Goldman for Mayor - 7 October 2008 - For Immediate Release
Appeal Review Panel Backs Goldman Challenge in Historic Precedent
Agrees with Goldman that Jones' endorsement by Richmond City Democratic Committee was made in violation of party rules and should be found null and void.
(Richmond) - In an historic first for Virginia politics, the panel set-up by the 3rd and 7th Democratic Congressional District Committees of the State Democratic Party has issued the following findings, which reads in pertinent part:
To: Participants in the hearing held by a subcommittee of the 3rd and 7th Congressional District Committees to hear the appeal of Paul Goldman of the endorsement of mayoral candidate Dwight Jones made by the Richmond City Democratic Committee on September 25, 2008.
From: Appeal Review Subcommittee of the 3rd and 7th Congressional District Committees
Following the Monday evening hearing on the Goldman appeal, the subcommittee met to deliberate. The recommendations of the subcommittee are not the decision on the appeal but will be forwarded, along with all pertinent documents, to a joint meeting of both the 3rd and 7th Congressional District Committees for their decision.
The subcommittee will recommend to the joint committees that violation #6 of the Goldman appeal be found valid.
The subcommittee will also recommend to the joint committees that the endorsement action of the Richmond City Democratic Committee in the mayoral race be found null and void and that the endorsement process of candidates for City Council and School Board which is scheduled to take place at the October 23, 2008, meeting of the RCDC include the mayoral race as well.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Goldman attacked for daring to believe that rules should be enforced
Dr. Jones uses his Doctorate in religion to give Democrats some legal advice
Dr. Goldman uses his Juris Doctor to try and give the Democratic Party some religion
By Paul Goldman, an occasional column for the blog.
In a filing with the State Democratic Party that seemed right out of the John McCain campaign, Delegate Dwight Jones accuses yours truly of "a series of distortions", indeed being "absurd at best" at one point.
Move over Barack, you and I got to share some room here as the punching bag.
Frankly, I was a little surprised at the harsh language used by my friend Dwight Jones in his written statement to the State Democratic Party submitted voluntarily - he was under no obligation to say it - as part of the review process being used to resolve the my challenge, joined in by Mr. Pantele and Mr. Grey, relative to the action taken by the Richmond City Democratic Committee at their September 25th meeting.
As former State Democratic Chairman Larry Framme pointed out last night at the hearing conducted by conference call [and open to the media and others dailing-in], all that this appeal stated was the self-evident: namely, that the Richmond City Democratic Committee had not followed some very clear and basic rules in making their "endorsement" of Delegate Jones by an unprecedented, unpublicized, and unfair issue-less, power-broker driven process effectively closed to 99.9999% of all the Democrats of Richmond.
To be fair to Dwight, his statement didn't strike me as his usual way of saying things and moreover, it was aimed at the substance of my position, not at me personally.
That being said however, such words do matter, as do deeds, in the larger context of things.
In 2003, in writing the Elected Mayor Law, I was very careful to write a law that took into consideration his views, that of Senator Marsh, and others opposed an elected Mayor so that the people could finally get their right to elect their Mayor.
The plan developed is unique in the United States, but it was necessary if we were to free Richmond from the grasp of a failed and corrupt form of government, as 80% of the people agreed in the pro-change referendum vote, the Elected Mayor law winning in 90% of the precincts in the City.
Yet despite all my efforts, Delegate Jones and Senator Marsh, who was a key leader of the pro-Jones forces on September 25th, objected to the final product, indeed Senator Marsh made some very inflammatory and personal comments about my motivations, all totally untrue which he knew to be the case.
However, I am use to being subject to that kind of stuff from all sides.
Still, I mention it now because all that my petition to the State Democratic Party asked was for the same consideration that Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh asked to be given on my Elected Mayor Law.
The basis of their objection was that an African-American was put an unfair legal disadvantage under my Elected Mayor law.
Their position had no basis in fact. Senator Obama will get upwards of 80% of the vote in Richmond as did Doug Wilder when he ran for Mayor. Indeed, when my friend Senator Donald McEachin ran for Attorney General, he got less than 40% statewide, but carried Richmond easily.
The truth: By any honest analysis of politics, the Elected Mayor Law gives Dwight Jones as fair and open a chance to be elected as any election law in the country for the position of Mayor.
If not more.
So it strikes me - as they say in England - as rather "bad form" for Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh to now be taking the position that the Richmond City Democratic Committee can use a procedure that is not fair, that is not open, that violates party rules, that is to say it suffers - in the eyes of any objective analyst - from the of kind of basic flaws that both men said were the reasons they opposed my Elected Mayor Law plan.
If they were so allegedly concern then, why is there no such concern now?
As I said in 2003: the Elected Mayor Law was fair to all concerned and it surely would not prevent Dwight Jones from having a fair and equal chance to win the race for Mayor. He concedes my point now.
What choice does he have given the objective facts?
So why then, when I point out what Mr. Framme and others all know - that the actions taken by the RCDC on September 25th were done precisely to deny the very fair and equal chance demanded by Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh in 2003 - do I have to read the kinds of things I read in Mr. Jones' statement to the RCDC?
The next Mayor of Richmond, due in good measure to the fiscal mismanagement of the Wilder Administration and the City Council, will have to ask citizens to sacrifice in order to solve a growing fiscal mess. Thus, the person who holds that office needs to be seen as having been elected by a process that was not tainted, nor rigged either directly or indirectly in order to have the moral authority to ask for such sacrifices.
I treated the objections of Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh in 2003 solely on the merits, as anyone who has read the Justice Department files can attest.
Whether Mr. Jones's written statement to the State Democratic Party meets that test I will leave it for others to decide.
Dr. Goldman uses his Juris Doctor to try and give the Democratic Party some religion
By Paul Goldman, an occasional column for the blog.
In a filing with the State Democratic Party that seemed right out of the John McCain campaign, Delegate Dwight Jones accuses yours truly of "a series of distortions", indeed being "absurd at best" at one point.
Move over Barack, you and I got to share some room here as the punching bag.
Frankly, I was a little surprised at the harsh language used by my friend Dwight Jones in his written statement to the State Democratic Party submitted voluntarily - he was under no obligation to say it - as part of the review process being used to resolve the my challenge, joined in by Mr. Pantele and Mr. Grey, relative to the action taken by the Richmond City Democratic Committee at their September 25th meeting.
As former State Democratic Chairman Larry Framme pointed out last night at the hearing conducted by conference call [and open to the media and others dailing-in], all that this appeal stated was the self-evident: namely, that the Richmond City Democratic Committee had not followed some very clear and basic rules in making their "endorsement" of Delegate Jones by an unprecedented, unpublicized, and unfair issue-less, power-broker driven process effectively closed to 99.9999% of all the Democrats of Richmond.
To be fair to Dwight, his statement didn't strike me as his usual way of saying things and moreover, it was aimed at the substance of my position, not at me personally.
That being said however, such words do matter, as do deeds, in the larger context of things.
In 2003, in writing the Elected Mayor Law, I was very careful to write a law that took into consideration his views, that of Senator Marsh, and others opposed an elected Mayor so that the people could finally get their right to elect their Mayor.
The plan developed is unique in the United States, but it was necessary if we were to free Richmond from the grasp of a failed and corrupt form of government, as 80% of the people agreed in the pro-change referendum vote, the Elected Mayor law winning in 90% of the precincts in the City.
Yet despite all my efforts, Delegate Jones and Senator Marsh, who was a key leader of the pro-Jones forces on September 25th, objected to the final product, indeed Senator Marsh made some very inflammatory and personal comments about my motivations, all totally untrue which he knew to be the case.
However, I am use to being subject to that kind of stuff from all sides.
Still, I mention it now because all that my petition to the State Democratic Party asked was for the same consideration that Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh asked to be given on my Elected Mayor Law.
The basis of their objection was that an African-American was put an unfair legal disadvantage under my Elected Mayor law.
Their position had no basis in fact. Senator Obama will get upwards of 80% of the vote in Richmond as did Doug Wilder when he ran for Mayor. Indeed, when my friend Senator Donald McEachin ran for Attorney General, he got less than 40% statewide, but carried Richmond easily.
The truth: By any honest analysis of politics, the Elected Mayor Law gives Dwight Jones as fair and open a chance to be elected as any election law in the country for the position of Mayor.
If not more.
So it strikes me - as they say in England - as rather "bad form" for Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh to now be taking the position that the Richmond City Democratic Committee can use a procedure that is not fair, that is not open, that violates party rules, that is to say it suffers - in the eyes of any objective analyst - from the of kind of basic flaws that both men said were the reasons they opposed my Elected Mayor Law plan.
If they were so allegedly concern then, why is there no such concern now?
As I said in 2003: the Elected Mayor Law was fair to all concerned and it surely would not prevent Dwight Jones from having a fair and equal chance to win the race for Mayor. He concedes my point now.
What choice does he have given the objective facts?
So why then, when I point out what Mr. Framme and others all know - that the actions taken by the RCDC on September 25th were done precisely to deny the very fair and equal chance demanded by Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh in 2003 - do I have to read the kinds of things I read in Mr. Jones' statement to the RCDC?
The next Mayor of Richmond, due in good measure to the fiscal mismanagement of the Wilder Administration and the City Council, will have to ask citizens to sacrifice in order to solve a growing fiscal mess. Thus, the person who holds that office needs to be seen as having been elected by a process that was not tainted, nor rigged either directly or indirectly in order to have the moral authority to ask for such sacrifices.
I treated the objections of Mr. Jones and Mr. Marsh in 2003 solely on the merits, as anyone who has read the Justice Department files can attest.
Whether Mr. Jones's written statement to the State Democratic Party meets that test I will leave it for others to decide.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Goldman warning not heeded about budget/fiscal mess in Richmond by Wilder/Pantele/Media: So as mess grows, the public will sadly be hurt more.
Goldman for Mayor - 6 October 2008 - For Immediate Release - 804-833-6313
Goldman Has Been Alone Among the Candidates for Mayor Warning Richmond About The Mess Being Created by the Wilder-led City Hall/Pantele-City Council Fiscal Fantasy
Any fair minded commentator on the Mayoral Debates and Forums knows that Paul Goldman has been the only candidate who had the vision and understanding of local finance months ago to tell voters that the growing city fiscal and budget mess was the top issue facing the new Mayor-elect [see an example of one of my fiscal warnings issued several months ago below]
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor, issued the following statement this morning:
"As I have been saying for months - and yes, I do use email press releases which has produced interesting comments from editorialists and reporters who apparently believe making comments about the messenger somehow make less accurate the message - the Wilder-led City Hall and the Pantele-led City Council have created a fiscal and budget mess for the next Mayor-elect.
Having been a fiscal advisor to Governor-elect Mark Warner when he inherited a fiscal mess, I am the only candidate with the experience to steer Richmond through the growing crisis that will force the Mayor-elect to make some very tough decisions in the best interests of Richmond's future.
Starting from the day I announced back in February, I have been warning about the fiscal fantasies of the Wilder-led City Hall and the Pantele-led City Council.
For the last 7 months, I have used every Debate, every Forum, and whenever appropriate in discussing the future with voters, to try and alert the city to the fiscal and budget mess we face.
I urged the Wilder-led City Hall and the Pantele-led City Council to start making cuts IN THE 2008 FY BUDGET, not only the current 2009 FY budget assuming the two sides could ever agree to meet their responsibilities and produce a fiscal document both would agree is the legal fiscal plan for Richmond.
The media's refusal to hold both Mr. Wilder and Mr. Pantele accountable for not having an agreed-upon 2009 FY budget now over 3 months into the new fiscal year - a situation that has never before occurred in Richmond or any other Virginia locality to my knowledge - has only prolonged the situation in my judgment.
To quote Bob Dylan, how "many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?"
The answer is blowing in the fiscal wind, and it is time my friends Mr. Wilder and Mr. Pantele and the others took their heads out of the sand.
For example, here is an email press release I sent out nearly 3 months ago: .
Goldman for Mayor - 11 July 08- 2008 - For Immediate Release - Contact, 804-833-6313 -[Emphasis added]
"City Hall and City Council have been paying for a rising cost of government from a housing bubble that is not going to be there next year"
"As I have been saying for months, Wilder's led City Hall and Pantele's led
City Council need to stop wasting money on the most expensive City Hall and City Council in the state, and start cutting their expenses and government expenses, big time."
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor "said there is reason the Richmond Times Dispatch said of all the candidates in the race for Mayor, I was the only one with real credibility as a champion of the Richmonders' fed-up with the wasteful spending at city hall."
"And that reason should be clear this morning as Wall Street is rocked again today by what falling housing prices are doing to the credit markets and the economy" Goldman continued.
In a statement, Goldman said:
"Despite all my efforts these many months, the City Council and City Hall has refused to listen and instead heaped millions and millions of more spending on the backs of real estate property tax payers by wasting money we can not afford due to what they claim is another 8% spike in average home values, on top of several other successive years of galloping high assessment boosts. .
But in the real world of the next 12 months, all these rose-colored views of our city leaders are about to face the reality of the oil, housing, and retail market place that make up our economy.
There is not going to be any such double or near-double digit increase to pay for the bloated and expanded permanent city government they have now created. For too long, instead of making the hard decisions needed to expand our job base and thus our revenue base, and rein in the most expensive city hall, city council and city school bureaucracy in the state, city elected leaders and their fiscal teams have been authorizing spending at a rate that the people of Richmond can not afford.
The inability of City Hall and City Council to figure out what is the legal city budget without another law suit that will waste more money that Richmond can not afford is a metaphor.
The more City Hall and City Council waste in spending that we can't afford, the more in the end they will hurt the people of Richmond, especially the most vulnerable among us."
--------------30 ----------------------
Goldman Has Been Alone Among the Candidates for Mayor Warning Richmond About The Mess Being Created by the Wilder-led City Hall/Pantele-City Council Fiscal Fantasy
Any fair minded commentator on the Mayoral Debates and Forums knows that Paul Goldman has been the only candidate who had the vision and understanding of local finance months ago to tell voters that the growing city fiscal and budget mess was the top issue facing the new Mayor-elect [see an example of one of my fiscal warnings issued several months ago below]
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor, issued the following statement this morning:
"As I have been saying for months - and yes, I do use email press releases which has produced interesting comments from editorialists and reporters who apparently believe making comments about the messenger somehow make less accurate the message - the Wilder-led City Hall and the Pantele-led City Council have created a fiscal and budget mess for the next Mayor-elect.
Having been a fiscal advisor to Governor-elect Mark Warner when he inherited a fiscal mess, I am the only candidate with the experience to steer Richmond through the growing crisis that will force the Mayor-elect to make some very tough decisions in the best interests of Richmond's future.
Starting from the day I announced back in February, I have been warning about the fiscal fantasies of the Wilder-led City Hall and the Pantele-led City Council.
For the last 7 months, I have used every Debate, every Forum, and whenever appropriate in discussing the future with voters, to try and alert the city to the fiscal and budget mess we face.
I urged the Wilder-led City Hall and the Pantele-led City Council to start making cuts IN THE 2008 FY BUDGET, not only the current 2009 FY budget assuming the two sides could ever agree to meet their responsibilities and produce a fiscal document both would agree is the legal fiscal plan for Richmond.
The media's refusal to hold both Mr. Wilder and Mr. Pantele accountable for not having an agreed-upon 2009 FY budget now over 3 months into the new fiscal year - a situation that has never before occurred in Richmond or any other Virginia locality to my knowledge - has only prolonged the situation in my judgment.
To quote Bob Dylan, how "many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?"
The answer is blowing in the fiscal wind, and it is time my friends Mr. Wilder and Mr. Pantele and the others took their heads out of the sand.
For example, here is an email press release I sent out nearly 3 months ago: .
Goldman for Mayor - 11 July 08- 2008 - For Immediate Release - Contact, 804-833-6313 -[Emphasis added]
"City Hall and City Council have been paying for a rising cost of government from a housing bubble that is not going to be there next year"
"As I have been saying for months, Wilder's led City Hall and Pantele's led
City Council need to stop wasting money on the most expensive City Hall and City Council in the state, and start cutting their expenses and government expenses, big time."
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor "said there is reason the Richmond Times Dispatch said of all the candidates in the race for Mayor, I was the only one with real credibility as a champion of the Richmonders' fed-up with the wasteful spending at city hall."
"And that reason should be clear this morning as Wall Street is rocked again today by what falling housing prices are doing to the credit markets and the economy" Goldman continued.
In a statement, Goldman said:
"Despite all my efforts these many months, the City Council and City Hall has refused to listen and instead heaped millions and millions of more spending on the backs of real estate property tax payers by wasting money we can not afford due to what they claim is another 8% spike in average home values, on top of several other successive years of galloping high assessment boosts. .
But in the real world of the next 12 months, all these rose-colored views of our city leaders are about to face the reality of the oil, housing, and retail market place that make up our economy.
There is not going to be any such double or near-double digit increase to pay for the bloated and expanded permanent city government they have now created. For too long, instead of making the hard decisions needed to expand our job base and thus our revenue base, and rein in the most expensive city hall, city council and city school bureaucracy in the state, city elected leaders and their fiscal teams have been authorizing spending at a rate that the people of Richmond can not afford.
The inability of City Hall and City Council to figure out what is the legal city budget without another law suit that will waste more money that Richmond can not afford is a metaphor.
The more City Hall and City Council waste in spending that we can't afford, the more in the end they will hurt the people of Richmond, especially the most vulnerable among us."
--------------30 ----------------------
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
VA DEM Party concedes validity of Goldman's appeal, admits only permissible endorsement process must be one where "everyone's voice is heard."
The Jones for Mayor campaign needs to heed words of Bob Dylan:
"How Many Times Can a Man Turn his Head and Pretend That He Just Doesn't See?"
It is blowing in the wind folks.
By Paul Goldman
In today's Richmond Times Dispatch, the Virginia Democratic Party had this to say about my challenge to the RCDC "endorsement" action of last Thursday night:
" We're not going to pre-emptively change anything, but we want a process is [sic] which everyone's voice is heard," said Jared Leopold, a state party spokesman." [Emphasis added].
Given that one of the basic, fundamental premises of my challenge to the Richmond City Democratic Committee "process" that "endorsed" Delegate Jones is that even the RCDC members concede that it was not a process in which everyone's voice was heard - quite the opposite really - then this official statement from the Virginia Democratic Party concedes what all fair-minded people already know.
Everyone's voice was not heard last Thursday night at the RCDC meeting BY DESIGN, indeed the whole "process" never even allowed the candidates to speak to the RCDC, or even fill out the usual questionnaire PRIOR TO THE SURPRISE, NOT-PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED endorsement move.
As Jefferson might say, that is why it is self-evident that the RCDC process and action VIOLATED THE VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLAN AND THE RCDC'S OWN BYLAWS.
In fact, the reason the Jones for Mayor campaign did what he it did WAS TO ACT SO THAT ALL VOICES DID NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO BE HEARD!
So this is why I have urged the Appeal Committee created to hold their hearing ASAP, to ask Delegate Jones to allow it to be held ASAP, so we can quickly correct the damage done by the RCDC failures to follow the basic rules and values of the Democratic party.
"How Many Times Can a Man Turn his Head and Pretend That He Just Doesn't See?"
It is blowing in the wind folks.
By Paul Goldman
In today's Richmond Times Dispatch, the Virginia Democratic Party had this to say about my challenge to the RCDC "endorsement" action of last Thursday night:
" We're not going to pre-emptively change anything, but we want a process is [sic] which everyone's voice is heard," said Jared Leopold, a state party spokesman." [Emphasis added].
Given that one of the basic, fundamental premises of my challenge to the Richmond City Democratic Committee "process" that "endorsed" Delegate Jones is that even the RCDC members concede that it was not a process in which everyone's voice was heard - quite the opposite really - then this official statement from the Virginia Democratic Party concedes what all fair-minded people already know.
Everyone's voice was not heard last Thursday night at the RCDC meeting BY DESIGN, indeed the whole "process" never even allowed the candidates to speak to the RCDC, or even fill out the usual questionnaire PRIOR TO THE SURPRISE, NOT-PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED endorsement move.
As Jefferson might say, that is why it is self-evident that the RCDC process and action VIOLATED THE VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLAN AND THE RCDC'S OWN BYLAWS.
In fact, the reason the Jones for Mayor campaign did what he it did WAS TO ACT SO THAT ALL VOICES DID NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO BE HEARD!
So this is why I have urged the Appeal Committee created to hold their hearing ASAP, to ask Delegate Jones to allow it to be held ASAP, so we can quickly correct the damage done by the RCDC failures to follow the basic rules and values of the Democratic party.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
News flash: Goldman wins first step on his Jones appeal. I was just informed....
Goldman for Mayor - 30 September 2008 - For Immediate Release
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor, issued the following statement in response to an email received from Majorie Clark, the head of the 7th District Democratic Committee:
"I have just received the communication copied below from Chairwoman Clark, which is in response to my request earlier today, such request made as part of my appeal in the Jones endorsement controversy, and also copied below.
As I have said repeatedly, I like and respect Dwight, that is not the issue. But given the challenges facing the next Mayor of Richmond to bring this city together, the public interest is not served, nor Dwight should he win, by any taint that might attached to the process used to choose the winner in this campaign.
Having been Chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, I know it took a lot of guts and integrity for Chairwoman Clark to take such action. Eventually, everyone, will see that she did the right thing, for the right reasons, and in the end, everyone including Delegate Jones, will realize her actions are in the best interests of Richmond, the Democratic Party and whomever gets the honor of serving as the River City's next chief executive.
-----------------Forwarded Message:
Subj:
Please notify Jones campaign immediately of appeal of endorsement
Date:
9/30/2008 12:30:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From:
Mmclarkdem
To:
levar@vademocrats.org, dmark@vademocrats.org, fleone@spriggs.com
CC:
Klearb, mmclarkdem@yahoo.com
BCC:
GoldmanUSA
I believe that Paul's request is appropriate.
I hope you will notify the Jones campaign, the RCDC and all other campaigns immediately that an appeal is in the works and that claiming a final endorsement decision now may be premature.
Continuing to claim this endorsement, if the process turns out to have been in violation of the party plan, compounds the "smell" of unfairness and political rigging that will cling to the Jones campaign. If the endorsement process were conducted with correct notification of "all interested parties," the outcome would likely be the same; but there would definitely be positive vibes about the fairness. That would be good for Jones and for the RCDC.
The request should come from you at the top, rather than from the district committee chairs who have received the appeal.
Thanks.
Marjorie
804-276-2354
From: GoldmanUSATo: Mmclarkdem, Klearb, fleone@spriggs.com, levar@vademocrats.org, dmark@vademocrats.orgCC: eric@ericpayne.net, jennifer.l.mcclellan@verizon.comSent: 9/30/2008 10:19:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight TimeSubj: Addition to my appeal. Sorry, had the wrong subject on last email.
Dear Majorie, and Barbara:
RE: Addition to my appeal as to (e) action requested:
Given the circumstances, I request, as part of my appeal, that the Jones for Mayor campaign be contacted immediately and asked to stop from referring to Mr. Jones, directly or indirectly, as the endorsed Democratic candidate for Mayor until a decision on my appeal has been made.
This is only fair, not only to the other Democrats running, but to the people of Richmond.
Voting as already started in the Mayor's race.
Accordingly, we need to make sure no voter is under a false impression when he or she makes their decision.
Moreover, until a decision is reached, there is nothing to stop Mr. Jones' campaign from sending out literature, making phone calls and otherwise saying that he is the Democratic-endorsed candidate running with Senator Obama on his official ticket.
This claim can therefore be sent in the next few days to tens of thousands of voters in Richmond.
Should my appeal be upheld - as I believe will be the case - then this incorrect claim would have been communicated to all these tens of thousands of voters.
We all know the analogy to one of those courtroom scenes in Law and Order scenes when the lawyer violates the rules and the Judge tells the jury to "disregard what they heard."
The offending lawyer will smile, knowing that this is not possible.
As I have said repeatedly, I like and respect Dwight, that is not the issue. But given the challenges facing the next Mayor of Richmond to bring this city together, the public interest is not served, nor Dwight should he win, by any taint that might attached to the process used to choose the winner in this campaign.
Sincerely,
Paul Goldman
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor, issued the following statement in response to an email received from Majorie Clark, the head of the 7th District Democratic Committee:
"I have just received the communication copied below from Chairwoman Clark, which is in response to my request earlier today, such request made as part of my appeal in the Jones endorsement controversy, and also copied below.
As I have said repeatedly, I like and respect Dwight, that is not the issue. But given the challenges facing the next Mayor of Richmond to bring this city together, the public interest is not served, nor Dwight should he win, by any taint that might attached to the process used to choose the winner in this campaign.
Having been Chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, I know it took a lot of guts and integrity for Chairwoman Clark to take such action. Eventually, everyone, will see that she did the right thing, for the right reasons, and in the end, everyone including Delegate Jones, will realize her actions are in the best interests of Richmond, the Democratic Party and whomever gets the honor of serving as the River City's next chief executive.
-----------------Forwarded Message:
Subj:
Please notify Jones campaign immediately of appeal of endorsement
Date:
9/30/2008 12:30:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From:
Mmclarkdem
To:
levar@vademocrats.org, dmark@vademocrats.org, fleone@spriggs.com
CC:
Klearb, mmclarkdem@yahoo.com
BCC:
GoldmanUSA
I believe that Paul's request is appropriate.
I hope you will notify the Jones campaign, the RCDC and all other campaigns immediately that an appeal is in the works and that claiming a final endorsement decision now may be premature.
Continuing to claim this endorsement, if the process turns out to have been in violation of the party plan, compounds the "smell" of unfairness and political rigging that will cling to the Jones campaign. If the endorsement process were conducted with correct notification of "all interested parties," the outcome would likely be the same; but there would definitely be positive vibes about the fairness. That would be good for Jones and for the RCDC.
The request should come from you at the top, rather than from the district committee chairs who have received the appeal.
Thanks.
Marjorie
804-276-2354
From: GoldmanUSATo: Mmclarkdem, Klearb, fleone@spriggs.com, levar@vademocrats.org, dmark@vademocrats.orgCC: eric@ericpayne.net, jennifer.l.mcclellan@verizon.comSent: 9/30/2008 10:19:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight TimeSubj: Addition to my appeal. Sorry, had the wrong subject on last email.
Dear Majorie, and Barbara:
RE: Addition to my appeal as to (e) action requested:
Given the circumstances, I request, as part of my appeal, that the Jones for Mayor campaign be contacted immediately and asked to stop from referring to Mr. Jones, directly or indirectly, as the endorsed Democratic candidate for Mayor until a decision on my appeal has been made.
This is only fair, not only to the other Democrats running, but to the people of Richmond.
Voting as already started in the Mayor's race.
Accordingly, we need to make sure no voter is under a false impression when he or she makes their decision.
Moreover, until a decision is reached, there is nothing to stop Mr. Jones' campaign from sending out literature, making phone calls and otherwise saying that he is the Democratic-endorsed candidate running with Senator Obama on his official ticket.
This claim can therefore be sent in the next few days to tens of thousands of voters in Richmond.
Should my appeal be upheld - as I believe will be the case - then this incorrect claim would have been communicated to all these tens of thousands of voters.
We all know the analogy to one of those courtroom scenes in Law and Order scenes when the lawyer violates the rules and the Judge tells the jury to "disregard what they heard."
The offending lawyer will smile, knowing that this is not possible.
As I have said repeatedly, I like and respect Dwight, that is not the issue. But given the challenges facing the next Mayor of Richmond to bring this city together, the public interest is not served, nor Dwight should he win, by any taint that might attached to the process used to choose the winner in this campaign.
Sincerely,
Paul Goldman
Sunday, September 28, 2008
If Jones' endorsement by Richmond City DEM Committee stands, Mayor's election is over.
My column to be published tomorrow will explain why, if the unprecedented, unpublicized and apparently rigged Richmond City Democratic Committee process is upheld, then Dwight Jones is the next Mayor of Richmond: that's right, the election is over even though election day is over a month away and most people in town have never heard of Dwight [nor the rest of us too].
Did unprecedented, rigged process used by Richmond City DEM Committee violate Voting Rights Act?
Goldman for Mayor - 28 September 2008 - For Immediate Release - Contact: 804-833-6313
Did the Richmond City Democratic Committee violate the Voting Rights Act by the questionable, unprecedented, and apparently rigged process it used to endorse Delegate Dwight Jones for Mayor this past Thursday?
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor issued the following:
"Surely Barack Obama and Paul Goldman aren't the only Democrats who realize that time has come for a new politics. I like Dwight, he is a terrific guy. But this is not about any one person, it is about the values and principles Democrats across America believe in.
Yesterday, following the procedures in the Virginia Democratic Party Plan, I asked the appropriate body to review the process.
In 2003 and 2004, some of the individuals who voted to break the rules last Thursday night were the same persons who said they didn't back the Elected Mayor law that I drafted because its passage had been done in violation of the Voting Rights Act. They heaped false personal abuse on myself and others.
So the question is: When will we stop the double standard in Richmond and in that regard, if the Richmond City Democratic Committee is incapable of believing in Dr. King's dream, then what does that say about the future of things in the River City?
As my filing showed - and as the additional filing will additionally show now that I am in possession of the RCDC bylaws - the rules passed to protect the rights of the minority, of the all the citizens of Richmond, were not followed last Thursday.
Having been the one person among the candidates running for Mayor who has a proven record of being willing to take the lead at historic moments to bring blacks and whites together so we get with the business of getting past the past, I can say this based on successful experience:
Two wrongs can never make things right, and in the end, the people who get most hurt by the public cynicism fueled by ill-advised action as the RCDC took last night are the very poor children and working families who have long looked to Democrats to level the playing field.
Did the Richmond City Democratic Committee violate the Voting Rights Act by the questionable, unprecedented, and apparently rigged process it used to endorse Delegate Dwight Jones for Mayor this past Thursday?
(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor issued the following:
"Surely Barack Obama and Paul Goldman aren't the only Democrats who realize that time has come for a new politics. I like Dwight, he is a terrific guy. But this is not about any one person, it is about the values and principles Democrats across America believe in.
Yesterday, following the procedures in the Virginia Democratic Party Plan, I asked the appropriate body to review the process.
In 2003 and 2004, some of the individuals who voted to break the rules last Thursday night were the same persons who said they didn't back the Elected Mayor law that I drafted because its passage had been done in violation of the Voting Rights Act. They heaped false personal abuse on myself and others.
So the question is: When will we stop the double standard in Richmond and in that regard, if the Richmond City Democratic Committee is incapable of believing in Dr. King's dream, then what does that say about the future of things in the River City?
As my filing showed - and as the additional filing will additionally show now that I am in possession of the RCDC bylaws - the rules passed to protect the rights of the minority, of the all the citizens of Richmond, were not followed last Thursday.
Having been the one person among the candidates running for Mayor who has a proven record of being willing to take the lead at historic moments to bring blacks and whites together so we get with the business of getting past the past, I can say this based on successful experience:
Two wrongs can never make things right, and in the end, the people who get most hurt by the public cynicism fueled by ill-advised action as the RCDC took last night are the very poor children and working families who have long looked to Democrats to level the playing field.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)