Wilder represents 40 GD years of Affirmative Action FAILURE. At least with MLK we got a flag as to how to avoid the cesspools in our cities by avoiding all areas with MLK street names.
Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder ends 40-year public service career with mixed legacy
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/news.php?viewStory=76
RICHMOND (Special to the NNPA from the Richmond Free Press) — “As the first elected mayor under the city’s new form of government, I have set the course that will continue to produce meaningful results even as I now announce my leave from this office at the end of the year.”
Facing a gathering storm of challengers eager to attack his my-way-or-the-highway approach that has been the hallmark of his tenure, the mayor touted his achievements and chose to bow out rather than risk ruining his unblemished election record.
Mayor Wilder was elected mayor in 2004, fully 10 years after leaving the governor’s office. He led the campaign to replace Richmond’s appointed city manager with an at-large mayor and created high expectations for change when he was swept into office with 80 percent of the vote.
His decision not to run again follows a plunge in his popularity. That plunge was fueled by his combative style, his never-ending fights with city council and the school board and a series of missteps. They range from his failure to keep the Richmond Braves in the city to the fiasco of trying to boot the school board from City Hall without council approval. Richmond Circuit Judge Margaret P. Spencer halted the school system move.
Mayor Wilder was battered most recently after it was revealed that he had been receiving a $700-a-month car allowance for three years while riding around in a chauffeured city car with a police security detail that cost taxpayers more than $400,000 a year. He reimbursed the city $25,000. However, recent polls taken for several mayoral candidates had indicated that less than 40 percent of city residents would vote to re-elect Mayor Wilder.