Free Union Democrat Eric Strucko has announced his candidacy for the White Hall seat on the Board of Supervisors. He failed to unseat incumbent Walter Perkins four years ago, but spent the last four years building up his resume, and is now the defacto candidate, since Perkins is not seeking reelection. Strucko intends to lower taxes, increase services, and is known to be an advocate for limiting growth to retain Albemarle’s rural character. David Dadurka has the story in today’s Progress.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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This guy is one to watch, because he’s doing everything right in a way that hasn’t been seen in Albemarle County in quite a while. Anyone can lose. Not many people can lose well. He spent the last 4 years doing some real work that took a lot of time and foresight to position himself. Strucko is willing to take a strong stand on the sprawl that threatens to turn us into the next Fairfax. That is an issue with huge, untapped potential to mobilize the public behind new candidates.
Eric Strucko is actually a pretty good model for the County Democrats as a whole. New blood that approaches politics in a professional manner while taking a strong stand against overdevelopment. If the County Democrats want to be something more than a fraternity for babyboomers, this needs to be a big part of the change.
I just have to vote for the other guy since I for one want us to look like Fairfax with the growth.
This is my initial impression of him also.
And I guess that’s what it boils down to. Even though I don’t agree with you, DaMan, I do appreciate your directness. Many pro-growth opinions are instead marred in false pretenses.
Anyway, this is what it’s all about folks. Is there a majority of people for Charlottesville, one of the last bastions to resist the overwhelming onslaught of mainstream globalization, to remain as it is? I feel if Charlottesville falls, there’s little hope anywhere in the Southeastern U.S and maybe even for the whole country.
I moderated that up as +2 Funny. Maybe that wasn’t a joke. :)
Which is terrible considering he lost to Walter Perkins last time out. Eric is a hard worker and believes what he says. That being said there are things to be considered.
If Eric get elected I doubt any of the shopping centers would get built. He was stated that if he had his way The Ground Intelligence Center would never had his approval. Just food for thought!
Not a problem. Let’s just put a big fence around the county, tell the revenue-generating businesses to go away, and raise the property tax rate. That’s the ticket to responsible municipal fiscal health!
He wasn’t as well-prepared a candidate when he ran against Walter Perkins. Eric Strucko is much more qualified for the job this time.
As far as construction of the new shopping centers is concerned, those projects will probably be approved before Strucko would be able to take office. Also, its not clear yet what kind of company he will have on the board. We’ll hopefully be seeing a few more new candidates being shaken out of the woodwork over the next couple of months.
It’s not a black and white situation like that. Nobody is talking about pushing out existing employers. And if you’re dead set on increasing the population and adding new housing, we can do that by zoning for high-density, mixed use projects focused on suburban areas that are already lightly developed rather than building messy, sprawling corridors through rural land.
As far as raising property taxes is concerned, aggressive sprawl and rubber stamping every developers wet dream that comes along is probably the fastest way to do that. Sprawl requires enormous municipal spending on infrastructure on the back end. It’s the hidden costs that nobody talks about. Growth creates government expenses much faster than it creates revenues. Hence taxes must be raised on a regular basis and bonds are floated to accomadate that. That will be money taken out of your pocket to provide jobs, education and shorter commutes for people migrating from all over who you have never even met.
If you think that your taxes are high right now, just wait until you have 50,000 new neighbors newly arrived from suburban New Jersey who are demanding a central water and sewer system, a new reservoir, wider roads and bigger schools with more teachers. These are huge capital expenses that revenues from their additional taxes at the current rate will not possibly be able to cover even over a 5 year period.
Meanwhile, the countryside and character of Albemarle County that we love will be gradually bulldozed to make way for higher taxes and strangers who will outbid the locals for housing. Let’s just skip that step and let them stay in the suburbs they already live in, rather than remaking Albemarle in their own image.
Perhaps you and I have different ideas about what responsible municipal fiscal health is. Mine does not involve the municipal equivilant of check-kiting.
And if you’re dead set on increasing the population and adding new housing, we can do that by zoning for high-density, mixed use projects focused on suburban areas that are already lightly developed rather than building messy, sprawling corridors through rural land.
That’s where you are ‘dead wrong’. I’m not talking about throwing Walmarts along Route 29 North or South, but a trio of signs from R29, I64, R250 and R20 indicating ‘shopping center’, a bit like they do on interstates for gas and such. Give this mega-plex multiple accesses, preferrably not where big traffic is now (as in R29 North), make sure it’s hidden and away enough from residences and landmarks, make the developer landscape really nicely the alleys to their site, and bingo, you’ve got everybody happy.
For the rest, I agree (although a few more Northerners, say ‘Vermontians’ or ‘Mainites’, around here wouldn’t hurt the trash situation).
I`m with you – Albemarle`s dedication to their "Five Year Plans" blinds them to 20 years out.
May as well continue on the existing self destruct plan path than try to save a cause very close to lost.
Government foresight tends to blur beyond five years and Albemarle personifies that.