City resident Dr. Barbara Haskins is an official candidate for one of three seats on the Charlottesville City Council. Running as an independent, she will face the three Democratic candidates and independent Peter Kleeman in the general election being held in November 2007. The deadline for candidates to get on the ballot is June 12th.
Haskins, 55, is a psychiatrist at Western State Hospital and has been a city resident since 1981. She has never previously run for an elected office. When asked why she was running, Haskins said, "I became outraged in the last City Council budget cycle. That is why I am doing it. I am driven by a serious concern about how city budget decisions are made. I want to be the candidate asking about the trajectory of the city
budget. Is it sustainable? I want the big questions on spending
decisions driven by good data to ensure an effective use of tax
dollars."
On the question of cooperation with the County of Albemarle, Haskins views it with an eye towards spending taxpayer dollars more effectively. "We should reopen the question of the merging of services and reversion." She thinks reversion to town status within Albemarle has a greater potential for savings than merging various agencies as reversion will "dissolve governmental structures" in the city. Haskins said she also favors reversion since it is something the city voters can decide on their own.
When asked about running as an independent versus seeking the nomination of a political party, Haskins responded, "I think both parties come with enormous baggage. On a national level, both parties are owned by different groups. I think each party has sacred cows and I want to be able to talk about those sacred cows."
Visit Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Election Watch 2007 website for detailed information on the candidates, campaign finance reports, upcoming candidate forums, and related events. Click here to view all postings related to City elections.
Brian Wheeler