Three more people have announced they’re running for local offices in the past few days. Democrat Marcia Joseph (pictured at right) held an event at Sutherland yesterday to announce that she’s running against Republican Ken Boyd, who represents the Rivanna district on the Board of Supervisors. She’s the chair of the Planning Commission, and is campaigning on the need to sharply curtail development — she led last week’s unanimous vote against Biscuit Run.
Republican John Dawson is running for Clerk of Court, the Daily Progress reports, the only candidate to announce since Shelby Marshall announced her retirement after holding the seat for 40 years. Dawson, owner of Dive Connections, used to head up the county Republicans, and has advised Ed Robb and Jim Camblos on their past candidacies.
Finally, Democrat Kevin Fletcher is running against Lindsay Dorrier again, writes the Progress, challenging the Democratic incumbent for the nomination. Fletcher, who runs a property maintenance company, ran as a write-in against Dorrier in ’03. He’s interested in increasing the stock of affordable housing and getting the county to work with UVa and Charlottesville on transit issues. Republican Denny King will run against whomever the party nominates.
Is it wrong for me to think that if a member of the planning commission believes so strongly that we need to sharply curtail development she may have difficulty fulfilling her duties on the commission? I don’t doubt her sincerity or her integrity, but she’s going to be biased by her prejudices, can she overcome them to do her job properly?
Yes. If you’ve driven around Albemarle County and seen the loss of farm and forest land, it’s hard not to agree with her….not to mention the thousands of new houses recently approved by the BOS and tens of thousands of square feet of new retail space approved and about to be built. Should she blindly want more development (though we clearly don’t need it…)? I trust she judges projects on their merits, and within the context of each neighborhood.
Seems like just the kind of candidates we need…
Besides, this way we’ll have an election with some real choices for once. All the unrestrained-growth advocates will need to convince Albemarle that they really have the voters best interests at heart. So far, they’ve failed to demonstrate that. They’ve neither lowered the cost of housing, nor successfully protected the rural areas.
Advocating growth is fine and all, but at some point incumbants need to prove their claims that current policy has benefited existing residents. If it hasn’t, then perhaps the people in power no longer qualify as “public servants” and should be removed.
What it be too much to point out that “there’s growth going on in the growth area”. When anyone says they going to slow/growth they must explain how they will stop building in properly zoned areas. Without that any promise will be empty.
Sorry should have wriiten “Would it be too much…
Camblos was introducing John Dawson around the Court House the other day as the guy he wants to be the Clerk, enough said.
Oy. That’s a bad sign. WINA reported today that a current employee at the Clerk’s office is planning on getting into the race. I look forward to hearing more about that.
Mrs. Shipp, as I understand it, will announce soon and it is no secret around the court house that she is going to run