The debut episode of Viewpoints on WVPT features an interview with the two newly elected members of Waynesboro City Council, Elzena Anderson and Terry Short.
Viewpoints, with co-hosts Chris Graham and Crystal Graham, the editors of Augusta Free Press, an online news source based in Waynesboro, premieres on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on WVPT.
Go to WVPT.net for more details on how to tune in.
Anderson and Short were both elected to seats on Waynesboro City Council in the recent May city elections. Anderson was elected to represent Ward A on the City Council, and Short was elected to the At-Large seat on the public body.
They bring different perspectives to the City Council. Short, a district planner in the Staunton District office of the Virginia Department of Transportation, has been active in city government for several years as a member of the Waynesboro Planning Commission.
Anderson is a newcomer to Waynesboro, having moved to the city last year after taking a position with the Waynesboro Public Library.
Anderson is the first African-American elected to Waynesboro City Council in more than three decades. Though elected to represent Ward A, she has become the sort of designated representative of the Waynesboro black community on City Council, she said.
“I feel that they have kind of designated me, especially those who live outside Ward A, as their representative. Given the history of African-Americans, I can understand their choice to get comfortable with me as a councilwoman. I think it’s a matter of me doing what’s best for the city while still representing my ward,” Anderson said.
Short wants to bring his experience both from VDOT and his time on the Planning Commission to the City Council.
“My motivation for running was the expectation of how you could see city government and my expectation of how city government should operate, and the efficiency and speed at which decisions should be made,” Short said. “Living in a community that is a progressive, fiscally responsible but progressive-minded, that’s all really important to me. When there was an opportunity to run, I thought about it for a really long time, and made the decision to jump in. I think it’s really important for everyone to participate particularly in their local politics.”
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