Kim Tingley wants to spark local progressives
Developer hopes to build a career in city politics
Clement “Kim” Tingley wants to fit into Charlottesville politics, and it’s a tight squeeze. Sometimes it seems like any would-be officeholder must win favor from a coterie of bigwigs with hippie values and piles of money.
When the ultimate Dem stalwart, Mitch Van Yahres, announced his retirement from the General Assembly this year, the party’s blessing seemed to descend upon David Toscano, who will face two other contenders for the Democratic nomination in a primary on June 14. So far the former Mayor has garnered a long list of powerful supporters and a hefty war chest ($65,000) in his quest for the 57th District seat.
Former RWSA chair Richard Collins has also been making some noise of late. In a move that might appeal to late-’60s nostalgia, Collins, a UVA prof, even managed to get himself arrested last week (for handing out campaign literature at a Shoppers World, a strip mall on Route 29N).
Tingley jumps into the fray after serving as director of public works in York County, and starting his own homebuilding company in Richmond. He was visiting Charlottesville for a ballroom dance session when he met his future wife, Deborah Lawrence, so he brought his political ambitions to town five years ago.
Asked how much money he’s collected so far, Tingley replied, “We didn’t turn in a [contributions] report for the first reporting period, so that speaks for itself.” State law requires anyone who raises money for political causes to report their contributions at regular intervals.
The old-school Dems may not be lining up behind Tingley. But in an interview with C-VILLE last week, the former president of the Virginia Homebuilder’s Association and self-described “child of the ’60s” explained why he fits right in to Charlottesville politics. An edited transcript of that interview follows.—John Borgmeyer
Who is Kim Tingley?
I’m a child of the ’60s, and the worldview for me and a lot of other people in the ’60s is that we can make this a better world for everybody.
I grew up in a single-parent household. My mother didn’t have much family support, and that’s why homes are so important to me. After college I wound up working for local government in York County, Virginia. There was a community there named Lackey, where in the late ’70s they lived with pit privies and hand-crank wells. I knew that the Board of Supervisors was not going to tax everybody else to provide them with water, so we made applications for a grant to obtain funds to put water lines in the community. Being able to do things like that is very important in my life.
People say Charlottesville’s political scene is tough to break into. How do you plan to wedge yourself into this field of candidates?
I’m not going to wedge myself in… I’m to the left of both of them.
You call yourself “The Progressive Choice.” What does “progressive” mean to you?
It’s a search for solutions that are thoughtful and have a good scientific basis.
Let’s take the environment, for instance. When I was president of the State Home-builders Association, there were some wetlands regulations coming down the road. We sat down with the environmental community and we wrote the wetlands regulations with them, then we went to the General Assembly hand-in-hand and said, “This is what we want.” It was a no-brainer at that point. We both wanted the same things, for different reasons. As a builder-developer, I wanted regulations that were consistent, efficiently handled, with reasonable fees. And that’s what the environmentalists wanted… although they didn’t care about the fees! But that’s what I mean about being progressive.
I have a foot in the building development community, I worked for 15 years in local government, and I have a foot in the environmental community. I can talk to all these people and find reasonable solutions to the things that come before the General Assembly.
How will you deal with the right-wing in the General Assembly?
Let me give you a specific example. I’ve worked with some homeless groups, and some of the people who are chronically homeless are convicted felons. I discovered there are a whole array of laws that are used to keep punishing people when they get out of prison. I think that’s wrong. If I’m talking to a progressive person about the issue, I talk to them about compassion. If I talk to someone who’s got a conservative bias, I talk about it as an anti-crime measure. It’s all about how you present the issue.
Bush trumps trees
National forest rule change threatens 109,000 acres of Virginia woodland
A four-and-a-half-year-old battle over the protection of undeveloped portions of the national forest system, including Virginia forestland, reached a decisive turn on May 5. The Department of Agriculture, which encompasses the Forest Service, announced a final rule that undid a Clinton-era regulation barring logging, mining and other industry from about 58.5 million acres of roadless forests around
the country.
The vast majority of affected land—about 97 percent—is located in 12 western states. But east of the Mississippi, Virginia has the largest stock of roadless national forest. The George Washington and Jefferson forests, which trace the state’s western border, span about 1.7 million acres, almost 400,000 acres of it roadless.
The Clinton rule, called “the most comprehensive rule-making ever in our history—not just environmental rules,” by Cat McCue of the Southern Environmental Law Center, a Charlottesville-based environmental advocacy group, was adopted during the waning days of the administration after more than 600 public hearings and forums. It generated 1.5 million public comments, according to the Heritage Forests Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based conservation group. In all, including rounds of public comment on rule changes proposed during George W. Bush’s administration, the Clinton rule has been the subject of more than 4.2 million public comments. More than 97 percent have been in favor of it, according to Heritage Forests’ tally.
But commercial interests immediately and vigorously opposed the Clinton rule as the Bush Administration moved from what Heritage Forests’ director Robert Vandermark characterizes as initial uncertainty over how to proceed in the face of a widely popular measure to its dismantlement this month.
Under the new rule, state governors will have to petition the Forest Service to expand or reduce protected areas in underlying forest management plans that were superceded by the Clinton rule within 18 months. Under Virginia’s forest management plans, about 28 percent or 109,000 acres, could get roads.
Governor Mark Warner has been a staunch supporter of the roadless area conservation rule, writing to the secretary of agriculture in support of it and objecting to the Bush rule as “unlikely to ensure protection of these valuable public lands.” Further, he wrote that Bush’s changes will burden “this state and others with taking the time, resources and effort to seek protection of these critical areas when the decision still properly rests with your Department, which has already undertaken a three-year process concluding that roadless areas should be protected.”
According to his press secretary, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, is in line with his boss: “[Kaine’s] in the same place that Gov. Mark Warner is with this, which is that he opposes the Bush changes.” According to Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for Repub-lican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore, Kilgore’s position is that “each affected forest in Virginia will have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to see what impact logging or mining would have in that area and the surrounding communities and the forest itself as well.”
Vandermark says environmentalists will push to have the roadless area conservation rule reinstated, and will continue to support legislation to make it federal law, first co-sponsored by Virginia Republican Senator John Warner in 2001. But he says, “We’re under no fantasy world here with hopes of passing this legislation right now with this congressional makeup.”
Environmentalists are wary about how much deference they can expect the federal government to give to state petitions. “Based on past behavior from the administration and the Forest Service under this administration, I don’t see any likelihood of them favoring petitions that would mirror protections that were provided under the 2001 rule,” says McCue. “They’ve tried consistently, in every way possible, to gut the original roadless rule, and now they’ve done it.”—Harry Terris
LAST WEEK’S NEWS IN REVIEW
Tuesday, May 10
A matter of life and death
The Terri Schiavo circus has left local hospitals and senior citizen groups inundated with calls about long-term health care. In response, the Legal Aid Justice Center hosted a panel discussion on medical power of attorney and living wills tonight at the Church of Our Savior on Rio Road. “The bottom line is that your wishes need to be in writing, no matter how old you are,” said local attorney Jane Clark. “In fact, young people are more likely to be in an accident that leaves them vulnerable.”
AAN gives props to C-VILLE
The Association of Alternative News-weeklies announced the finalists today in its 10th annual awards contest, giving
C-VILLE Weekly and its contributors five commendations. John Borgmeyer is a finalist for his reporting last year on Planned Parenthood protests. Borg-meyer, Nell Boeschenstein and two former staffers are finalists for their coverage of the regulars at four local restaurants. Mario Zuca is a finalist for an illustration of Steve McQueen. Additionally, Jen “Slowpoke” Sorensen is a finalist in the cartooning category and Kent Williams is a finalist for his film reviews. AAN is a national organization of 123 newsweeklies, and the order of finish will be announced next month in San Diego.
Wednesday, May 11
Latah, Chedda!
Today the board of the City’s beleaguered Housing and Redevelopment Authority fired executive director Paul Chedda after less than a year on the job. Chedda seemed disillusioned with his job when C-VILLE interviewed him last month. Back then he expressed frustration about lack of funding for the City’s 376 public housing units. After many residents spent this winter without heat or hot water, some blamed Chedda for firing most of the CHRA’s maintenance staff. In the past seven years, three executive directors have come and gone at the CHRA.
Thursday, May 12
Better late than never?
The meeting was about 40 years too late, according to Albemarle County Supervisor Dennis Rooker, who tonight chaired a cumbersomely titled planning meeting, “Places 29: Creating and Connecting Communities in Northern Albemarle” at Agnor-Hurt Elementary School. Tonight’s meeting was the first in a series the County will sponsor on its plans for the Route 29 corridor from Charlottesville to just north of the airport. Still popular: “The Neighborhood Model” in which neighborhoods will be “more oriented to pedestrian and human uses,” as they say, and will feature schools and churches as congregating areas. The next meeting is set for May 25 at the Doubletree Hotel on—where else?—29N.
Friday, May 13
Collins courts the scofflaw vote
Today Richard Collins, who was arrested for handing out political leaflets at a strip mall, announced that the American Civil Liberties Union is considering taking up his case. Collins said the Virginia office of the ACLU is discussing his trespassing arrest. It will decide in the next 10 days whether to accept it. “If they want to take it to the Supreme Court, I’ll support that,” says Collins. “I think it’s a key constitutional issue.” On Saturday, May 7, Collins says he was handing out campaign literature outside Whole Foods in the Shopper’s World strip mall because “it’s an ideal place for a candidate with my platform.” The mall’s property manager, Charles Lebo, asked him to leave. In response, Collins says he asked Lebo to state in writing that he would treat all political candidates the same. “He said, ‘I won’t do that,’ so I said, ‘You’re going to have to arrest me.’”
Saturday, May 14
And those logo trucker caps will be issued at the border!
Going out on a political limb today that in no way signals his continued creep toward the red, we’re sure, Lt. Governor and Democratic nominee for governor Tim Kaine let it be known that he “strongly” supports Virginia’s effort to make Richmond the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Reached for comment, Kyle Petty said, “Tim Who?”
Sunday, May 15
Starsia takes Cavs deep into the NCAA Tourney
UVA lax fans have a week of crowing ahead after yesterday’s 23-9 trouncing of Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The rain-delayed victory advances the Cavaliers, seeded fourth, to next Saturday’s quarterfinal round in
Baltimore, where they’ll square off against fifth-seeded Navy. Under coach Dom Starsia the Virginia men previously took home the NCAA trophy in 1999 and 2003.
Monday, May 16
Superintendent issue continues to roil
City Council is scheduled to meet tonight to complete the appointment process for the Charlottesville Schools Advisory Commission, a body that Mayor David Brown announced two weeks ago would advise the City School Board in its search for a new superintendent. Scottie Griffin, who ran afoul of school principals, boatloads of parents and a key number of School Board members, resigned in April after 10 months. Meanwhile, more than 200 people have signed an e-petition pressing the School Board to answer about a dozen questions related to personnel and protocol decisions made during Griffin’s brief tenure. “Every decision made by this current School Board will be met with incredible suspicion—not just scrutiny—until trust has been restored, the petition states.
Written by Cathy Harding from staff reports and news sources.
