LILLIE A. ESTES: A TRUE VOICE FOR THE PEOPLE

I remember when I heard that Lillie Estes was running for Mayor. If I recall correctly, she was the first to officially announce her candidacy to replace Dwight Jones. I can’t remember exactly how I got her number, but I did. And I called her to talk about her campaign. It was the first time I’d ever spoken to her at length. And she let me know that “Cheats, Is that your name?” she said. “I’ve heard a few good things about you. I’ve been in some rooms with you but it’s taken us too long to have a conversation, she said frankly over the phone.” I remember thinking this was an honest way to start a phone conversation but not particularly the most inviting way to start a talk about her bid to be Mayor.

It only took me a few more minutes to realize that Lillie Estes didn’t care about the traditional pillars of a political campaign, nor did she care if our conversation was written about, posted about, or reported on. She had me on the phone and she wanted to tell me a few things. She made sure to let me know that our conversation, like her campaign for mayor of Richmond, was not for show or for optics, it was about helping people. We spoke for over a half an hour about things she was doing in the community that needed more of a spotlight. People I should be talking to and how we need more writers in the city covering underrepresented areas in an honest and fair way. It was a pleasant but direct conversation and one that I will remember forever.

At the end, she thanked me for calling her about her campaign but wanted me to know that our conversation wasn’t for my blog, it was off the record. It was about what she was doing to build community and what I could be doing to help. She wished me well. And said, “Next time, I’d love to be ‘on the record.’ Since then we’d always exchange kind words and a laugh when out in town.

I most recently saw her at the Arthur Ashe Center for the Women’s March Convention. I introduced her to Cam and she volunteered to come on my podcast/WRIR show to talk about some upcoming community events she was working on. She was upbeat and completely in the fight for a better Richmond. I told her, “I’d love to have you on, anytime.” She gave me that smile to let me know it was all good.

The passing of Lillie Estes is a loss for all of Richmond. I feel honored that she took the time to give me game. It let me know what all that knew her already knew, how much she cared about people and her community. #WESEEIT

Photo from Richmond Magazine – Julie Vaughan