Category: Louisa Dems Blog

Are Voters Turning to Competency Over Party?

The results of Tuesday’s snap election, authorized by the Board of Supervisors to the tune of $86,000, might signal political change in Culpeper and perhaps the rest of Virginia.

By an overwhelming margin, county voters chose Carson Beard, the only experienced candidate, to fill the clerk of the Circuit Court position. Mr. Beard ran a fact-based campaign on his qualifications and his long-standing ties to the community. He ran as an Independent. His opponent ran as a Republican, believing that his party affiliation guaranteed success. The voters proved him wrong.

In Virginia, voter registration does not require a declaration of party preference. We do not know how many Republicans, Democrats and Independents voted or for whom, but Beard could hardly have won more than two-thirds of the vote without support from all three corners. The Republican candidate lost despite touting the endorsements of local and statewide Republican officials and candidates. He was mistaken in assuming that a party label entitled him to a job for which he was clearly not qualified.

The election’s outcome is encouraging at a time in this country when partisanship has encouraged ugly actions at the Capitol and in speech. Words have fueled hatred and violence against “others” who may have different opinions, life-styles, religions, appearance, skin color, physical features and even disabilities. No one has seemed to be exempt. Perhaps the hatchet can buried in Culpeper.

Historically, few people vote in special elections, but those who did this time may foreshadow our local elections in November. Traditionally, candidates for town and county offices have not been affiliated with any political party. By law, in fact, party affiliation may not be designated on ballots below the level of the General Assembly.

The Chair of the Culpeper County Republican Committee has boasted that it will offer Republican-labeled candidates for all non-partisan local offices this year, whether Board of Supervisors, School Board, or Town Council. Perhaps the results of this week’s special election for clerk suggest that candidates should abandon partisan labels and focus on issues important to the community, offering policy options and stressing their qualifications.

The larger political picture is no different. This year, both parties have seen an unheard-of expansion in the number of candidates vying for the statewide offices. The Democratic Party will hold a statewide primary on June 8 for five candidates for Governor, eight candidates for Lieutenant Governor, and two candidates for Attorney General. These candidates represent considerable diversity in background and experience. All registered Virginia voters will be able to help choose the Party’s nominees in this primary.

The Culpeper County Democratic Committee has joined with surrounding county committees to organize a “Central Virginia Candidates’ Town Hall” so the voting public will have a chance to review the competence and experience of all 15 candidates. Candidates for Governor will present themselves on Wednesday, April 7. Candidates for Lieutenant Governor will appear on Wednesday, April 14, and Attorney General candidates will appear Wednesday, April 21. Check the Culpeper Democrat’s website for details: culpeperdemocrats.org.

Virginia Republicans, on the other hand, spent many months of messy internal debate before deciding to disenfranchise their party’s voters by holding a “disassembled” convention, rather than a primary, at 37 drive-through locations on May 8. This means that only convention delegates—the most ardent of the party faithful—will choose their nominees, in a ranked-voting process.

Culpeper’s new Clerk of the Circuit Court, Carson Beard, whose grandfather was Culpeper’s Republican delegate in the General Assembly, has shown definitively that voters will respond to competence and integrity over party ideology.

Let us hope that March’s example will carry into November.

Dave Reuther

David Reuther, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, is a past chair of the Culpeper Democratic Committee. These are his personal observations. This opinion piece was previously published by The Culpeper Star-Exponent at Will Culpeper persist in voting for qualified candidates rather than party affiliation?

County needs to slow down on business park 

I see in last week’s Central Virginian that Louisa County Economic Development Director Andy Wade is once again proposing that we spend $2.5 million to plan and buy easements for bringing utilities to the proposed Shannon Hill Business Park. He’s not only asking to put his request in the budget, he’s also asking to fast-forward the process so that the money would be available immediately rather than after July 1.

He is asking to spend this money for a project that has been dogged with problems. Parts of the due diligence report, on which further site study must be based and costs calculated, are not completed. We know this site has rugged terrain which will be a problem. These problems have not been solved and we have no information as to the cost.

Is this another government project where the taxpayers are seen as a bottomless pit whose money can be used so carelessly, without knowing the cost and feasibility of the project?

Just recently we saw what happened by pushing ahead with a plan in which we did not have all our ducks lined up. We put money into a pumping station on the James River at a location that was known to be the historic capital of the Monacans. We were warned that this would be a problem, but on the advice of our subcontractor, Timmons Group, we ignored that and plowed ahead until we were brought to heel by the Department of Historic Resources and the threat of overwhelming lawsuits. We lost the money we had put into the location.

 Timmons, the contractor who advised them to ignore the claims of the Monacans and hired unqualified people to try to get around laws regarding artifacts on historic sites, is the same contractor doing the engineering on this project. This should raise some eyebrows.

 We need to slow down. We do not know whether this park will be built. In every public hearing, the room has been filled with Louisa citizens saying, “We don’t want this kind of development in Louisa.” It’ It’s way too soon to commit more money to this project.

Mary Kranz
Louisa

This letter was previously printed in The Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.

No due diligence for business park

Louisa County government has been promoting the Shannon Hill business park entirely on the basis of its proximity to Interstate 64. That is a valid point. That might be a good place for such an investment if there is a good site and if good infrastructure is conveniently and economically available for the property that was purchased.

About the same time that the board of supervisors finally, and possibly illegally, approved the millions of dollars spent to purchase the business park property, they entered into a contract with Timmons Engineering for what was called a due diligence study. Basically it was to advise the county on how to develop the land they had purchased, after the same company had advised them to buy it.

There are lots of different things to evaluate in such a study. Costs and best method of developing the property; earthmoving; paving; utilities, environmental, cultural, and historical considerations; transportation access, etc.

Those were listed as the contract’s objectives.

That contract came into effect almost two years ago. Timmons made a presentation to the board in 2020, apparently accepted without comment, laying out what they called their “final plan” for the property’s development. It was basically an elaboration of previous material from our county planning department showing how one could arrange a number of large buildings on a flattened map of the project. No cost estimates have been provided, as far as I know, for grading and basically resurfacing around 600 acres of one of the more challenging sites in the vicinity.

As per previous publicity, no serious study has been made addressing how the site connects by the existing transportation corridor with most of the county and points north. They have published some existing traffic counts along route 605 and their subcontractor’s report on archeological and historical concerns. The “final plan” presented to the board did not clearly address these issues.

The due diligence study contract has not yet been completed, to the best of my knowledge. Some of the promised preliminary engineering reports are not yet available. Those are what the “final plan” is supposed to be based on. That is only common sense and actually is what their contract stipulates.

County Economic Development Director Andy Wade is now asking, in a public hearing scheduled for March 1, to give Timmons Engineering $2.5 million more just to study how best to spend an additional minimum $20-plus million (their figure) to build a pipeline for water and sewage from Ferncliff with an unestablished source, plus sewage pipe and pumping to take everything all the way back to Zion Crossroads to be treated and put into the South Anna back another 14 miles downstream. They have reported concerns about the possibility of unknown costs and risks in having to tunnel under the interstate and the Colonial Gas pipeline.

And they want this contract expedited. Seems a little greedy, in the least. Are we going to learn from the ancient wisdom stories about throwing good money after bad? In the meantime, what about using that beautiful forest property for citizens’ nature and recreation pursuits? Surely we can do better.

William Hale
Louisa

This letter was previously printed in The Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.

Keep up push for broadband

To the editor:

Like over half the households in Louisa County, mine is served by Rappahannock Electrical Cooperative (REC). I’m concerned about REC’s commitment to helping citizens get access to affordable high-speed internet.

On Jan. 14 The Central Virginian included an article about a suit filed by a Culpeper landowner to stop REC from using existing easements for the purpose of expanding broadband access. Then, on Feb. 4, the CV reported that REC had shelved plans for broadband access using easements because of the suit.

When I looked at the Virginia law passed in 2020 to allow utilities to use easements for broadband (HB 831), here’s what I found: The measure provides that any utility may use an easement without such utility paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant, provided that no additional utility poles are installed. There is no mention of additional poles related to the Culpeper landowner who brought suit against REC.

I question why Rappahannock shelved their efforts when the law so clearly states they were in the right? REC announced on Feb. 5 the appointment of Mark Ponton to the new position of director of broadband and fiber Services. I hope they are truly serious about tackling this problem for rural households.

Juanita Jo Matkins
Yanceyville

Keep up push for broadband

FY 2022 Budget Request for Outside Agencies

The Louisa budget for July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 is being planned right now, in the winter and spring of 2021. Please look over this chart showing the fiscal year 2021 request, the FY 2022 request and the change. I’m sorry, you’ll have to rotate it.

You’ll find a much more complete document at FY 2022 Outside Agencies Requests. It would be fantastic of every one of us would look this over and share your thoughts about it. I will be sharing mine in blog posts soon. We have time to influence these numbers!

Louisa Budget Request FY2022 – Outside Agencies

Jim

 

President is dangerous, incited insurrection

The definition of insurrection is “acts of violence against the state or its officers.” On Jan. 6, 2021, we had a violent, deadly rebellion and mob scene at our Capitol.

At the rally beforehand, the president called for the mob to walk with him to the Capitol. The mob went, but the president went to a room to watch what the mob did. Really.

The president has been dangerous for the past five years, yet everyone has taken a blind eye to his words and actions. The president has lied, bullied, made racist and sexist statements these last five years. Is he the leader of a criminal enterprise? Or the leader of a free nation?

His followers have chosen; have you?

Nancy Syntax
Bumpass

The Central Virginian