The use of the word sustainability has the Jefferson Area Tea Party calling foul. They say it has been hijacked to push a radical political agenda and they are calling on Charlottesville and Albemarle County to renounce it.
The tea party says they are all for sustainability and environmentalism as long as it isn't government mandated. But they say that is exactly what is going on in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, tea party leaders said Albemarle County's participation in several groups should end. Those include the Cool Counties Initiative as well as their involvement in ICLEI - an international cooperation of city and county governments.
They also take issue with the county and Charlottesville's acceptance of a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to facilitate better regional planning.
Carole Thorpe with the Jefferson Area Tea Party, stated "We are concerned that environmentalism in this case is being used as a bit of a veil, to hide a greater agenda, which is to impose massive mandates, to have big government style central planning involved here."
Charlottesville Vice Mayor Holly Edwards did sit in on Thursday's press conference to listen to the concerns raised.
The tea party plans to bring these issues up at next Wednesday night's board of supervisors work session. They plan to urge supervisors to drop the use of the word sustainability from any government documents.
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