Pinkston and Wade kick-off 2025 reelection campaign

There are just under eleven months until the next general election but in Virginia the machinery of democracy is always moving.

At noon on December 9, 2024, around two dozen people assembled at the Free Speech Wall behind two incumbents on the Charlottesville City Council as they announced they’re both seeking another four-year term.

“Juandiego Wade and I came on board City Council at a point in time of real instability on Council,” said Brian Pinkston. “One of the things we’ve tried to prove is that you can have a highly responsive local government that gets big things done around justice, climate, transportation, public safety, housing, and education. And you can do so from a posture of mutual respect, kindness, professionalism, and even joy.”

Wade said he loves the city of Charlottesville and wants to continue to serve.

“I’ve been a servant in this community for nearly 30 years,” Wade said. “To do it on this level is a lot of work and takes a lot of capacity.”

Wade served four terms on the Charlottesville City School Board before running in 2021. He said both he and Pinkston are hitting their stride and both want another term to complete some of their work.

Pinkston said he and his colleagues have presided over the hiring of a new generation of city staff and cited the implementation of collective bargaining as one way to keep people in places. He said Council has also worked to accomplish long-stalled initiatives such as the expansion of Buford Middle School.

“We’re tackling the high cost of housing by working with partners like [Piedmont Housing Alliance] to aim for a deeper level of affordability and by revamping our zoning ordinance,” Pinkston said.

Pinkston said Charlottesville is also rebuilding connections to both Albemarle County and the University of Virginia. He said he wants another term because the learning curve is steep and he is just getting his stride.

“These are perplexing times,” Pinkston said. “It is hard to know what to do and there’s a lot of uncertainty. People need to know that regardless of what happens in D.C. that their local government will be there for them.”

The pair was introduced by Delegate Katrina Callsen (D-54) who said she got to know Wade when he was on the Charlottesville School Board.

“I had the opportunity to meet Juan seven years ago when I was running for [Albemarle] School Board and he was a source of mentorship and a true public service attitude,” Callsen said.

Callsen said she met Pinkston when she was working as a deputy city attorney before being elected to the House of Delegates.

“I know that he brings a level-headed, steady, leadership that is strong when it’s needed,” Callsen said.

The two are running as a pair and their campaign website went live today.

Party primaries in Virginia are scheduled for June 17, 2025 and this time around the ranked-choice method of voting will be used to select candidates. Wade said he was not aware of any other candidates who are interested.

“We just wanted to get a head start on everything to really be in the forefront of people’s mind as they get into the holiday season and the new year,” Wade said. “It’s going to be a busy new year politically and we wanted to get a headstart on it.”

In 2021, Wade and Pinkston won the two Democratic nominations in June before going on to be the top two recipients of votes in the November election. Wade got 11,730 votes, Pinkston got 10,161, and independent Yasmine Washington placed a distant third with 3,482. Former Mayor Nikuyah Walker dropped out of the race but came in fourth with 1,928 votes.

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