Kenneth Jackson is Calling for Unity

Ray Petree III, staff writer

After a tumultuous year in Charlottesville, where the city council has largely been the center of the attention, candidate Kenneth Jackson is calling for unity.

After previously running for city council in 2004, Jackson made waves as a gay, black Republican, but he still fell short of being elected. Now Jackson is running as an Independent, hoping to broaden his audience and separate himself from the traditional Republican platform.

“We’re going to come together, but unity doesn’t mean we’re always going to agree. Unity means that we can come to together to communicate with each other and solve the real issues,” Jackson said.

Jackson announced his candidacy last May in the midst of the controversy surrounding the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue, but he says it was not the driving force behind his council bid.

“The statues were never an issue, including for the minority population of Charlottesville. No one ever asked us [what we think],” Jackson said.

Jackson believes the removal of the statues were a movement coordinated by the council that only lends to a greater issues within the council, such as the noticeable lack of communication between the council and the citizens of Charlottesville, and the councilors use of their platform for their “own political gain,” Jackson said.

Most of the traction that Jacksons received over the last five months has been the result of his constituency wanting greater representation within the city council, most notably because none of the councilors are actually natives of the city, an issue that even Jackson himself said thrust him back into the political spotlight.

Jackson also emphasized restructuring work programs and nonprofits so shelters and housing programs like the Haven can better accommodate the homeless population.

“We have over 800 nonprofits in the city of Charlottesville alone. We should not have any problems. There should be no homelessness… We have people sleeping in the parks at night, and you call yourself the Haven,” Jackson said.

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