Today concludes my official city council duties. I thank my family and friends for their steadfast support. I thank God for giving me strength, wisdom, and guidance. To City staff, thank you for your unwavering commitment to your city. Finally, to the citizens of Williamsburg and fellow neighbors, thank you for entrusting me with the greatest honor of serving you.

Tomorrow, Williamsburg will transition to the next generation of city leaders. This comes as a welcome respite from the past few months marked by disruption, deaths, anxiety, injustices, and most of all, uncertainty.

Fortunately, our city and its citizens remained resilient and united against a public health crisis that could have divided us. However, we have also seen and acknowledged where we have fallen short in our fight against racial injustices. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that we have work to do.

That’s where we, as citizens, must lead. Our city and its government can only progress as far as its citizens are willing to participate. We are each responsible for the moral fiber of our local conscience. With our training as citizen lawyers, Kels and I will continue to advocate for the public good and to serve our neighbors. We hope you join us.

Your neighbor always,

Benny