CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Brian Pinkston’s time on the Charlottesville City Council may be done, but he isn’t finished working to help foster communication between the city and the council that serves it.

“Even now that I’m not on council, I’m thinking about what’s going on over at Free Bridge or things I see on the news,” Pinkston, who lost his re-election bid in November, told Cville Right Now. “Because you care.”

Earlier this month, Pinkston published a four-part series of essays at the Free Enterprise Forum’s website tackling a number of topics. The first addressed “things your city councilor wishes you knew,” the second was about “what your local government can and cannot do,” a third tackled communication with constituents and a fourth dealt with collaborating with universities and other local governments.

It’s information Pinkston, who also runs a Substack, said all members of council wished their constituents had.

Reflecting on his time working with Mayor Juandiego Wade and other members of the council, Pinkston said there was a noticeable shift in the council during his one term on the body, with a level of respectful discourse replacing the combative and volatile discussions that had become the norm.

He said the council also became a more pro-active group, investing in the city and taking on major projects, including the building of a new middle school, the renovation of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, and the construction of new waterlines.

“We walked into a situation that was not good,” said Pinkston, a Georgia native who has an undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech and got his PhD in philosophy from UVA. “And we were able to turn around the culture on the city council board itself. I think if you talk to any of the folks I served (with), they would say I was an important part of, let’s treat each other with as much compassion, empathy, what it means to treat another human being well and professionally.”

In addition to the capital projects and the improved civility, Pinkston said the hiring of City Manager Sam Sanders, and the establishment of support for that position, ranks among the Council’s most significant measures during his time.

If he has a regret from his year on the board, it’s that the council was not more proactive in addressing the city’s homeless issue.

“I wish that we had made more progress with the unhoused,” Pinkston said. “What does it mean to serve these people for whom I have personally a deep empathy? How do I wed that with the fact that we have service providers who are in the space. How do I wed with that the fact that we have to fund all that? How do I wed that with looking out for the downtown business community?”

As for why his bid for re-election came up short, Pinkston pointed to a number of factors, including his opposition to ranked-choice voting, his support of the jail renovation project, and the community’s general desire for change. Wade and newcomer Jen Fleisher won seats in the city’s first foray into ranked-choice voting.

“There wasn’t space to disagree with the loudest voices,” Pinkston said. 

Still, Pinkston said after knocking on thousands of doors in the city campaigning, he came away believing his work on the Council was appreciated.

“As weird as this sounds, I don’t take it personally,” said Pinkston, who added he has no plans to run for political office again. “I don’t take it as a vote against me. I take it as people were voting for a another person for a whole bunch of various reasons.”

He offered praise for the current Council, which he said is continuing both the important work of investing in the city while also maintaining a level of decorum that was such a focus during his time. Pinkston said he appreciates that the Council is building on the work that began while he was a member.

“It’s in such a much better place,” Pinkston said. “And the team that’s there now, including Jen Fleisher, I think they’re doing a great job of having honest conversations, making hard decisions, but treating each other with respect. I think they’re proving you don’t have to make a choice between honoring the other and having hard conversations.”