioned prior to Wilder’s unfortunate decision to crown Himself Emperor.

For an excellent analysis of the “State of the City,” you should read Chris Dovi’s story in Style Weekly.

http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=17748

Where would the money come from to reroute thousand of cars and trucks that traverse Cary Street each day? Where would all of our customers park? If the answer is parking decks, where would they be located? Has he ever considered that one very small trade off Carytown businesses receive for their high rents is an endless stream of driving traffic providing free advertising? Lastly, why does he believe Carytown needs “fixing” in the first place?

As we all know, the schools in this city need “fixing”. Crime needs “fixing”. Downtown needs “fixing”. Paul Goldman needs to leave Carytown out of his idea box, and focus on making relevant change in this city. (Even though floating his Carytown plan got him some free space on the front page of the TD)!

What other Mayoral candidate has called for unity from City Council the Schools and the Mayor’s office?

What other mayoral candidate came up with a plan to build schools and improve the infrastructure?

Dwight cannot win the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd or the 4th. Pantele cannot win the 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th or 5th. Goldman and Grey are the two candidates who have the greatest economic and racial crossover appeal. Grey has stronger support than you imagine as does Goldman.

And just wait ’til people learn that Dwight has received contributions from Al Sharpton. How d’ya think that news will go over?

Two candidates are practicing the politics of destruction –Bill Pantele and Dwight Jones — and appear hellbent on trashing all things Wilder, although neither has an original idea in either one of their pointy little heads.

Grey and Goldman on the other hand are the two candidates who seem to have the most constructive messages.

Grey needs to pump up the volume and substance while Goldman needs to continue to bring forward his ideas in a positive manner.

And, yes, I certainly can see Goldman able to greet business leaders in this city and help our entire region.

Unfortunately, I worry that just as some people are against Obama simply because he is black, I think some people may be against Goldman because he is Jewish.

Sooner or later, we need to get to a place as a society in which we judge one another based on the merit of ideas and the substance of their characters.

As others have said, I wish we could meld Grey and Goldman into one candidate. Think of what they could accomplish if they teamed up!

On the contrary, I think he is very electable and would be the best man for the job. Here’s why:

Richmond does not need another preacher elected to high office. Haven’t we already been there and seen enough? [Hint, Leonidas Young, Gwen Hedgepeth ...]

I wish Pantele had been consulting his list of thing he “would like to do” during his past 6-plus years on City Council. What has he been doing other than spending our tax dollars and crazy lawsuits. The potholes in this town are getting worse by the day.

Robert Grey. Great guy. Smart as a whip. But, no fire-in-the-belly. Hasn’t really said what he will do even though he is the clear pick of the business community and Wilder’s anointed one.

Too bad Grey couldn’t have said to Wilder what the Republican Party had to say to Nixon when Nixon offered to help the party after his resignation: “No thank you, sir. You’ve done quite anough already.”

Which brings us to Paul Goldman. True, Paul can get some crazy ideas going, but he knows how to work with people and is skilled at persuasion and diplomacy.

What Richmonders have been subjected to these past three years has been “Wilder Unplugged.” Paul always had work hard to help contain whatever urge is that makes Wilder the way he is and it is unfortunate that Wilder did to Paul what he has done to so many good people over the years. Had Wilder only listened to Paul, instead of kicking him to the curb, our city would be a far better place today than it is.

Paul knows government. He knows people. Sure, he comes out with some crazy ideas that are klinkers. But, hell, Babe Ruth held the home-run record and the strike-out record. Similarly, Michael Jordan held both the record for the baskets he made — and the record for the ones he missed.

Plus, I like the way the man tells it like it is.

Mr. Obama and I are not the same ole, same ole. We did poverty work in Chicago, we were on Law Review, and we have put together historic political coalitions of blacks and whites.

So yes, we have never run a government program or been responsible for a government budget.

But as State Democratic Party chair I did inherit a party with a record budget deficit and left it with a record surplus, praised by Mark Warner, my successor, for leading the Democrats back to fiscal soundness.

So the claim by “David” is simply not true.

Like I say, Barack Obama and I are use to these kinds of false attacks.

And in terms of fiscal savvy, my record of being a leading anti-tax, anti-wasteful spending advocate is well known, even the leading Republican newspaper in the state has acknowledged my credibility of fighting for the average citizen in this regard.

A friend of mine, who says he knows who “David” is, emailed me to alert me to the unprovoked and false attacks in his post.

If “David” is who my friend says he is – and I have no way of knowing – then “David” is a paid employee of someone backing another candidate for Council – and presumably John McCain for President. And in that regard, don’t you think “David” should have been honest in revealing that?

I am running on a record of proven change, someone who has a proven record of real leadership on the toughest issue facing Richmond, overcoming the legacy of racism and sexism that has held Richmond back.

“David” makes the same basic attack against me that the McCain campaign makes against Obama in terms of having certain experiences.

That’s his privilege, and hardly surprising.

Real change-agents expect this kind of feeble attack.

In my case specifically, “David” fails to mention that relative to the City Charter, that the final version of the Elected Mayor law was drafted by the General Assembly, and supported unanimously by Bill Pantele, and the entire City Council, Lt. Governor Kaine, Delegate Viola Baskerville, Delegate Dwight Jones, Governor Mark Warner, and the overwhelming majority of the Virginia General Assembly.

In 2005 and 2006, the Charter was amended, again with Mr. Pantele, Kathy Graziano, the entire City Council, Govenor Warner and then Governor Kaine, and the Virginia General Assembly agreeing to it.

City Council has had 4 years to change whatever it is “David” says needs to be changed.

So why didn’t they do it if it was necessary?

Or is it just easier to blame the Charter and Doug Wilder for everything, instead of the City Council facing up to it’s own failures?

Truth is, I have had not had a single conversation with Doug Wilder since 2005. I was the first one in the city writing a blog to predict that if he tried to through the School Board out of City Hall, it would ruin his reputation. Indeed, I was in School Superintendent Jewell Sherman’s office trying to help her that Friday afternoon.

When companies wanting to move to Richmond realize that I am the only candidate whose platform includes a 50% cut in the city business taxes to spur job growth [we were dead last in this category according to the Kaine study], who do you think they will want to meet?

And when companies that want to move to Richmond find out that Goldman’s “City of the Future” plan is being praised by all his opponents for it’s visionary approach, who do you think they will want to meet?

And when the leaders of these companies find out that the Mayor of Richmond has been a subject of more books than most Fortune 500 Presidents, which Mayor do you think they will want to meet?

The Board’s main responsibility is to establish and clarify policy to guide the employees of the system. The board can explicitly hire 3 positions: Superintendent, Clerk of the Board, and Internal Auditor.

The Board can implicitly manage the system by establishing a budget, and approving or denying fund transfers between accounts.

Holding a title doesn’t necessarily grant unlimited authority over a specific subject area.

I think we’ve seen ample evidence what can result from that theory of government.

I strongly agree that we need to get the respect and cooperation of our neighboring counties and jurisdictions, not sure if Goldman is the candidate for that…

We’re not doing so hot with that as it is (Diamond Debacle, anyone?). Perhaps someone who isn’t a typical Richmond choice would work out better.

With regard to Goldman’s flaky idea about Carytown–this guy has ideas all the time and I think maybe every third one is a keeper (ok, maybe every fourth one). But, don’t knock the guy for trying. Keep what you can use and leave the rest.

Why can’t you comment on the other candidates? Perhaps because they have no fresh ideas about anything. At least Goldman isn’t afraid to try something new. These other fellas are just yawn……………….the sameol’ sameol’ sameol’……

CAN ANYONE NAME SOMETHING NEW THAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED BY ANY CANDIDATE BUT GOLDMAN?

Great job to the neighborhoods who sponsored with a HUGE thanks to grace LeRose and the FHNA for hosting.

Paul is the only man in this race who did not engage in PERSONAL ATTACKS during the back-and-forth-finger-pointing oneupsmanship bicker battle last night.

He did have the smartest comebacks, but he never hit below the belt.

I also believe that Paul is the only one who can unravel the madness and mess that Wilder has wrought upon City Hall and the schools.

Paul is the only man in this race who did not engage in the back-and-forth-finger-pointing oneupsmanship bicker battle last night.

http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=11903

He is the only one who has any substantive and strategic plans to bring Richmond forward.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/search.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-09-02-0135.html

He is the one who came up with the “City of the Future” idea to obtain money for us to fix our city and build and renovate our schools.

He’s also the only man who has pushed to make our schools ADA compliant without raising taxes or taking away any money that needs to be used to educate our children.

http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=14753

I especially appreciated his remarks about the need for the city and school system to be more receptive to charter schools.