Frank Huffman, running for elective office for the first time as a candidate for Buena Vista City Council, says he wants to “serve our community with dedication, integrity, a common-sense perspective and approach towards issues while maintaining transparency for every citizen.”
Born and raised in Buena Vista, he is a 1995 graduate of Parry McCluer High School. He studied information systems and networking at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College before landing a job in management/ production/supervision with the Dana Corp., a position he held for 10 years.
For the past 20 years, he said, he has been “growing family businesses” – he coowns Huffman’s Auctions and manages Keisers Appliances – “while maintaining great connections with neighbors and my fellow citizens here in Buena Vista.”
As for specific issues he’s likely to face, if he’s elected to City Council, Huffman said he would like to see the PMMS/old PMHS building “completely rebuilt from the ground up. The location is central to all students in the entire city. I’d want to review all of the studies done, the cost quotes given at that time, options and public input to make a better-informed opinion on the subject.”
He suggests using the former Mountain Gateway Community College building on Vista Links Drive as “a good temporary solution for the middle school students while any new facility is completed.”
Projects and initiatives that he sees as priorities for available funds are “our city gateways, schools and Glen Maury Park. … We all know our roads need repair. Investing in these areas will attract visitors and new residents; generating tax revenue to fund road and other needed improvements.”
He said, “The folks working currently with economic development within the city are doing an amazing job. Every locality has struggled since the late 2000s to do what they can to enhance their local economy and our team has done an excellent job with Buena Vista.”
He praises the redevelopment of the old Ford dealership building to become Mountain Gateway Community College’s Wilson Workforce Training Center and the newly announced Tractor Supply store coming to the city as good examples of “positive progress.”
Huffman said Buena Vista “has a great partnership with Southern Virginia University as it injects a good bit of revenue for not only the city but our businesses here and throughout the county. Many of our new downtown businesses are directly tied to Southern Virginia. Those citizens are making investments to Buena Vista by providing dining options, entertainment and employment.”
Student housing, he said, “is always an issue with any college or university if they intend to continue to grow and Buena Vista is no different. The purposed new dorm would likely benefit both parties greatly. Those that live near the location should have input in possible design functions to help alleviate any issues they have which the city should help mediate …” Huffman has been married to his wife Paige for 23 years and they have a son, Tyler, a recent PMHS graduate who is attending the Wilson Workforce Training Center. Huffman is involved in his family businesses with his parents, Phil and Mary Huffman, who formerly owned and operated Flowers & Things. Huffman said he enjoys “hunting and fishing around the region” and spending “quiet time beside a fire pit, or taking a little golf cart ride through our great city.”
His goal, if he’s elected to City Council, “isn’t to do things for myself but for all of Buena Vista and what benefits the entire city. Transparency is a main priority for me running.”
HUFFMAN
