On Thursday, March 24, 2017, I went to the Town Hall Sheila Bynum-Coleman, a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 62nd District and local business owner, organized at the H.O.P.E. Center located in the Bermuda Magisterial District of Chesterfield County.
Let’s Get to Know Chesterfield
Images of farmland, kempt lawns, and quaint Victorian-style homes like in Bon Air come to mind when most people think of Chesterfield County — or any suburb really.
Chesterfield County is divided up into five magisterial districts:
- Midlothian
- Clover Hill
- Matoaca
- Dale
- Bermuda
The Bermuda district of Chesterfield County, is just east of I-95 and south of Dutch Gap. A true suburb of the City of Richmond, it has pockets of more-dense populations, but primarily has large areas where there are less than 100 people per square mile. Dig in more to the data analytics about this district here.
Why would a candidate meet with people in such a sparsely populated area? Because this candidate, Sheila Bynum-Coleman, will leave no stone unturned.
Chesterfield County, for the most part, could be considered affluent, but when you begin to dig into the data and demographics, you will find people have been quartered off into two lower-socioeconomic areas — whether by design through zoning and development, or by happenstance — I’m not sure. But these two areas have been grouped into their own magisterial districts.
When I look at the data, I am drawn to the stark contrast that 3 out of 5 magisterial districts enjoy a less than 5% rate of residents on food stamps and two other districts are double this need at 9% in Dale and over 10% in Bermuda. It is issues like these Bynum-Coleman is shining a light on and finding solutions for people.
What Are the Issues Residents Addressed with Bynum-Coleman?
With about 40 people in attendance, she covered a wide array of problems including:
- Substandard Housing
- Slumlords
- Trailer Parks — many Chesterfield residents would be amazed at how many trailer parks there are in our county, I was amazed myself
- Lack of affordable housing — including deposits on rental apartments and rental homes, down payments and affordable home ownership, credit concerns
- Mental health — access and affordability
- Affordable Healthcare in general
- Drug Abuse — the opioid epidemic is not limited to lower socio-economic areas
- School to Prison Pipeline — our nation’s unconscious bias against minorities leading to harsher punishments for the same crimes comparatively
- Voter Rights — more people of color ineligible to vote because they’re unfairly targeted
- Education — quantifying vs. qualifying: in other words, focusing on passing the Standard of Learning tests rather than being able to think and generate creative solutions to real-world problems such as the ones we’re facing today
- Hunger — a Chesterfield Satellite operation of the Central Virginia Food Bank in Midlothian (located at St. Matthias’ Episcopal Church off Huguenot Road) provides over 50,000 meals annually to people in and around Chesterfield for people who don’t qualify for food stamps, or are waiting for government assistance to kick in. I’ll bet most people aren’t even aware that hunger is a real issue in Chesterfield.
What Can Be Done?
In about 2 hours many topics were discussed. Many issues and problems were brought to the forefront. People even began lamenting at the enormity of the various issues.
But I urge you, don't lose heart! Don’t lose faith, because there are people like Sheila who are sick and tired of being sick and tired! As she told the crowd, “Get yourself a clipboard, get yourself a pen, get your shoes on, and get out there and run! Run for office!”
We also need people to vote! People need to get up and get out and vote on June 13th!
Sheila talked about how many people don’t understand how the Board of Supervisors operates or should operate. She reminded the crowd, “they work for you! If they’re not representing you, fire them! Vote!”
She talked about the issues she’s faced head on with the Board and her Delegate, Riley Ingram, who before 2015, sat in the House of Delegates unopposed for over 20 years.
In 2015, Sheila spent $20,000 on her campaign and she came up with over 40% of the vote. Ingram spent over $220,000 to keep his seat that pays $18,000 a year.
Please join me in supporting Sheila Bynum-Coleman and candidates who have been working in our communities to improve our lives and our neighbor’s lives.
Government can't fix all of our problems - but they certainly don't help when they fail to represent.
About Sheila Bynum-Coleman
Sheila Bynum-Coleman is a native of Chesterfield County, where she graduated from Monacan High School. After receiving her B.A. with a major in Political Science and a minor in International Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, she began her career as a licensed real estate agent.
She later expanded her real estate services and founded R.H. Coleman Enterprises LLC, headquartered in Chesterfield County which operates in fifteen states around the country providing services for bank foreclosures and default properties.
On February 2017, Sheila was sworn in as a member of the Board of Contractors the first African American woman to hold a position on the board.
She was the first African American and first African American woman to run in the 62nd District.
Sheila Bynum-Coleman is a wife and mother of five. Her children attend Chesterfield County Public Schools. Her oldest child recently received her B.A. from Virginia Wesleyan University, and will be attending Eastern Virginia Medical College in the fall of 2017.
You can donate to her campaign by clicking here. No amount is too small! Every donation is put to good use!