Sunday, April 27, 2008
Choose carefully in Christiansburg
New River Forum
Choose carefully in Christiansburg
This letter to the editor is to serve two purposes.
First is to endorse candidates I intend to vote for in the upcoming election for Christiansburg Town Council. They are Samual Bishop, Steve Huppert and Henry Showalter. I arrived at this decision after attending the first candidates forum and perusing the handouts of each candidate. I encourage each voter to use this process.
The second reason for this letter is to ask the editor to reprint in the Current the letter that appeared on the main Roanoke Times editorial page by Sara Ingram ("Taxpayers should be the evaluators of city leaders," April 19). Some of the problems that plague Roanoke also plague Christiansburg.
Editor's note: Ingram's letter can be read on our Web site at www.roanoke.com/editorials/letters/wb/158738.
Vote VanHoozier in Christiansburg
I moved to Christiansburg in 1985 and have witnessed the growth and improvements of the town since then. These changes required vision and hard work.
Growth is essential because without it we would become stagnant and waste away. But it must be a controlled growth.
With any proposal, questions need to be answered. Is it something that benefits the town and the citizens? What will be the cost and how will it be paid for? What will be the cost to run and maintain it?
Growth is needed and change will happen, but they must not create an overwhelming burden for the taxpayers.
On May 6, we will be voting for council members who will have the responsibility to see that Christiansburg moves in the right direction.
We must elect council members who have vision, integrity, understanding, commitment and public awareness. We have a candidate running for that position who has all of the right qualifications.
That candidate is Jim VanHoozier, whom I have known for several years. I firmly believe he would be a most capable person for the job. He will have my vote and full support.
Three for Blacksburg
Blacksburg residents are fortunate in the upcoming May 6 election to choose among five candidates who are intelligent, competent and committed to community values.
Of these, three bring records of service that are extraordinary in scope.
Derek Myers, as a past department chair at Virginia Tech, as a founder of a public day care center and as a state leader of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy who successfully lobbied for payday lending control legislation, has earned absolute public trust. His cooperative and effective style on town council would unify diverse segments of Blacksburg and serve our town well.
Don Langrehr has been the town's most eloquent and effective advocate for smart growth. He would continue on council to shape a prosperous Blacksburg that grows according to community values and intelligent planning. He has stood up again and again for citizens, showing courageous leadership with principled stances.
Mary Holliman embodies the best of Blacksburg with her attendance at far-flung neighborhood meetings to hear every citizen concern, her avid intelligence and pursuit of scholarship in her publishing activities, and her passionate concern for the area's natural treasures.
Vote for Langrehr, Holliman and Myers on May 6.
Think about downtown
We support Leslie Hager-Smith for Blacksburg town council as she is highly qualified, well-prepared and able to meet the challenges our town is facing: downtown revitalization, development and sustainability.
As head of the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg, she has brought new energy and ideas into the group and has worked tirelessly to promote the downtown businesses, a difficult task given the growing number of empty storefronts in town.
Revitalization depends on more than events and street festivals, we need to actively recruit independent small businesses to our downtown, something Hager-Smith has long advocated and will try to initiate if elected.
Although aware of the perspective of small businesses, she is also very aware of the push coming from franchises to open in our area. Balancing the lure of revenues from franchised businesses with the unique character and value that comes from independent retail is difficult, and she is certainly sensitive to these competing needs.
She also recognizes that small businesses need help in competing with franchises and calls for facade grants, short-term parking and other sensible measures to make sure those small businesses can survive as well as disincentives for landlords who are negligent with their empty buildings.
Ask the league about candidates
The League of Women Voters is dedicated to providing voters with nonpartisan information about candidates for elections. Citizens of Blacksburg and Christiansburg can get information on their town council candidates for the May 6 elections in the following ways.
There are league voter guides for both Blacksburg and Christiansburg. Both guides contain short candidate autobiographies and candidate responses to town-specific questions. These two guides are posted on our Web site civic.bev.net/lwvmc/ and paper guides are available in the public libraries in Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
The videotape of the league's Blacksburg candidates forum is being rebroadcast on Comcast cable Channel 2, WTOB, Wednesday and Sunday afternoons at 3 and Friday evening at 8. Also, the videotape of the forum is available for viewing at the town's Web site blacksburg.gov. At the site, go to WTOB and then to Specials.
Citizens of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, vote on May 6! Check your voter card for your voting location.
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