5th District Candidate Lee Shewmake talks on Byrd Park
Byrd Park posted yesterday an article “Lee Shewmake Comes Out Swinging“, in which Lee Shewmake discusses criticism that her campaign lacked energy or resources and she talks directly about opponents Parker Agelasto and Marty Jewell. The tone of her post is strong to say the least.
Mr. Agelasto has continually proved his ability to parrot resident concerns, but has failed to show his ability to get to the root of an issue.
When challenged at debates by Mr. Jewell over his zero participation in community leadership (note the irony here), Mr. Agelasto replied he had tried to participate by contacting Marty but never received a call back. Really. Wow, I am blown away by that level of initiative.
The majority of commenters to Shewmake’s post took offense and Lee has posted another substantial response in the comments, both are definitely worth a read for 5th District voters.
Dumpster fire MT @HillsHeights: 5th District Candidate Lee Shewmake talks: http://t.co/q5dwAMOO Talk might be too subtle of a word
Shewmake’s overtly adversarial relationship with Jewell has negatively impacted the Woodland Heights neighborhood over the years, in my view.
Based on the number of Agelasto signs in the front yards of the residents who had been her biggest backers in the past, I get the sense that Woodland Heights’ enthusiasm for this particular home-grown council candidate has waned.
Stuffa, There are a total of about 15 signs across 800 houses in WH and that is after Parker has practically moved in to the neighborhood. I have signs up and have not even canvassed here yet. The root of this election is outlined below in my response to a blogger on West of the Boulevard. I think if voters use actual experience to guide them, they will find a lot of useful information here. Also, Marty and I have a fine relationship. We remain cordial with each other and have met and discussed several items regarding the neighborhood quite recently.
See Below:
To answer the post from PW here is a breakdown of the experience between Parker and I (I am leaving Marty out since it did not sound as if you were considering him for the position.) I have spent decades in business leadership. I have been the Marketing and Finance Director for a multi million dollar amusement park, a Turnaround Agent for a national retail chain, the Portfolio Manager for one of the largest real estate companies in the southeast, with about 200 apartment complexes, malls, commercial office space and private residential homes across 3 states and the District of Columbia and the Executive Director for a Social Service non-profit that also ran a preschool for Richmond’s inner city at-risk toddlers, along with a couple of other management posts leading up to these positions. I also have a long record of civic leadership. When I held my first meeting as President of my civic association, I invited the police to attend and received a call back inquiring where the neighborhood was located. (I am serious.) Today, all of city hall knows where Woodland Heights is as do many residents across this city. I took over a defunct and broke association and produced a coordinated machine that now funds local churches, schools, the library and parks as well as neighborhood and community wide events. We have a logo, website, storage facilities and 501c3 status. I led the neighborhood to victories against inappropriate ABC licenses and development issues. I chaired the committee that brought Federal and State historic designation to the 80 city blocks of the neighborhood, the largest volunteer effort in state history and served as a consultant for the second largest effort for the Forest Hill neighborhood, located in 4th district. Under my leadership all 80 blocks were inventoried for tree loss and we worked with the city to see 250 new trees planted in a single year. The crossing guard at Patrick Henry, the infrastructure work at the school entrance on W 34th St, the traffic circle on W 32nd St are all projects I spearheaded and I haven’t even gotten to my other volunteer leadership posts. Now let us look at my opponent, Mr. Agelasto. In his 6 years in Richmond, he has been the Interim Membership Desk Manager at the VMFA, a census collector, a small business owner, as an independent art curator and, as of September, adjunct faculty working on a job skills training project. When challenged at debates by Mr. Jewell over his zero participation in community leadership (note the irony here), Mr. Agelasto replied he had tried to participate by contacting Mr. Jewell but never received a call back. I personally find this lack of initiative troubling as he lives in one of the most active associations in the entire city, where leadership and service opportunities abound. Campaigns are really nothing more than a job interview. The job in question here is a management position in your business, the one you support financially by the money you pay in taxes, fees, etc. Selection should be based on experience and skill sets. Providing past accomplishments on a resume’ is the best tool for potential employers to gauge future accomplishments. I lived in the Fan before moving to Woodland Heights. I have very much enjoyed the many artistic opportunities our city has to offer. It certainly deserves to be better nourished in the future and I am happy to lead such an effort. That being said, in all the meetings and events I have attended since the campaign season began in January (more than 150), I know that the top concerns of residents focus on schools, infrastructure, parking, economic development, mass transit, regional cooperation, taxes, fees and surcharges, development/planning issues, minority business participation, poverty reduction and tax base expansion. This list of topics is quite varied and will require a number of skill sets as well as full time work to appropriately address. I will bring innovative leadership to the district, if you choose for me to.
Best Regards,
Lee Shewmake