Candidates Tackle Varied Issues

Delegate, Sheriff, Supervisor Hopefuls Speak At Forum

The Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce hosted the first of two forums for candidates running in local elections this fall last Tuesday.

Candidates for the Kerrs Creek and Walkers Creek district seats on the Board of Supervisors, sheriff for Rockbridge County and Lexington and the Virginia House of Delegates’ 36th and 37th districts gathered at the Hampton Inn Col-Alto to answer questions about different issues in the community. -The first question posed to the candidates for the House of Delegates was about how they would support the growth of business and ensure a productive workforce in the area.

Ellen Campbell, who is seeking reelection as the representative of the 36th District that includes the Fairfield and Raphine areas of the county, highlighted the fact that CTE programs are making a comeback in a lot of areas, including Rockbridge County, which are training people to fill many open service jobs.

“Now, we’re not there yet, but I do think we’re making strides and this current administration has put a great emphasis on that and I think that is an important thing,” she said. “That is not to say that higher education is not important, because it is. But we need plumbers, we need electricians, we need welders, we need people in [those fields].”

Makayla Venable, Campbell’s opponent, said that there are a lot of hardworking people in the district, and the main way to encourage economic growth is to “make it easier for businesses and workers alike.

“For businesses, that means reliable in frastructure [including] good roads and broadband internet, affordable child care so parents can actually work, and workforce training programs that prepare people for the jobs we’re trying to attract,” she said. “For workers, that means fair wages, safe work places, and a voice at the table, whether that’s through unions or direct collaboration with employers.”

Terry Austin, who currently holds the seat for the 37th District and represents most of Rockbridge County, noted that Rockbridge County stands out among the counties in the region.

“What I’ve learned in my time serving Rockbridge County is that Rockbridge County is very unique,” he said. “I know of no other county that has as much opportunity in tourism as Rockbridge County has. … These are economic opportunities that I think, sometimes, we all take for granted and we don’t pay attention to. And they’re great ones, folks.”

Andrew Hartless, Austin’s opponent, highlighted the potential of the community college system that serves the area as a tool for economic growth.

“We are so lucky to have an incredible community college system that I, myself, have benefited from and many people I know have benefited from,” he said. “We are talking about supporting our workforce, giving them more tools so that investors can come and see the brilliant, well-educated workforce we have here in this region. I will support community colleges further, giving them more tools to give back to our local community.”

The candidates were also asked about the accessibility of health care in the community, given the recent closure of three Augusta Health clinics in the area, including one in Buena Vista. Venable and Hartless both advocated for additional health care options for the area, each citing personal experience with the issue.

“I’ve seen first-hand what it’s like when clinics close,” Venable said. “Some families, our neighbors, are having to drive 45 minutes just to get basic care, and working people without reliable transportation often go without care altogether. I think the first step is to restore Medicaid funding so that our vulnerable neighbors aren’t left behind.”

Hartless pointed to his family’s experience after he was diagnosed with a chronic liver disease at a young age.

“Growing up in Rockbridge County, the nearest hospital that had a pediatric ward, that had specialists that could help me, was Charlottesville,” he said. “My family was driving almost two hours to get me any quality care, weekly and monthly. That is not sustainable, and we were barely able to do it. And there are so many people in this area that can’t do it.”

Austin and Campbell both expressed regret about the clinic closures, but also noted that there were other clinics within 10 miles of those that offered parallel services. They also advocated for finding cost-effective ways to expand health care to underserved areas. Austin advocated for expanding telehealth and Campbell noted that both Augusta Health and the Rockbridge Area Health Center have mobile clinics that provide services. - Candidates in the Board of Supervisors races weighed in on several issues, including financial planning and solar panels.

Steve Hart, who is running for the Kerrs Creek District seat, advocated for “changing the culture” around debt in municipal government, laying out a plan to take money from the county’s reserves to pay off some of the outstanding debts, then using the money budgeted for paying those debts to pay off other debts until all of the debts are paid off.

“If we do this, we get to keep more of our own money,” he said. “That’s the whole point … It can be done. It’s not going to be easy. You’re going to have to look at people and say, ‘No. You can’t have that yet.’” Boyd Brown, Hart’s opponent, said eliminating debt was “a lofty goal,” but one that is “unrealistic given how municipal governments are run these days and the demands that taxpayers have to not pay taxes and not see the output of their taxpaying for decades.”

Toria Brown, one of three candidates running for the Walkers Creek District, also acknowledged how common place debt was in governments, but advocated for taking on debt in a “proactive and not a reactive way.” She also advocated for having “an open forum” to keep citizens informed of what is happening with the debt and spending.

Brown’s opponents in the Walkers Creek race, incumbent Jay Lewis and Steve Reese, were unable to attend the forum due to schedule conflicts.

On the issue of solar panels, all three attending supervisor candidates spoke against the continued use of the special exception process to allow large solar farms on agricultural land and advocated for drafting an ordinance for solar panels in the county, which is something that has been in development for several years.

“I think we definitely need to go back and see what folks in the community want and then apply that to our zoning to make it make sense, so that solar, if it’s going to come, goes where we want it to be, not just sprinkled throughout in all our agriculture,” Toria Brown said. - The three candidates for sheriff of Rockbridge County and Lexington City weighed in on issues of mental health and community outreach.

Sheriff Tony McFaddin and his opponents Chris Norris and Fred Smith all advocated for increasing education within the community about mental health, noting the strain on resources that occurs when a deputy responds to a call and takes someone in crisis to the hospital and then has to wait for an open bed in a mental health facility.

“This process sometimes takes hours, and sometimes it can take days,” McFaddin said. “And during that time the deputy is tied up and he or she is unavailable to respond to other calls for service around the 601 square miles that we patrol. This certainly creates a significant strain on our staffing, our resources and our budget.

“Working together we can bring these concerns to our lawmakers and we can build a stronger safety net for the people that we have here who are in crisis, while also relieving some of the burden on our deputies and the sheriff’s office,” he added.

On the issue of community outreach, both Norris and Smith promised to be active in the community if elected and to have regular office hours for citizens to reach out and talk to them.

“It’s not my sheriff’s department. It’s the citizens of Lexington and Rockbridge sheriff’s department,” Smith said. “I will work for you, and if you don’t like the way I’m working, you’ll vote me out next time. But the department belongs to the citizens.”

“Ultimately, when a community has faith in the leadership of the sheriff and knows that assistance is readily available, it instills a profound sense of comfort and security in the community,” Norris said.

McFaddin highlighted several community outreach programs that the sheriff’s office currently has, including a Senior First program to “empower our older adults to live safe, healthy and independent lives” and programs within the schools in Rockbridge County and Lexington, such as the recently launched Be Safe Virginia program which teaches elementary school students about a variety of topics including internet safety and drug awareness.