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Mary Katherine Greenlaw doesn't have a close relative who grew up more than 30 minutes from Fredericksburg.
"The history of this town is in my blood," she said. "It's instinctive to me to value it."
Greenlaw, 68, says she's running for council because she thinks her service as a planning commissioner, a commercial real estate agent and a volunteer on the boards of a wide variety of city groups gives her a solid base of experience to draw from.
She's well-versed in several recent city initiatives. She helped write the Comprehensive Plan--the city's long-term land-use plan, adopted last year--and she says she'd like a seat on council so she can help make sure it's implemented.
She was on the committee that created the JumpStart redevelopment plan.
She was in the van that City Council members took to Washington, D.C., in 2005 to look at hotels as they sought to bring one downtown. She's on the commission that is planning a riverfront park.
But Greenlaw also thinks her experience outside of City Hall will be important.
"I sell and lease commercial office buildings, so I'm dealing with businesses all the time, I'm either trying to encourage and attract new business to the area, or I'm assisting existing businesses to prosper as they grow," she said. "I think the City Council needs somebody at the table who knows how to negotiate a multi-million-dollar deal."
In the past, Greenlaw has also worked as a teacher at James Monroe High School, and as a farmer in Stafford County with her husband, Wilson.
At forums, Greenlaw often mentions her full-time job as a side note after running down the list of her volunteer work.
She's vice chair of the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation, a former chair of the board of MediCorp Health Services, and serves on boards or fundraising committees for the Thurman Brisben Center, the Bragg Hill Family Life Center and the Fredericksburg Festival of the Arts. She is also a member of the Sacred Dance Ensemble of Fredericksburg.
Greenlaw is complimentary of the accomplishments of the current council. She points out that her mother, Louise Garnett Goodwin, made her own run for a council seat in 1948.
She was one of the first two women to do so in Fredericksburg. "Her platform was recreational opportunities for our children and a public swimming pool," Greenlaw said. "Needless to say, she did not live to see that happen. It is disgraceful that it took so long to happen, but finally it did."
Greenlaw holds no illusions of the next four years being an easy time on council.
"The council has very difficult economic decisions ahead of it. And I suspect the 2010 budget will be even more difficult to deal with than this one," she said. "We not only have to know how to manage a budget and know how to prioritize a budget, it's a climate where we need to generate new business taxes, taxes that don't fall exclusively on the backs of the homeowners."
She acknowledges that tax-based incentives are "a necessary evil" to attract the businesses that will pay those taxes.
"There is a time that an incentive is a necessary incentive, and as long as it is tied to performance, and it is not an outright grant out of the city's pocket, then we haven't lost anything," she said. "But it's important to know the difference between a necessary incentive and a subsidy."
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com
| NAME: Mary Katherine Greenlaw
OCCUPATION: commercial real estate agent, Thalhimer Commercial Real Estate
COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE: two terms on Planning Commission; commission member for riverfront park and JumpStart initiatives; vice-chair, Mary Washington Hospital Foundation; former chair, MediCorp Health Services board; member of Thurman Brisben Center executive board, Bragg Hill Family Life Center development campaign, Fredericksburg Festival of the Arts board, Sacred Dance Ensemble of Fredericksburg
FAMILY: husband, Wilson, four sons, six grandchildren |
