CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Jen Fleisher’s first term as a member of Charlottesville City Council doesn’t officially begin until the calendar flips to 2026.

But since effectively winning her seat in June, as the top vote-getter in the ranked-choice Democratic primary, Fleisher has begun preparing herself for the new role.

Fleisher, a political newcomer who has spent her career working in public health, has been attending council meetings and visiting different city departments to better understand the lay of the land.

“A really nicely paced deep dive into the job,” Fleisher told Cville Right Now. “I have been meeting regularly with different departments in the city, and that has been incredibly helpful. I’ve also been just going to council meetings and work sessions to again, really absorb what’s on folks’ minds, what I’ll be up against when I sit in January.”

Those meeting have given Fleisher a deeper understanding of and appreciation for some of the work that goes on behind the scenes in the city.

“I think I am surprised by how much city staff accomplishes with really small, nimble teams,” Fleisher said. “I think some obviously smaller than others. So maybe that was surprising. I think I thought there was a lot bigger workforce behind them, and that wasn’t the case, so that was impressive.”

Fleisher and current mayor Juandiego Wade won council seats in a ranked choice voting in the June Democratic primary, both defeating incumbent Brian Pinkston. There were no Republican candidates on the ballot in November.

Fleisher campaigned with a focus on improving transportation in the city and addressing affordability in the housing market, the issues that will be her focus when she officially joins the council in January.

“The priorities for me are still the same. So, I want to see in the next 6 months, us improve, our processes, our infrastructure, our connections, our service, for transit and transportation infrastructure, and housing, zoning, how we approach housing, how we move forward sustainably and efficiently, with getting the most folks into housing that we can that’s affordable.”

Fleisher praised the plans for Charlottesville Area Transit that City Manager Sam Sanders outlined for the current council this month, plans that include hiring 10-11 new drivers a year each of the next four years.

She noted the plan has the ability to adjust and adapt to citizens’ needs.

“We are definitely moving in the right direction, and it still has room for improvement, which CAT is committed to, as is the city,” Fleisher said. “I think we really want to hammer in on that 15-minute service and really prove to residents that we can be a reliable, excellent alternative transportation mode, and I think the plan sets us up to do that.” 

Fleisher said one thing she’s added to her list of priorities is improved communication between the city and its citizens, especially when it comes to City Council business.

“The added layer that I now have is that I would like to see us, in the next six months, really improve our community engagement efforts as a city and really improve our communication efforts in those engagement processes so that folks can stand with us with a full scope of knowledge,” she said. “In the first six months, I don’t hear anyone say, ‘I didn’t know you were doing that. This is a surprise to me. I didn’t have an opportunity to engage or speak my mind on that.’”