Supervisor candidate John Lowry announces he is certified for the election and outlines position on the community water supply

By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Wednesday, June 3, 2009

John Lowry (I-Samuel Miller)

On June 3, 2009, outside the Albemarle County Office Building, John Lowry (I) announced he had submitted his paperwork to officially secure a position on the November 3, 2009 ballot in the race for the Samuel Miller District seat on the Board of Supervisors.  Lowry also shared his position on the approved 50-year community water supply plan.  

Lowry will face Madison Cummings (D) and Duane Snow (R) in a three way race to fill the seat currently held by retiring Supervisor Sally Thomas (I).  The last three-way race for Supervisor was in the 2007 election when incumbent Lindsay Dorrier (D) defeated independent challengers Kevin Fletcher and Denny King.

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Running as an independent, Lowry has had to collect on petitions signatures from at least 125 registered voters in the Samuel Miller District.  It is interesting to note that that only 117 voters participated in the Democratic caucus to nominate Cummings and just 74 voters participated in the Republican caucus to nominate Snow.  Thus, since there are about 10,600 registered voters in the district, approximately 3% of the voters have set the ballot for this important County election.

One of the topics that is expected to be discussed by all 2009 candidates for Supervisor and City Council is the 50-year community water supply plan.  The plan, approved unanimously in 2006 by County and City leaders, involves building a new dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir to increase storage capacity and building a new pipeline to connect the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to Ragged Mountain.  The pipeline would allow water from the Rivanna River to be pumped and stored for public water needs.  Increased storage capacity is required to accommodate population growth and to prepare for future droughts.

Lowry told a gathering of local reporters that he supported the approved 50-year community water supply plan.  “Prudence tells us that it is time to move forward.  After years of political football, it’s time for responsibility.”

“The dam at Ragged Mountain has structural deficiencies,” said Lowry.  “We either must fix the dam, giving us little or no additional capacity, or build a new one.”  The current Lower Ragged Mountain Dam was built around 1908 and questions about its safety were raised as early as 1913.

Lowry reacted to the story in today’s The Daily Progress which mentioned that the construction schedule of the new dam is now expected to be beyond the 2011 deadline set by state dam safety officials to fix or replace the dam.  “If we do not get started now, we will begin to miss state mandated deadlines,” said Lowry.  “We cannot wait.”

If construction is delayed, the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority may need to seek another extension to the conditional permit which allows continued use of the reservoir.  After the 2011 deadline, state officials could also force the RWSA to lower the water level as a safety precaution, thus severely impacting the existing water supply.  

Lowry also distanced himself from the positions espoused by Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan, a group that has advocated dredging and alternatives to construction of a new dam.

“There are those who say that the current Water Plan should be scrapped. They say that conservation, and dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, is the way forward.  They are both right and wrong.  They are wrong, because the question is ‘What will the our water supply need be fifty years out?’ Will the next generation have safe water to drink? The simple answer is that, in a growing, vibrant community, we must plan for more reservoir capacity.  Fundamentally, the question is not ‘more capacity OR dredging and conservation?’ The answer is ‘more capacity AND dredging AND conservation.’  Where they are right, is that taking better care of our resources is important. That means taking care of what we have.  I have no objections to considering dredging the Rivanna Reservoir, particularly if the goal is to extend its life, but dredging is not the alternative.”

On the matter of cost estimates, Lowry said that his professional background in finance gave him unique qualifications to help plan the financing for the project.

“The reality is we will not actually know what price tags are until the components go to bid,” said Lowry.  “I submit it is better to finance our plan sooner than wait to pass the burden to others. It will almost certainly be cheaper to do it now rather than later.”

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

Video: Duane Snow's Board of Supervisors campaign announcement

Duane Snow announces campaign for Albemarle Board of Supervisors
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Duane Snow announces campaign for Albemarle Board of Supervisors

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Thursday, May 21, 2009

Duane Snow has entered the race for the Republican nomination for the Samuel Miller seat on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Flanked by members of his extended family, Snow said he would bring a “common sense approach” to the Board if elected in November.

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Duane Snow was surrounded by family and friends during his campaign announcement

Snow’s grandfather founded a “market garden” in 1912 which eventually grew to become Snow’s Garden Center. In 1970, Duane Snow returned to Charlottesville to work for the family business after graduating from Brigham Young University in Utah.  He retired from the company in 2005 and he and his wife Rena recently completed an 18-month missionary trip to the Phillipines. Snow decided to run shortly after returning home.

Snow thanked outgoing Supervisor Sally Thomas (I-Samuel Miller) for her 16 years of service on the Board. He said he had been approached many times over the years to run against Thomas, but wanted to wait until she left office.

Snow, who will be sixty-four on election day, and his wife have five children, all of whom attended Albemarle County Public Schools. Ten of Snow’s 12 grandchildren were behind him as he read his campaign announcement to the media. 

“As you can see, we have a sizeable investment in Albemarle County,” Snow said. He said he has overwhelming support from his family to run.  Joining Snow’s family on the steps of the County Office Building was childhood friend Rodney Thomas (R-Rio), another candidate for Supervisor, who is challenging incumbent David Slutzky (D-Rio).

Prior public service in the community includes a term on the Architectural Review Board, service on the board of the local chapter of the American Heart Association, as well as ten years on the Virginia State Agricultural Council. He also co-hosts a radio show about gardening and landscaping that airs Saturday mornings on WINA

Snow listed taxes, transportation, education, growth and land use as issues he is concerned about. He said as a Supervisor, he would first listen to his constituents, collect facts, make decisions based on common sense, and then take action. He offered no specific policy recommendations during his speech, but did suggest a position on the water supply plan.

“It is my opinion that we’re moving in the right direction and we don’t need any more studies other than finding out how much water is actually behind the dam,” Snow said.  “I know that we have one dam that is faulty and that dam needs to be fixed as soon as possible. We need to look at additional water supplies. But one thing we need to continue to do is to conserve the water that we have.”

Snow’s opponent for the Republican nomination is Dr. Phillip Melita. The nomination will be decided at a Republican caucus to be held at one of McIntire Park’s picnic shelters on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. The Democratic Party has nominated former School Board member Madison Cummings to run for the seat. Independent John Lowry is also a candidate to replace Thomas.

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

Philip Melita to seek Republican nomination for Board of Supervisors from Samuel Miller; Duane Snow to announce Thursday

By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Sunday, May 17, 2009

Ivy resident Philip Melita (R) has announced he is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for election to the Samuel Miller seat on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.  Incumbent Supervisor, Sally Thomas (I), announced her retirement last month.  Joining Melita in the contest for the nomination will be Duane Snow (R) who told Charlottesville Tomorrow he has submitted his paperwork to the Republican Party and will announce his campaign officially on Thursday.  

County Republicans will have their nominating caucus on Tuesday, May 26, 2009.  Samuel Miller Republicans will select either Melita or Snow to face Madison Cummings (D) and John Lowry (I) in what is shaping up to be a three-way contest.  Independent candidates have until June 9, 2009 to get on the ballot.

“Now that I’m retired, I have always had an interest in civic duty,” said Melita in an interview.  “I have some concerns with fiscal issues.  [Albemarle County] is not as out of control as the federal and state government, but it is heading down the same path.  We need some more fiscal sense.”

Melita said he was running to preserve the quality of life in the community while not over taxing the residents.  He expressed concern about Albemarle’s rate of spending exceeding population growth and inflation.  “Why is that?  I don’t know the answer, but it doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Melita.  

Melita has been a resident of the Whippoorwill neighborhood since 1983.  On election day he will be sixty-six years old.  Melita currently teaches at the University of Virginia as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies where he focuses on the human resources field.  Melita worked at GE Fanuc until 1988 spending 20-years in GE’s human resources division.  After GE, Melita and his wife did a weekly commute to McLean, VA while she was teaching at Prince William County Schools and he was working for several firms in Northern Virginia.

Melita and his wife have three grown children.  Melita earned a BS degree from Queens College, an MBA from Adelphi, and his Ed.D. from George Washington University.

Challenging Melita for the nomination will be Duane Snow, a former member of the County’s Architectural Review Board and retired owner of Snow’s Garden Center.  Snow’s Garden Center, now run by his sons Corbin and Jonas, has been a family business in Charlottesville since 1912.  Snow told Charlottesville Tomorrow he would share more information about his campaign at an event later this week.

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

County Republicans have two candidates in Samuel Miller race

By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Albemarle County Republican Party set 6:00 PM today as the deadline for candidates to file to run for seats on the Board of Supervisors. The seats representing the Jack Jouett, Rio, and Samuel Miller districts will all be on the ballot in the November 3, 2009 general election.  Before today, Rodney Thomas (R) was the only declared Republican candidate in the County, and he is running against incumbent David Slutzky (D) for the seat representing the Rio magisterial district.

In an interview with Charlottesville Tomorrow shortly before tonight's filing deadline, Christian Schoenwald, the Albemarle County Republican Party Chairman, confirmed that he has two candidates who have pre-qualified to seek the party's nomination in the Samuel Miller district, and none for the Jack Jouett district.  Schoenwald declined to disclose the candidates' names because he said the candidates wanted a couple days to get all the necessary paperwork submitted with the local voter registration office.

Schoenwald said the party would first make a public announcement of the candidates' names on the Rob Schilling Show on WINA AM 1070 on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at noon.

County Republicans will have their nominating caucus on May 26, 2009.  At that caucus, the party will confirm that Rodney Thomas is their nominee for the Rio district and they will select one of the two Samuel Miller candidates to face Madison Cummings (D) and John Lowry (I) in what is shaping up to be a three-way contest.  Independent candidates have until June 9, 2009 to get on the ballot.

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

Albemarle Democrats nominate Madison Cummings for Samuel Miller District

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Monday, May 11, 2009

Madison Cummings has been nominated as the Democratic candidate for Albemarle County’s Samuel Miller District. Cummings defeated Lucia Phinney at the County Party’s Caucus on Monday, May 11, 2009 with 69 votes to Phinney’s 48 votes. Cummings will face Independent John Lowry in the general election to replace outgoing Supervisor Sally Thomas.

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Supervisor David Slutzky received the party’s nomination in his quest to win a second term representing the Rio District. He will face Republican Rodney Thomas this fall. In his acceptance speech, Slutzky called upon the party to unify around whoever was selected to represent the Samuel Miller District.

“I’m going to sorely miss Sally, but I gotta tell you, I am ecstatic at the prospect of serving with either of the two candidates,” Slutzky said. “Whatever the outcome, I hope everyone in this room puts all of their enthusiasm and energy behind the victor so that we can go on and have a Democrat for the first time in a very long time represent the Samuel Miller District.” Thomas was first elected in 1993 as a write-in candidate and won re-election three times as an Independent.

One hundred and seventeen people from the Samuel Miller District attended the caucus in order to choose between Cummings and Phinney. In his introduction to Cummings, former School Board Chairman Gordon Walker said Cummings has demonstrated his ability to serve the district through his many years of experience in public service, including eight years on the School Board.

“This is particularly important when seeking productive partnerships with the City Council,” Walker said. In addition, Walker said Cummings’ service as chair and member of the Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families demonstrates his commitment to helping the less fortunate.

Residents of the Samuel Miller District choose their nominee during the caucus

In his introductory speech before receiving the nomination, Cummings said he has provided over three decades of public service to the County which have prepared him to be a community leader. He then turned to issues that he’ll likely be called upon to address if elected.

“I favor the water plan as it’s presently constituted,” Cummings said. “I went to many of the meetings before the plan was voted upon by the Board of Supervisors… I think there are maybe some things we need to talk about with the City but with my experience in working with the City on various boards I will be able to help… the Board of Supervisors.”

Cummings also said the County faces many transportation challenges, and he called for the completion of the Meadowcreek Parkway. He also said he is committed to supporting County efforts to reduce pollutants that enter the watershed and eventually the Chesapeake Bay. He concluded his remarks by addressing Sally Thomas’ 16 years of service, and pledged to emulate what he claimed was her position on County growth.

“We need to continue to maintain reasonable but not rampant growth,” Cummings said.

Lucia Phinney

Lucia Phinney, a faculty member of the School of the Architecture at the University of Virginia, used her nomination speech to call for the hiring of a County employee to boost efforts to sell locally-produced food, maintaining a volunteer fire and rescue service, and increased use of rainwater harvesting to reduce the reliance on the public water supply.

Shortly after Cummings was selected as the nominee, he asked Phinney to serve on his campaign committee. Phinney accepted, and said she would continue to work to advance issues she feels are important to the County.

Republican candidates have until 6:00 PM Tuesday, May 12, 2009, to pre-qualify for the Republican nomination.  County Republicans will have their caucus on May 26, 2009.  John Lowry is so far running as an independent.

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

Slutzky to seek re-election to a second term on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

By Fania Gordon & Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Supervisor David Slutzky (D) moments after announcing his reelection campaign

David Slutzky (D) has announced he will seek re-election to a second term as the Rio District member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Slutzky, who is currently serving at the Board’s Chair, announced his plans at the conclusion of the Board’s meeting on May 6, 2009.  If nominated by the Albemarle County Democratic Party at its upcoming caucus, Slutzky will face challenger Rodney Thomas (R) in the November election.

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“I actually struggled mightily with whether or not I wanted to do this for another four years,” Slutkzy said. “It takes a tremendous about of time and energy and focus… But I’m absolutely convinced that I’d be miserable if I wasn’t doing this.”

Slutzky, a County resident since 1993, won election to the seat in November 2005 when he defeated Thomas Jakubowski (I) and Gary Grant (R). Earlier this year, he announced he would not be pursuing a race for the 58th District House of Delegates seat currently held by Rob Bell (R).

Slutzky is president of E2 Inc. consulting firm and an adjunct professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia.  He currently chairs the Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board and has been the leader in the recent creation of a Regional Transit Authority.
In addition to his work to improve the local transportation system, Slutzky has put forward several proposals to augment the County’s existing Rural Area Policies including an initiative involving Transfer of Development Rights  and changes to the County’s land use taxation program.    

In March 2009, Supervisor Slutzky appointed Don Franco, President of KG Associates, an Albemarle County- based developer to the Planning Commission to replace Jon Cannon who resigned to work as a member of President Barack Obama’s transition team.  

Slutzky’s opponent is Rodney Thomas (R), the only other person who has so far announced candidacy for the Rio seat.  Thomas is currently the President of Charlottesville Press, a local offset printing company, and is a former Chairman of the Albemarle County Planning Commission. 

Slutzky’s nomination will be ratified at the Democratic Party’s caucus on Monday, May 11 in Lane Auditorium. Independent candidates have until June 9th to collect and submit the necessary petition signatures to get on the ballot.

The Jack Jouett and Samuel Miller District seats will also be on the November 2009 ballot. Dennis Rooker (I) is the only announced candidate for the Jack Jouett seat. Democrats Lucia Phinney and Madison Cummings are both running for the Democratic nomination to replace Sally Thomas as the Supervisor for Samuel Miller. Independent John Lowry has announced he is also seeking to replace Thomas.

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

Video: Madison Cummings' campaign launch

Go to Charlottesville Tomorrow's audio podcast and summary of this event. Watch the video below.
Madison Cummings launches campaign for Albemarle County Board of Supervisors
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Madison Cummings launches campaign for Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

By Sean Tubbs & Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Monday, April 27, 2009

Madison Cummings (center) surrounded by friends and family

On April 27, 2009, Democrat Madison Cummings of North Garden formally launched his campaign  for election to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. He is running for the Samuel Miller District seat being vacated by the retiring Sally Thomas. Cummings is competing against Lucia Phinney  for the Democratic nomination, which will be decided at a caucus on Monday, May 11.

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“I’m running because I want to help make Albemarle County an even more wonderful place for this and future generations,” Cummings said during his formal announcement. Cummings delivered his speech in front of the Albemarle County Office Building surrounded by friends and family.  Officials appearing with Cummings included current Albemarle County School Board member Diantha McKeel (Jack Jouett) and former School Board member Gordon Walker (Samuel Miller).

Madison Cummings

“As a member of the Board, I intend to work with my colleagues to provide better opportunities for affordable housing, bring a greater emphasis on buying from local producers… and to resolve the knotty issue of ensuring a reliable long-term guarantee of clean water from our own watershed,” Cummings said.
As an example of one of his transportation priorities, he pledged that the Meadowcreek Parkway will be completed with the cooperation of the City of Charlottesville.

Cummings served on the Albemarle County School Board as the Samuel District representative from 1994 to 2001. He was first appointed to that body by Thomas, but won election to the position in 1997 when the County moved to an elected School Board.

Cummings will turn 66 in June and he is currently a part-time pharmacist at the University of Virginia Medical Center.  He retired from his full-time work in that same position in 2004.  He moved to the area in 1970, is married to Pat Cummings, and has children and grand-children living in the community.

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.

Lucia Phinney announces campaign for Board of Supervisors

By Fania Gordon
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Monday, April 13, 2009

Batesville resident Lucia Phinney (D) has announced she is seeking election to the Samuel Miller seat on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.  Incumbent Supervisor, Sally Thomas (I), announced on April 8 that she is retiring from the Board at the end of 2009.

“I am going to go out and talk to as many people as I can and bring a lot of energy to the campaign,” Phinney said in an interview with Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Lucia Phinney (Photo by Will Kerner)

Lucia Phinney has served on the Board of Trustees and the Building Committee of the Charlottesville Waldorf School and advises their Greenest School in America initiative.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of Public Policy Virginia, an organization that provides statewide public policy leadership on energy-related issues.

When asked about her reason for running for elected office, Phinney told Charlottesville Tomorrow she was running because she has a strong background in the issues facing the County.

“In my professional career, through teaching, lectures, informal conversations and visiting experts I’ve been dealing with issues that face the County. In the last five years I’ve been out knocking on doors talking to people throughout the County, especially the district, about the issues that concern them,” said Phinney.

Phinney moved to the area in 1981 and has been a member of the Architecture faculty at the University of Virginia ever since where she is a Distinguished Lecturer.  Her current research re-purposes inexpensive agricultural fabrics for energy-saving use in residential and urban environments.  She is married, with one adult son.

Phinney joins Madison Cummings (D) and John Lowry (I), who are already declared candidates for the Samuel Miller seat.  Phinney is currently the Democratic Precinct Chair for Red Hill and has volunteered for the Albemarle County Democratic Party since 2003.   County Democrats have scheduled a caucus for Monday, May 11th to select their candidates for the Board of Supervisors.  The Jack Jouett and Rio District seats will also be on the November 2009 ballot. 

Local political parties will officially nominate their candidates between May 8, 2009 and June 9, 2009.   Independent candidates have until June 9th to collect necessary petition signatures to get on the ballot.  

See Charlottesville Tomorrow's Election Watch page for complete coverage of the County's 2009 elections.