Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia

3/08/2018

Mayor Levar Stoney

c/o Office of the Mayor

City Hall

900 E. Broad Street, Suite 201

Richmond, VA  23219

Dear Mayor Stoney,

My name is Matt Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan with a strong interest in learning history and social justice. In these subjects, I like to learn the need to make Civil Rights stronger to reduce discrimination, protect the environment from pollution, and many others.  Mayor Stoney, the main reason I’m writing you a letter is to explain how I find your work as 80^th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia to be very inspiring to me.

In your current role as Mayor of Richmond, Virginia I truly appreciate on how you are a strong supporter of Civil Rights by advocating for people with disabilities’ rights, supporting fund to help women including minorities businesses to help them compete in the economy, working with city council to strengthen laws to combat against hate-crime to help protect minorities including people who are different, and expressing the need for equal pay for women. On the economy I liked on how you expand job-training programs to help youth including workers to develop work-skills to help them develop work-skills, reduce high late-fees for small businesses including local businesses to help them be part of the economy, and providing tax credits to small businesses to help them hire people to work for them.  Your approach on education reform like funding special education to help students with disabilities get the educational resources they need, expanding after school programs to give youth the help they need on their assignments from tutors, working with city council to pass funds to help repair schools along with provide educational tools to help students have a better education environment.  On the environment, I like on how you support funds for renewable energy resources to help reduce addiction to oil with gas, push for an initiative to improve recycling with trash services to reduce litter, and working with city council to provide funds to city services to help clean parks including water resources and beaches to help make them safe for people to use.  Another thing that I like about your work as Mayor of Richmond, Virginia is how you are working to provide more funds to help preserve historical sites along with museums including attractions to improve tourism while make learning history a better place, express the need for immigration reform to help protect immigrants including refugees from being oppressed, create an independent commission to review every city department on how they are helping the community in order to find ways to improve services to help citizens. and push for drug treatment programs to help drug-users get the care they need to reduce drug addiction.

Mayor Stoney, I have autism with a learning disability. Having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble comprehending on learning different advance subjects, sometimes I struggle to communicate my thoughts, and get teased. your commitment to be a strong supporter of Civil Rights including people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on my disability.  Your role as Mayor of Richmond, Virginia gives motivation to continue to learn history and social justice. My future goal is to someday work in these areas to help emphasize the need for Civil Rights to be stronger to reduce discrimination, protect the environment,  improve social justice to make communities safe, and many others.  Also I enjoyed listening to your City of Address 2018 speech because I liked on how you express the need to improve social justice, emphasize the importance of making education better for people, and many others.  Also my letter is a gift to you for inspiring me and for your birthday for March 20^th.

I strongly believe that you are making a great difference in your current role as Mayor.  Also I’m proud on how you are working hard to improve social justice, support Civil Rights, protect the environment, and many others. You have truly inspired me to continue to work hard on my disability, learn more about your work as Mayor of Richmond, and to be motivated to continue to learn history with social justice.   Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, working hard to make a great difference, and inspiring me. I hope someday I can visit Richmond, VA and get a chance to meet you. I wish you the best to continue to advocate for common sense ideas.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick