Mayor L. Douglas Wilder didn’t seem
to catch a break from the headlines this
weekend.
First came his computer pornography
investigation at City Council President Bill
Pantele’s office. Then there was the debacle
regarding the Richmond School Board “eviction”
from City Hall, which earned the mayor
a temporary restraining order Friday night.
Honestly, pornographic material on an
elected official’s computer? Sounds like old
news. Supposedly, there was a recent sweep
of government phones and computers that
revealed a great deal of traffic to pornographic
sites. What’s so odd is that nobody is saying
why Pantele’s office is the one Wilder
brought to attention in his public statement
on Friday.
Concerning the school board upset – arguably,
the blame might rest on both sides.
Wilder didn’t have the City Council’s approval
to oust the school board from City Hall to
new offices on Broad Street. However, he also
gave the school board two years to find new
offices. Surely the school board could have
used that time to act on that grant.
Yes, it was poor form of Wilder to close
down City Hall and hire 150 movers to
remove and transport furniture, computers and
important documents. Putting offices and cubicles
back together is no easy task, especially
when the disarray affects the students of any
school system. On the other hand, perhaps
the parking situation on Broad Street is better
than parking in front of City Hall.
If this whole problem doesn’t sound like it
might affect VCU students, think again. For
one, our School of Government and Public
Affairs is named after Wilder. Secondly, look
at the issues within our student government.
Between this weekend’s pornography accusation
and the quarrels at City Hall, Richmond’s
elected officials aren’t setting good leadership