Richmond Crusade for Voters Candidate Forum for the 71st District

Crusade for Voters Candidate Forum - 71st District - Oct. 20, 2009 from Silver Persinger.

The Richmond Crusade for Voters held their final candidate forum of the election season. They will be endorsing candidates at there next meeting on October 28. The forum was moderated by Crusade President Antione Green. The candidates for the House of Delegates are incumbent Jennifer McClellan, a lawyer who works for Verizon Telephone and myself, Silver Persinger. I work at the Library of Virginia with the Virginia Newspaper Program.

Silver Persinger Running for House of Delegates, Turns in Homework

Official campaign website, www.votesilver.org
Official campaign blog, www.housesilver.blogspot.com

This isn't exactly breaking news for those in the know, such as readers of The Church Hill People's News and other neighborhood blogs in Richmond.

But this is the Richmond Telegraph's treatment. And this blog is written by yours truly, Silver Persinger.

Though I've know for months that I would be seeking the office, I did not begin my campaign until May 22, 2009 when I walked into the Wachovia at 1st and East Grace Streets to open a checking account for my campaign. I was told I needed to get a tax ID number from the IRS before I could open a business checking account. So I headed over to the IRS located at 400 N. Eighth Street in downtown Richmond. There the receptionist handed me a booklet and two copies of the form, Form SS-4.

I walked to the garden behind John Marshall's house and filled out my form on a beautiful spring morning. After completing the form I called an 800 number and spoke with an IRS agent and then she assigned me a tax ID number. By the way, political candidates are considered 'other non-profit organizations' by the IRS.

From John Marshall's garden, I rode my bicycle back to Wachovia where I opened a free business checking account and I deposited my first personal contribution of $100 towards my campaign.

The following weekend I collected 110 signatures in Fulton.



On May 28, I turned in paper work including signatures of 100 individuals with the Richmond Registrar's Office. There I learned I needed to turn in some of my paperwork with the Board of Elections [1100 Bank Street] and the Clerk of the House of Delegates [located within the Capitol Building, 3rd Floor, NE corner office].

Hi-Lights from the March 23, 2009 Meeting -- My comments

I spoke to the City Council on various topics that were discussed on the evening of March 23, 2009. First I spoke in opposition to the appointment of Thomas A. Silvestri, Publisher and President of The Richmond Times-Dispatch, to the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau on the grounds that it would pose a conflict between objective reporting and supporting the goals of the Visitors Bureau, it represents a continuation of the "good ol' boy network," and the Bureau needs a more gender-balanced board -- currently only 5 of 21 members are women -- and Mr. Silvestri was appointed to replace a woman who had resigned, Nicole G. Hood.

I also spoke against the naming of an alley "Herbert Hamlet Alley" because the current process gives developers too much power to assign alley names rather than having a process where the public has a role in determining the naming of a public right of way. I also included the comments from the applicant for the alley name, Jane Allman from Monument Construction.

And finally I pointed out the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget which they were adopting (finally, after former Mayor Wilder declared the Council's adopted budget invalid) did not include $5750 for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, which the City previously had to restore to a recent annual budget.