Friday, October 26, 2007
Supervisor candidates tug over Franklin Co. growth
Seats in the Blue Ridge and Union Hall districts are at stake, and the races have put development and zoning issues at the forefront.
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From The Roanoke Times
ROCKY MOUNT -- In Franklin County, where five positions have been left open by incumbents' either retiring or running for another position, growth and technology have become major issues.
"There's a lot of development coming down the line for the county," especially at Smith Mountain Lake, said David Cundiff, a candidate running for the open Union Hall District seat on the board of supervisors. "I want to make sure that I am there for any changes to make sure we keep our rural feel."
The sheriff's position, two board of supervisor positions, the clerk position and a school board position are all closely contested races in the Nov. 6 election that could change the landscape of government in the county.
The winners of the two supervisor races might change the economic thinking of the board, which has voted 4-3 on many of the development decisions in the county.
Seven men are running for the two seats left open by the departures of Blue Ridge District Supervisor Hubert Quinn, who is retiring, and Union Hall District Supervisor Charles Poindexter, who is running for a General Assembly seat.
Edward Crum, Carl Dudley, Danny Jones, Bobby Thompson and Ronnie Woods are running for the Blue Ridge District seat.
Cundiff and Ronnie Robertson are running for the Union Hall seat.
In the Blue Ridge race, keeping the district free from zoning is the main issue.
Zoning was first adopted in the county in 1988, with half of the county being zoned and the other half, including the Blue Ridge District, remaining unzoned.
Growth led to an effort in 1993 to extend zoning to the entire county. The measure failed in a referendum.
The Blue Ridge District is the only part of the county that remains entirely unzoned.
Dudley, Crum, Woods and Jones believe the residents are staunch opponents of zoning and will fight to keep it zoning free.
"The people in the district have spoken, and they don't want zoning," Jones said. "I'm a good ol' boy from the district. I want to represent the people to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Thompson has said there needs to be another referendum to make sure that keeping the district unzoned is what the residents really want.
In the Union Hall District, both candidates want to make sure the county grows responsibly as well.
Robertson, who has two children, said he is concerned about all of the new growth and the impact it is having on the schools.
"I see all of the trailers that the school systems have, and it's dangerous," Robertson said. "We need to get the Windy Gap project up and running and we need to think about building another middle school and high school."
Cundiff said he wants to be in the position to guard against developments that would change the county from the way it has been in the past.
"My parents have farmed here all their lives, and I have lived here my whole life," Cundiff said. "The same way we got developments to come here, because of our rural feel, is the same way we can keep them coming."
Robertson said he and Cundiff were good friends and, no matter who wins, would work together to make sure the district would grow at the right pace.
Sheriff's race features 4
The race to replace retiring Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton has not been without fireworks.
Independents Lynn Frith and Wayne Hodges as well as Democratic candidate W.Q. "Bill" Overton and Republican candidate Ewell Hunt are all vying for the seat that Overton's father has held for 30 years.
All four candidates have discussed technology and growth in regard to the sheriff's office.
Hunt and Bill Overton say they want the department to be nationally accredited.
Frith says he wants to standardize the method by which deputies are hired and terminated.
Hodges says he wants to bring radar enforcement of speeding to the county.
2 seek to replace clerk
Jackie Brubaker and Teresa Brown are vying to replace Clerk of Circuit Court Alice Hall, who is retiring after 55 years of service in the office.
The clerk's position, which pays more than $100,000 a year and has an eight-year term, has been highly regarded as the most important constitutional office because it is the keeper of the county's records.
Brown, who is chief deputy and has worked with Hall for the past 12 years, said she wants to make sure the records are kept precisely and continue the legacy left by Hall.
"I will continue providing outstanding commitment to the general public and members of the legal profession by maintaining up-to-date equipment for public use," said Brown, adding she has picked up endorsements from Hall and former clerk of court William Walker.
Brubaker, who formerly worked in the clerk's office but is now clerk of district court, said she wants to bring more technology to the office.
"I want the public to be able to access records online and be able to pay with a credit card like we are able to do in the district court," Brubaker said.
3 seek school board seat
Arlet Greer, Edward Jamison and Erick Moore are vying for the position of Blue Ridge District school board member, which was left open by Dudley, who is running for the Blue Ridge District supervisors seat.
All three candidates said they have a love for children and want to assist in getting more funding for schools.
"I have two young children," Jamison said. "I want to make sure we have the best schools possible."
Greer, who is a bus driver for the county, said one of her goals if elected would be to get more buses and better bus routes for the district.
Moore said he wanted to have better vocational programs for students at the high school level.
"I went a lot of places in life, and I want the kids to be able to have different opportunities available to them," Moore said.
