Supervisor candidates answer questions from local non-profits

The seven candidates for three seats on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors gathered at Westminster Presbyterian Church on October 18, 2007, for a forum hosted by several non-profit environmental and transportation groups in our region. Over fifty people attended.

The co-sponsors were Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population, Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation, the Rivanna Conservation Society, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and Citizens for Albemarle.

Candidates took questions on the impact of population growth on the community, how to slow traffic growth on the region's roads, and how to protect the quality of ground and surface waters in Albemarle County.

The moderator is Len Schoppa, President of the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation. The format for this forum was fairly unique. There were no opening or closing statements. After each of the three questions prepared by the organizers, Len Schoppa briefly summarized the ideas that he heard, and asked a follow-up question.

Podcast produced by Charlottesville Tomorrow * Player by Odeo

Listen using player above or download the podcast: Download 20071018-ASAP-Forum.mp3

Watch the video below:

SCOTTSVILLE DISTRICT CANDIDATES

Lindsay Dorrier (D) – Incumbent (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)
Denny King (I) – Challenger (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)
Kevin Fletcher (I) – Challenger (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)

WHITE HALL DISTRICT CANDIDATES

Ann Mallek (D) – Challenger (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)
David Wyant (R) – Incumbent (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)

RIVANNA DISTRICT CANDIDATES

Ken Boyd (R) – Incumbent (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)
Marcia Joseph (D) - Challenger (interview on Charlottesville Tomorrow)

Question 1:
The concept of "intergenerational justice" asks what the living owe those who come after them.  It suggests that present generations may be obligated by considerations of justice not to pursue policies that create benefits for themselves but impose costs on those who will live in the future. Intergenerational justice, essentially a fairness issue, examines the moral side of sustainability.

Population growth imposes costs - financial, environmental, and social - on future generations of residents.  At our current rate of development, in fifty or 100 years there will be less open space, more traffic, higher taxes to pay for needed infrastructure, and - in the minds of many - generally a less attractive quality of life.

• To what extent would you, as a County Supervisor, consider your vote for additional growth and development to be a moral issue involving our obligations to future Albemarle County residents?
• How would your answer to this first question inform your votes on specific growth-related issues where individual property rights may clash with community efforts to limit development potential?

Question 2:
Traffic on Route 29 is projected to increase considerably in the coming years, to as many as 100,000 cars/day by 2025.  This traffic projection is driven, in part, by the 17,832 housing units that have already been approved in Albemarle County and Charlottesville since 2000.

The Places 29 Master Plan proposes to solve the projected traffic and pollution problems on Route 29 through the creation of a better network of parallel roads, Bus Rapid Transit, grade-separated interchanges, and better facilities and access for pedestrians and bicyclists.   

• Do you support these plans?
• If so, how do you propose to fund these improvements?  If not, how do you think our community should solve these transportation problems?

Follow-up: “If you are not going to build grade-separated interchanges, how are pedestrians and bikes going to safely get across Route 29?

Question 3:
Current land use trends pose growing threats to the quality of ground and surface waters in Albemarle County and throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  Meanwhile, residential and commercial water demand is steadily increasing.

What measures would you support to:

• Protect and improve water quality?
• Pay for necessary water supply and pollution control infrastructure improvements?
• Manage and conserve limited water resources during times of drought?

Audience Question 1: Will you work to construct the footbridge across the Rivanna at or near the Riverside Park?  Will you create a greenway near Key West within your term of office, and how will you make that happen?

Audience Question 2: Isn’t it true that the growth never really pays for itself?  If true, is it possible to be for a continuation of growth AND low taxes?  If not, which do you choose?

Audience Question 3: When considering all these growth and development questions, how can you reconcile that goal with having more affordable housing?  Relatedly, why should lower income people bear the cost of solving this [transportation] problem?

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST

1:00 – Introduction of the candidates from Len Schoppa, ACCT
6:11 – Question 1
22:05 – Len Schoppa summarizes responses to question 1, and asks a one-minute follow-up
23:49 – Candidates begin to answer follow-ups
31:00 – Question 2
46:18 – Len Schoppa summarizes responses to question 2 and asks this follow-up: “If you are not going to build grade-separated interchanges, how are pedestrians and bikes going to safely get across Route 29?
56:53 – Question 3
1:12:33 - Len Schoppa summarizes responses to question 3 and asks a one-minute follow-up
1:21:55 – Audience Question 1
1:29:30 – Audience Question 2
1:38:21 – Audience Question 3

Kendall Singleton and Sean Tubbs