Jeff Shaffer has lived in Goshen for 11 years since he and his wife Sandra moved to town from Houston, Texas, with a desire to “get back to country living.” They own and operate the Hummingbird Inn bed-and-breakfast in town and have done so since 2015.
“My wife and I have always loved historic homes and a close friend’s military son recommended the Shenandoah Valley for our bed-and-breakfast search,” Shaffer told The News-Gazette. “As stewards of a historic railroad home and the town’s 1850 livery stable, we proudly preserve its history and our town buildings.”
Shaffer is making his second run for Town Council, having sought a seat in the 2024 election as well. He previously served on the Rockbridge County Regional Jail Commission and has 35 years of experience in the construction industry and 20 years of experience as a self-employed contractor.
One of Shaffer’s biggest concerns is the planned community center, which he opposes largely due to concerns over the cost of maintaining it.
“For a town of 350 people, we don’t need it or the associated costs of maintenance,” he said. “Just like the house that was purchased for the new town hall that does little more than the old space. The new town hall raised utility expenses and [the town] had to install plastic sheathing over the windows even after remodeling.”
“I asked the town for a document on how the town was going to fund the maintenance of the proposed Community Center,” he continued. “The Vice-Mayor [Steve Bickley] said he didn’t know what I was talking about so my wife and I called the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission since it was public information, and they provided it. The costs do not represent reality. The Council members should have asked and obviously did not, so we provided copies for them to review.”
He also expressed concern about the additional costs associated with maintenance of the proposed town park “when Goshen Pass is five minutes down the road.” He noted that a proposal to raise water rates “a few years ago” had ultimately failed, and fears such a measure would pass if raised today “with the tremendous amounts of additional costs to the town.”
If elected, Shaffer says that he intends to do away with the current three-minute time limit on public comments at Council meetings, noting that “there are usually only about three people who show up for the meetings [who get] only nine minutes of Council’s time.”
“I would like to see all people on town water have a voice in elections, which is not the case now,” he said. “I would like to go a step further and give all with a Goshen address a voice.”
