This week in county government; Spanberger requests funding for radio improvements; Good claims Republican nomination in VA05; Adams pushes back on JMRL name change request; Board appointment roundup
Engage Louisa is a community newsletter aimed at keeping folks informed about Louisa County government. It’s free, non-partisan, and powered by volunteers. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.
This week in county government: public meetings, May 30 through June 4
Tuesday, May 31
Louisa County Industrial Development Authority, special meeting, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., 8:30 am. (public notice)
Thursday, June 2
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, Water Street Center, 407 East Water St., Charlottesville, 7 pm. A Zoom link is available in the meeting materials. (meeting materials)
Additional information about Louisa County’s upcoming public meetings is available here.
Interested in taking your talents to one of the county’s numerous boards and commissions? Find out more here, including which boards have vacancies and how to apply.
Spanberger requests federal funding for Holly Grove area radio improvements
Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger requested $1 million in federal funds to improve emergency radio communication coverage in the Holly Grove area, a project the Louisa County Board of Supervisors included in the county’s FY23 budget.
In an April 29 letter to the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Spanberger (D-VA07) said that the funding would allow the county to implement the improvements necessary to achieve 100% emergency radio coverage, “which will greatly benefit and improve the communication between the emergency dispatch office and Louisa County Sheriff’s Deputies.” She said the project is a good use of taxpayer funds “because it will enhance safety for the police, other emergency services, and the residents of the county.”
The Board of Supervisors allotted $1 million for radio improvements in its FY23 Capital Improvement Plan. During the board’s March 7 budget work session, County Administrator Christian Goodwin said that the EMS communications system, which was significantly upgraded in 2017, covers about 95 percent of the county but much of the five percent it doesn’t cover lies within “challenging terrain” in the southeast corner. He said that staff is working with Motorola and a radio engineering firm on how best to address the issue, noting that Motorola provided a $750,000 to $1 million estimate to erect a new tower.
Mountain Road District Supervisor Tommy Barlow, who represents the southeastern portion of the county, said the lack of radio communication capabilities in the area is an obstacle for emergency services personnel. During a fire on Mickie Town Road earlier this year, firefighters had to use cell phones to talk with dispatchers, he said.
In April, Spanberger’s office asked supervisors to submit ideas for potential federal funding via the Community Projects Funding process, a program that allows Members of Congress to directly request money for projects in their districts through the annual appropriations process. At its April 18 meeting, the board permitted county staff to present seven projects to Spanberger’s office for consideration including improvements to the radio system. Supervisors didn’t formally rank the projects, but Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams singled out radio improvements as a top priority and said the county would get “a little more bang for the buck” if it could secure federal funding for a million-dollar project.
Spanberger’s staff evaluated the county’s suggestions and selected the radio project as a candidate for funding. According to her website, the congresswoman requested money for 15 projects, totaling more than $28 million. Each of the ten localities in her district would benefit from at least one funding request.
Spanberger’s office selected the submissions “based on their community impact, evidence of broad community support, and how well (the) requests matched the eligibility requirements and funding parameters of the applicable appropriations account,” per her website.
According to the program’s guidelines for this fiscal year, Members of Congress were allowed to request money for a maximum of 15 projects but there’s no guarantee which, if any, will receive funding. Only projects requested by either a state or local government entity or non-profit organization are eligible for funding.
Spanberger secured more than $6.4 million via last year’s Community Project Funding process for 10 projects, one for each locality in her district. Awards ranged from $15,000 to purchase a van for Goochland Cares, a nonprofit that serves elderly, low-income, and disabled residents in Goochland County to $1.8 million to expand Spotsylvania County’s Motts Run Water Treatment Plant. Louisa County received $775,000 to build a mixed-income affordable housing community in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. It’s unclear where the community will be built.
Spanberger will represent the current 7th Congressional District, which stretches from Culpeper to Nottoway and includes much of Richmond’s western suburbs, until the end of 2022. She’s seeking re-election in a newly drawn 7th, relocated to the edge of northern Virginia during the decennial redistricting process. Louisa County was moved from the 7th Congressional District to the 5th, meaning the county will have a new congressional representative come 2023. (See article below).
Good claims Republican nomination in VA05
Incumbent Bob Good claimed the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District, easily dispatching his sole challenger, Dan Moy, during a May 21 convention at Hampden-Sydney College.
Good, a Campbell County resident and former Liberty University athletics fundraiser, earned nearly 85 percent of the delegate vote, defeating Moy, an Air Force veteran and chair of the Charlottesville GOP, 1488-271. More than 1300 delegates attended the convention where votes were weighted to favor localities with the highest Republican vote share. Good garnered 1,115 raw votes with Moy claiming 188. Fifty-four delegates attended from Louisa County with Good claiming the support of 49 and Moy earning the support of five.
Good will face Democrat Josh Throneburg, a Charlottesville ordained minister and small business owner, in the November 8 general election. Throneburg claimed the Democratic nomination in the district in mid-April after his opponent, Andy Parker, failed to secure enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot.
The decennial redistricting process, completed late last year, reshaped the commonwealth’s congressional landscape, moving Louisa County from its current home in the 7th Congressional District to the 5th. The district stretches from Louisa, western Hanover, and Albemarle at its northern edge to the North Carolina border, encompassing all or part of 24 localities.
In a Facebook post following the convention, Good thanked 5th District Republicans “for their overwhelming demonstration of support,” applauding convention-goers “willingness to travel and endure the challenging conditions and accommodations presented by a very large turnout on a very hot day.”
A controversial figure who has positioned himself on his party’s far right, Good framed November’s election as a “true battle for the future of our nation.” claiming that “everything we hold dear is at risk.”
“From the assault on our most basic freedoms, to the sanctity of life, the security of our Southern Border, our nation’s fiscal survival, our economy, the rapidly rising inflation, our failing government schools and the dangerous indoctrination of our children, climate extremism and the attack on American energy, the explosion of violent crime, and more---we must be united in the fight against the radical Democrat agenda,” he said.
After spending weeks insisting that his opponent was “missing in action,” Moy pledged his support for Good in his own post-convention Facebook statement. He congratulated Good on his victory and said it’s time “to unite and focus on keeping the 5th District red.”
Moy spent much of his campaign criticizing Good for “grandstanding” and failing to prioritize key issues in the district like workforce development and the needs of veterans and those currently serving in the military. He took particular issue with Good’s opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act, a $700 billion spending package that funds the military through the current fiscal year.
In an interview with Cardinal News just prior to the convention, Moy said that Good “takes great pride in taking a posture of no.”
“(Good) said that he won’t work toward any solutions that might involve him working with others who don’t think the same way he does, but that’s not how government works,” Moy said.
Moy’s criticism fell flat with the hundreds of Republicans who turned out for the convention, a nominating method that typically draws hardcore party activists. The format also proved friendly to Good in 2020 when he rode a wave grassroots anger to oust one-term incumbent Denver Riggleman. Miffed by Riggleman’s libertarian leanings and incensed that he officiated a same-sex wedding, convention-goers opted for Good, who branded himself a “bright red Biblical and constitutional conservative.” Good went on to defeat Democrat Cameron Webb by more than 5 points in the general election to earn his first term in Congress.
Since arriving in Washington, Good has continued to play to his party’s far right, joining the House “Freedom Caucus” and aligning with firebrand colleague like Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado though largely escaping the national spotlight they’ve attracted. In speeches and media appearances, he has repeatedly called into question the results of the 2020 presidential election and objected to its certification on January 6, 2021. He’s been a staunch critic of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, railing against mask mandates and mocking the virus on social media.
In response to Good’s win, Throneburg accused the congressman of neglecting his district as he pursued his own divisive agenda. He presented himself as a candidate eager to put partisan politics aside and offer a positive vision.
"This district has lacked real representation for far too long. The reality is that Bob Good failed the people he serves. He failed to pass any notable legislation, and he failed to bring any significant projects or federal dollars home to the district. Working families, veterans, farmers, senior citizens and children have all been left behind in service of Good's endless culture wars,” Throneburg said in a written statement.
“We need a positive, proactive vision for what we can achieve as a district, a Commonwealth, and a nation. We need to help working people make ends meet, stay out of folks' personal lives, and work together to help rebuild the community that we share," Throneburg continued.
Good and Throneburg will face off in a new-look 5th District that remains friendly terrain for Republicans. The district retained many of the rural southside counties that anchored the old Fifth, fertile ground for Good, a former member of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) won the district by more than 20 points last November during an election cycle favorable to Republicans. Former Governor Ralph Northam (D) lost the district by about 10 points in 2017.
Louisa County will retain its current congressional representative, 7th District Congresssowman Abigail Spanberger (D), until the end of 2022. Voters will choose between Good and Throneburg on November’s ballot and the winner will begin representing the new 5th District in January 2023.
Adams threatens to defund library if name is changed
Louisa County Board of Supervisors Chair Duane Adams threatened to introduce a resolution to defund the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library if the organization opts to change its name. During public comment at JMRL’s May 23 Board of Trustees meeting, a group representing descendants of enslaved laborers requested that the regional library system remove the surnames of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both of whom were slaveholders, and adopt a new name. The board agreed to discuss the request at its June 27 meeting.
Adams responded to the request in a May 24 Facebook post, suggesting that he would push to defund the system if it moved forward with a name change and accusing the descendants’ group of attempting “to erase our history.”
“The woke liberal crowd is at it again! They are now attempting to remove Thomas Jefferson and James Madison from the name of the regional library system that in part covers Louisa County. I plan to put in a resolution to defund this regional library if they decide to move forward with changing the name,” Adams said.
Louisa County is home to one of JMRL’s eight branches, which span four counties and the City of Charlottesville. The Board of Supervisors appropriated nearly $392,000 to support the library during the fiscal year 2023 budget process. The library system established its first branch in 1921 and has operated under several names during its century-long history. It adopted its current name in the 1970s.
During Monday’s meeting, Myra Anderson, director of Reclaimed Roots Descendants Alliance, a Charlottesville-based group, told the JMRL board that a name change is long overdue, according to The Daily Progress and other media reports.
“For a number of years now our community has been undergoing a racial reckoning. The efforts have resulted in schools and organizations changing their names and statues being removed. Our library has remained silent and continued to bear the name of two slave owners. We believe the library is long overdue for a name change, and that maintaining a bad name of a white supremacist is maintaining white supremacy in a space that is supposed to feel inclusive and equitable,” Anderson said, adding that “there’s some people who won’t even walk into the building because of the name on the building.”
After listening to Anderson’s presentation, the board moved to place a discussion about a name change on its next meeting agenda, according to media reports. The board doesn’t plan to take a formal vote on the matter at the meeting.
In an email to Engage Louisa, Wendy Craig, who represents Louisa County on JMRL’s nine-member board, declined to directly respond to Adams’ threat to pull funding. Craig said only that the board listened to Anderson’s presentation and agreed to discuss the descendant alliance’s request at its June meeting.
In a follow up interview on WINA’s Charlottesville Right Now, Anderson responded to critics, like Adams, who claim her group’s efforts are an attempt to erase history.
“I don’t think we can ever erase history to the point of what’s already on the books. There is a difference between us having that history and not upholding that history and adorning that history and that’s what names do,” Anderson said, reiterating a point she made in her comments to the JMRL board. “Jefferson has Monticello and Madison has Montpelier. The role of the library is to tell the story of Jefferson and Madison inside through books and not outside by the name on the top of the library.”
Two regional organizations in which Louisa County participates have already opted for a name change. In 2020, the Thomas Jefferson Health District elected to change its name to the Blue Ridge Health District. The Virginia Department of Health said in a press release that the change “reflects the district’s commitment to ensuring that public health services are inclusive and welcoming to all of the communities served” and aligns the organization with other health districts in Virginia, which are largely named after regional geography. In 2019, the Jefferson Area Children’s Health Improvement Program changed its name to the Child Health Partnership to “more clearly convey our focus on child health,” according to the group’s website. The nonprofit organization provides community nursing services to children in four central Virginia localities including Louisa.
Adams’ sharp response to the JMRL name change request comes as he’s locked in a hotly contested battle for the Republican nomination in the newly drawn 10th state Senate District. Though the race isn’t on the ballot until 2023, it has already attracted a trio of Republican contenders eager to snag an open seat in a solid red district. Aside from Adams, the field includes 56th District Delegate John McGuire and Hanover County GOP Chair Jack Dyer.
In his Facebook post, Adams nodded to his senate bid, saying that he’s “stood up to woke liberals while on the Louisa County Board of Supervisors, and (he) won't back down from this fight in the State Senate either.”
Roundup of recent appointments to county boards and committees
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors appoints citizens and county officials to several dozen boards and committees, which inform policy decisions and oversee the operation of publicly-funded institutions, among other duties. These boards and committees often garner little attention but play a key role in local government administration. Below is a roundup of the board’s appointments from February 2022 through May 2022.
The board appointed Donald Bishop to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to represent the Patrick Henry District.
The board appointed Robin Antonucci to the Commission on Aging to represent the Green Springs District
The board reappointed Michael Choate to the Transportation Safety Commission to represent the Patrick Henry District.
The board appointed Byron Wilson to the Transportation Safety Commission to represent the Mountain Road District.
The board appointed Robert Morgan, III to the Central Virginia Regional Jail Board as the citizen representative for Louisa County.
The board appointed Bettye Dickinson to the Human Services Advisory Board.
The board appointed Gerald Bowles to the Board of Zoning Appeals.*
The board appointed Richard Smith to the Board of Equalization.*
The board appointed Hope Peritz to the Community Policy Management Team.
The board appointed Erin Callas to the Community Policy Management Team as an alternate.
*Board appointments subject to circuit court approval.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
Find agendas and minutes from previous Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings as well as archived recordings here.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County School Board.
Click here for minutes and agendas for School Board meetings.
Click here to access past editions of Engage Louisa.