HeyJaredBrian Pinkston
- Indexed articles, last 90 days
- 4
- Latest publication
- Aug 9, 2026
- Outlet visibility, for Augusta Free Press
- Top 1M sites
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 12, 2026
Latest articles
Local government that listens: or, constituents, cranks and activists (opens the original)
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It is a paradox of our age that for all the boundless ways we can now communicate, so many people yet feel unheard. Nowhere is this more true than in the very, very many words – written or spoken, emailed or posted, shouted or scrawled – at the level of local government. We have a representative democracy. An elected official stands in for the entire body politic. As such, they must listen not only to those most energized, those with the time and resources to advocate. They must also seek out ot
PILOTing healthier partnerships between Virginia universities, local governments (opens the original)
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My city, Charlottesville, hosts a world-class university. Or does it host us? In truth, the two are so historically intertwined, so causally interdependent that sussing out “Who needs the other more?” is impossible – and frankly silly. As a City Councilor I quickly learned that both need each other. Charlottesville is a Southern town. It is also old. So, it bears the scars you might imagine. To be regularly reminded, by itinerant college students, of our social ills and instructed how to address
Span of control: What your Virginia local government can (and cannot) do (opens the original)
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People look to their local elected leaders to do things: from the granular – traffic signals, leaf pick-up – to the epic – housing for all, redressing systemic racism, “solving” mental health. Yet, when I served on Charlottesville City Council, I learned my “span of control” was narrower than I had hoped. The first concerns the actual, legal authority a local municipality possesses. Virginia, like most states, is a so-called Dillon Rule state (in contrast to “home rule” ones). Local municipaliti
Brian Pinkston: Things your city councilor wishes you knew (opens the original)
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that politicians as a class are scoundrels. Yet as you narrow into the local and concrete, an electorate’s opinion of its own officialdom is usually not so dire. Most residents hold their mayors, councilors, supervisors, aldermen, school board members, or other local elected officials with a mixture of respect, gratitude, and curiosity. I served four years on the City Council in Charlottesville. Here, I consider common misapprehensions, or just questions, c
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