November 4, 2023: A look at local government races in Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties
This edition is preparation for Election Night coverage
Could this edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement establish a regular trend of a Saturday version? One long-standing goal is to have a routine schedule, a goal that may one day be met. For now, we find ourselves on November 4, 2023 and the last day before daylight savings time ends. Thus begins the half-yearly trend of time dislocation. I’m Sean Tubbs.
In today’s edition:
A quick look at elections across the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission that aren’t Albemarle and Charlottesville.
That covers Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson Counties
First shout-out: Plant Northern Piedmont Natives
Since the beginning of this newsletter, one Patreon supporter has dedicated their shout-out to an organization that seeks to draw awareness of the importance of native species to the ecosystem. The leaves are changing and this year’s season is winding down.
This is perhaps the best time to think about what to do next year, and there’s no time like now to visit Plant Northern Piedmont Natives to learn what you can about what species are specific to your region!
The partnership has ten regional campaigns for ten different ecosystems across Virginia, from the Northern Piedmont to the Eastern Shore. Take a look at the full map below for the campaign for native species where you are in the Commonwealth. You can also download a free copy of their handbook: Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens.
In this guide, Piedmont native plants are defined as those that evolved before the influence of European settlements shaped and changed the landscape. Plants included in the guide were selected from the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora and occur naturally within the region.
Election round-up
This entire edition is a preparation of sorts for the Wednesday edition which will feature election results. Local government is a major focus of this newsletter and podcast and so it is important to know who will be making decisions starting in January.
This edition is also inspired by Charlottesville Tomorrow and their ambitious efforts to take the temperature of each race in the greater region. If you’ve not seen their 2023 Voter Guide, take a look here. There are many links in this edition, which is a rare one without a podcast.
Thanks to the Virginia Public Access Project for the work they do to help make these materials more accessible.
Two Supervisor races and three School Board races in Fluvanna
There are five magisterial districts in Fluvanna County and two of them are up for election this year. The U.S. Census recorded 27,249 people in 2020 and the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia has projected a 2050 population of 35,124.
Neither incumbent on the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors opted to seek another term.
Fork Union District
David Michael Goad and Horace Jefferson Scruggs, III are the two candidates seeking to succeed Mozell Booker in the Fork Union District.
Goad is a member of the Fluvanna Planning Commission and is the Academic Dean at Fork Union Military Academy.
Goad has raised $30,876 in contributions through October 26 with $5,000 from Virginia Realtors, $1,000 from Nelson County Supervisor Jesse Rutherford, and $800 from Cunningham District Supervisor Christopher Fairchild. The campaign has spent $22,103 as of the end of the most recent reporting period and had $8,772 left to spend.
According to his website, Scruggs is a retired music teacher with 35 years of experience giving lessons in Fluvanna, Louisa, and Madison counties.
Charlottesville Tomorrow has published a Q&A with the two candidates, though Scruggs did not respond. Take a look to see how Goad responded on issues of the infrastructure and growth management.
So far in the campaign, Scruggs has raised $7,568 and loaned himself another $2,000. Among contributions received is $200 from outgoing Supervisor Mozell Booker. Scruggs has spent $8,011.
Palmyra District
James D. Schoenster and Timothy M. Hodge are the two candidates seeking to succeed Patricia Eager in the Palmyra District. Both are listed as independents on the ballot.
Hodge spent 20 years in the Air Force before working in “global security printing” according to his website.
So far, Hodge has raised $11,247 as of October 26, 2023 and also loaned himself $2,000. That includes a $5,000 contribution from $5,000 and $500 from Supervisor Fairchild. He has spent $5,092 in cash on campaigning expenses and has received another $2,742 in in-kind donations.
According to his website, Schoenster has worked in the finance industry with an emphasis on retirement benefits. He’s a graduate of Virginia Tech.
Schoenster has raised $7,569 including a $1,500 loan from himself of which two-thirds has been paid back already. The campaign has spent $6,075 during the campaign so far.
Charlottesville published a Q&A with responses from both candidates on September 19, 2023.
Both districts also have races for the elected School Board.
In the Fork Union District, Danny Reed is challenging Gary L. Davis Jr. for an open seat and has raised $10,554 to $9,666 for Davis. Davis responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A but Reed did not. (VPAP overview)
In the Palmyra District, Brittany C. Gray is challenging incumbent James B. Kelley on the ballot. Kelley responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A but Gray did not. Kelley has raised $12,351 to Gray’s $5,586 according to VPAP’s summary of the race.
In the Rivanna District, Andre O'Brian Key is seeking re-election and is the only candidate. He did not respond to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A.
For more from the Fluvanna County Supervisor race, read the Fluvanna Herald’s coverage of a September 7 forum held by the Fluvanna Leadership Alumni Group (FLAG) and the Chamber of Commerce.
Three Supervisor seats and two School Board seats on ballot in Greene County
There are three magisterial districts up for election in Greene County, with one of the Supervisor races with no candidates. The U.S. Census counted 20,552 people on April 1, 2020 and the Weldon Cooper Center projects that climbing to 27,315 by 2050.
Ruckersville District
In the Ruckersville District, Davis Lamb is running unopposed in his re-election. He has filed no reports with the Virginia Department of Elections, which means he’s not raised or spent any money.
Cherish Alberts is the lone candidate on the ballot for the School Board race. Incumbent Sharon Mack is not on the ballot. Alberts has raised $100 and spent $8, according to VPAP.
Monroe District
There’s no candidate on the ballot for the Monroe District. Steve Bowman opted to not seek another term and no one qualified by June 20. The Greene Journal reports that Corey Jacober and Tim Goolsby are write-in candidates.
This week, Jacober reported on his Facebook page that he has Bowman’s endorsement.
Neither candidate has filed a campaign finance report though VPAP shows that Jacober has registered.
At-Large
There’s an open seat for the at-large representative. Francis McGuigan and Todd Sansom are on the ballot. Sansom is currently chair of the Greene School Board.
Sansom has raised $6,825 and has loaned himself $5,250 through October 26. His contributions include $5,000 from Virginia Realtors and $1,000 from the Blue Ridge Homebuilders Association. He’s spent $4,647.
McGuigan has raised $5,211 and spent $4,328 as of October 26.
Neither candidate responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s request for answers to reader-supplied questions.
The At-Large School Board seat is also up for election to succeed Jason Tooley. The candidates are Buddy J. Barre and Kelly B. Greer. Greer has raised $1,195 and Barre has raised $280, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Second shout-out: Extending the Season with the Piedmont Master Gardeners
In today’s second subscriber-fueled shout-out: There’s a sudden dip in temperatures, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop growing some of your late fall vegetables. At 2 p.m. Saturday, November 18, the Piedmont Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension will present “Season Extenders in the Edible Garden,” a free Garden Basics class on how to use crop choice, garden layout and row covers to grow fresh produce into the winter.
The class will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue in Charlottesville, and will include a hands-on demonstration of how to position and secure row covers. Register at https://piedmontmastergardeners.org/.
With three districts up for election, Louisa has one contested race for both School Board and Supervisor
Louisa County’s future is likely one of continued growth if projections from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at UVA plays out. The April 2020 Census Count was 37,596 and the UVA demographers have estimated 52,706by 2050.
This year, two seats for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors are uncontested and there’s a three-way race for a third.
Jackson District
First, incumbent Toni Williams is the lone candidate on the ballot in the Jackson District. He’s not filed any campaign finance reports. The Republican did not respond to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A.
There’s a two-way race for the open seat to represent the Jackson District on the School Board. Frances “Gail” Goodman did not seek a third term. The candidates on the ballot are Bernie Hill and Anthony Herbert McClendon.
Hill loaned himself $3,600 and has raised no other funds. He’s spent $3,103
McClendon has not filled out a report. Neither candidate responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s questionnaire.
Cuckoo District
Republican Chris McCotter is the only candidate on the ballot in the Cuckoo District. He’s raised $3,200 in the race so far and spent $1,737. He also did not respond to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s request for information.
Incumbent Stephen Harris is the lone candidate on the ballot for School Board in the Cuckoo District. He’s not filed any campaign finance reports nor did he respond to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A.
Louisa District
Three candidates are seeking to replace Eric Purcell in `the Louisa District seat. They are independent Greg D. Jones, Sr., independent H. Manning Woodward, III, and Republican
Christopher J. "Chris" Colsey. All three candidates responded to the Q&A from Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Woodward reports receipts of $5,181, $5,000 of which is a contribution from himself. He’s spent $2,916 in cash and has listed $181 in in-kind expenses.
Jones has raised $7,993 so far including $3,500 in loans from himself. He has spent $3,215 in cash and reported another $608 in in-kind expenses.
Colsey has reported $12,351 in contributions, including $7,175 in in-kind expenses from the Republican Party of Virginia and $1,715 in in-kind contributions from himself. The party picked up the cost of direct mail.
The Colsey campaign has spent $4,203 of its cash including $3,350 in “donations to party committees.”
Incumbent Billy Seay is the lone candidate in the Louisa District School Board race and has not submitted a campaign finance report. He also did not respond to Charlottesville Tomorrow.
South and West Districts on ballot in Nelson County this year
Nelson County’s U.S. Census count of 14,775 reflects a fairly rural community and one that will stay that way if Weldon Cooper’s 2050 estimate of 14,438 turns out to be accurate.
This year, there are two districts up for election in Nelson County.
South District
In the South District, independent Kathryn D. Allen and Republican Jessica L. Ligon are seeking to replace Robert Barton.
Ligon has raised $3,612 through October 26 including a $500 loan from herself. There’s a $1000 donation from the Nelson County Republican Party and $500 from the Republican Party of the 5th District. There has been $1,303 in expenses, with $1,162 of that in in-kind expenses. There was an ending balance of $2,307 at the end of the period.
Allen has raised $700 and spent $469.
Neither candidate responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A.
In the School Board race for the South District, incumbent Ceaser Perkins faces a challenge from Phillip Purvis. Neither responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s request for information.
Perkins was first elected in 2015 and was unopposed that year as well as 2019. He’s raised no money but has filed a report with the Virginia Department of Elections all the same.
Learn more about the race from this August 16 article from Emma Martin in the Nelson County Times.
West District
Incumbent J. David Parr is seeking another term on the Board of Supervisors to represent the West District. The Republican has raised $1,050 with $1,000 of that coming from the Republican Party of Nelson County. He’s spent $2 so far this year and that was on office expenses.
Parr faces independent Mark Franklin who has reported $25 in contributions and $8 in expenditures, all under the category “Legal/Accounting/Bank Fees.”
Neither responded to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Q&A.
There is one candidate for the School Board in the West District. Shannon Powell is running for re-election unopposed.
Reading material:
In Louisa County, Board of Supervisors candidates share their views on property taxes, solar farms and flooding, Jessie Higgins, Charlottesville Tomorrow, October 24, 2023
Time for Nelson voters to choose as Election Day approaches, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), November 1, 2023
Charlottesville city looks to buy floodplain land, Garrett Whitton, CBS19, November 2, 2023
FLHF making progress on affordable housing units, Ike Parrish, Central Virginian (paywall), November 2, 2023
Former Allison Spillman staffer defends website 'smearing' Meg Bryce, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), November 3, 2023
Liquid lime accidentally released into Rivanna River, NBC29, November 3, 2023
School Board Extends Superintendent Contract, Lisa Martin, Crozet Gazette, November 3, 2023
Q&A | With Fadeley and LaPisto-Kirtley, it's 'shock and awe' vs. decades of experience, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), November 3, 2023
The end of #596
I definitely prefer to do a podcast version but there were no soundbites in this edition. I will likely also be posting each of these to Information Charlottesville. There’s always a spirit of experimentation with Town Crier Productions and I’m grateful to have the chance to see where this takes me.
This week, I’ve had a copy editor take a look at each edition, though not this one because it was a spur of the moment type thing. I’m very impressed with the scope of what Charlottesville Tomorrow is seeking to do with their voter guide and I really want to drive some traffic their way.
Local government matters, and I believe all of us in local journalism have a responsibility to support each other’s work.
This newsletter will be back tomorrow with the Week Ahead, followed by the next podcast/newsletter combination version. There are so many stories to get to, but the election really needs attention, even if we don’t all live in the same place. Make sure you’re following my Substack Notes page for updates.
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