Pantele strikes gavel at final Richmond council meeting

Richmond City Council President William J. Pantele beamed during a reception tonight as he watched a slideshow commemorating his seven years on City Council.

He was teased about his fondness for spitting tobacco and was later showered in accolades and with gifts from constituents and colleagues before striking the gavel in his final meeting.

Pantele was "a young, vivacious, know-it-all gentleman who was going to change the city" when he was appointed to council in 2001, said Delores L. McQuinn, the council vice president.

She added that he had done just that.

This fall, Pantele gambled politically, giving up his council seat to launch a bid for mayor. He finished runner-up to Del. Dwight Clinton Jones, who will take office next month along with the new 2nd District representative, Charles R. Samuels.

Pantele, a lawyer, expressed no regrets and said he's made no plans. He told his colleagues, however, that they'll surely see him again. "I will not say goodbye. I will say -- see you later."

Also last night, the council delayed a vote on a proposed ordinance that would crack down on panhandling after residents and some council members objected.

The proposal, now scheduled for a vote on Jan. 26, would make it illegal for people to solicit contributions of any kind from drivers or passengers of motor vehicles. If convicted of the misdemeanor offense, a person could be fined $250.

For details, see tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch. --Will Jones