I would like to thank Louisa County Green Springs District Supervisor Bob Babyok for all of his hard work keeping the residents of the Green Springs district informed and always being available to answer our questions, hear our concerns, and represent our interests with grace and humility.
My wife and I have been residents of Zion Crossroads for 14 years. When we moved to the area, there was no Walmart, Lowes, Sheetz, etc, only a couple of gas stations, and a whole lot of trees. In the first 10 years we lived here, we met our previous supervisor, Richard Havasy exactly once. That meeting happened when the Stonegate apartments were first announced. At the time, there was genuine concern among residents as to whether Zion Crossroads could support such a project and he was finally forced to interact with his constituents after several residents banded together and demanded a meeting. Otherwise, he had been completely absent.
The last 4 years have been in sharp contrast. Bob has always been available and goes out of his way to talk to as many of his constituents as possible on a daily basis. We see him often, as he makes the rounds through the different neighborhoods in the district and attends every community event at which he is welcome. In addition, we have run into him at Walmart, Sheetz, Rhett’s, the Tavern at Spring Creek. His call to service is front and center in everything he does going all the way back to his 20 years of service in the United States Air Force. Several of his constituents have been shocked when they learn that his pay for the job does not even cover his expenses. Even more impressive has been his deep knowledge of the issues facing Louisa county that can only be attained by someone who truly listens.
The one thing, however, above all else that has struck me about Bob is what a terrible politician he is. Most elected officials will pander, make promises they can’t keep, promises that turn into excuses, and eventually devolve into personal attacks and finger-pointing. Bob has always been up front about the limits of his position (We’re in favor of limited government, right?). When he makes a mistake, he owns up to it and will promise to do better. A good politician would lie and make up stories in order to make everyone feel good and hopeful while personally attacking anyone who disagrees. A terrible politician like Bob tells the truth. A good politician will start fundraising the day they announce their candidacy while devising schemes to benefit personally from their position. Bob, being the terrible politician that he is, refuses to fundraise, turns down all offers for donations, and spends thousands of dollars of his own money to fund his campaign. All in all, if we look at the state of politics today, and what it takes to be a successful self dealing politician, Bob is as terrible at self dealing as they come.
I’d like to take a moment and address Bob’s opponent in the upcoming November 2nd election, Rachel Jones. We first met Rachel sometime around 2008 when the Spring Creek sports club opened. Rachel joined Spring Creek as a sports club member so that she could bring her children to the pool during the summer. I can honestly say, Rachel is one of the nicest people we have met since we moved here, although it has been a few years, as our kids have grown older, as kids have a tendency to do. Still, I can remember how our kids used to play together in the kiddie pool while we talked about the trials and tribulations of parenthood. I was impressed by her service in pursuit of making sure her children have access to a quality preschool education through Zion United Methodist church. For those that vote at the Zion precinct, take a minute and look around the gymnasium and notice the attached preschool.
Rachel was instrumental in bringing that facility to fruition. This shows a commitment to her community and to education.
All in all, if Rachel had decided to run as an independent, as nearly every other Board of Supervisors candidate has done in the 200+ years of the county’s existence, I would not only vote for her, but I would actively support her campaign. Unfortunately, she was recruited to run under a partisan umbrella, and her campaign is being funded by a small group of residents with very different priorities than most of the residents of the Green Springs district. They are cynically betting that there are enough voters that will vote on a strictly party line basis to take control of the board of supervisors. These residents have been against every phase of development at Zion Crossroads and share a single goal of slowing further growth and they are hoping that by injecting partisan politics into the county government, they can slow future growth.
As residents who want to see our community continue to grow and flourish, the last thing we need, in my opinion, is to bring the ugly partisan politics that have infected our state and federal governments to the county board of supervisors. Fortunately, we already have a county supervisor that possesses both a call to serve and is an independent not beholden to any donor or political party, which is why as a 14 year resident of Louisa County, I am proud to support the reelection of Bob Babyok to the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
Jim Noble
A shorter version of this letter was previously published in the latest edition of the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.