Candidates mostly agree on issues raised at forum
By Greg Rushford
More than 130 county residents turned up on a foggy fall evening Tuesday to hear three Piedmont District candidates for the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors offer their views on a wide range of issues facing county government.
In the end, the three agreed more than they disagreed on key issues including keeping property taxes down and preserving the county’s rural way of life, but a sharp difference emerged on how to keep the county’s rivers and streams clean.
When Piedmont voters go to the polls on Nov. 7, they will decide which of the three candidates to put on the five-member board: retired medical pathologist and cattle farmer Monira Rifaat, retired computer entrepreneur and county native Edward Wayland, or Kim Estes Baader, who learned local politics at the knee of her late father, former supervisor Charles K. “Pete” Estes.
The candidates’ forum, held in the auditorium of Rappahannock County High School, was sponsored by the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection, which has held similar events during the last two board-of-supervisor contests. Baader, Rifaat, and Wayland are running to fill the supervisor’s seat being vacated by interim appointee Tom Taylor, who joined the board in May after long-time supervisor “Pete” Estes, died. For nearly 90 minutes, the candidates took questions that were posed by moderator Monty Tayloe, a former Rappahannock News reporter, who sat in for James P. Gannon, who was sidelined with a back injury.
Although some important differences surfaced during the questioning — particularly concerning what stance the board of supervisors should take to keep county waters clean — the three candidates generally took similar positions on other key local issues. They declared their support for low taxes and controlled growth. They vowed to make life difficult for anyone who would seek to spread sewage sludge with its attendant toxic pathogens and heavy metals on county farmland as a fertilizer substitute.
The candidates each supported the local sheriff’s office, and declined to join in criticism that surfaced during the recent manhunt for accused murderer Ira Wayne Cloniger, to the effect that the police department had not communicated sufficiently to members of the public. Instead, they touted the virtues of enhancing cell phone communications aimed at allowing residents of the county’s peaks and hollows to talk to one another during future emergencies — stressing that such towers must blend in with the scenery as unobtrusively as possible, a big local issue in the past several years.
And without offering much by way of specifics, the candidates agreed on the importance of overseeing the county’s school system. If there were differences, they were in emphasis. Wayland and Baader generally praised the county schools’ performance, while Rifaat indicated that she would take a closer look at education issues than the current board has been doing.
The candidates each talked around the edges of another looming issue by singing the praises of the volunteers who form the backbone of the county’s seven over-worked and under-financed fire and rescue departments. At some point in the next several years, it is generally recognized that hard questions will have to be asked about what to do about bringing these overstretched, essential county services into the 21st century, and how to pay for such.
But the candidates offered little in the way of specifics on this issue. Baader seemed a bit flustered by the question of what to do about supporting the emergency-service volunteers, and didn’t offer any comments. She explained to this reporter later that she had suddenly felt faint.
“I appreciate our emergency volunteers,” said Wayland. “They risk their lives for us.” Rifaat was somewhat more specific, noting that Culpeper County is currently operating its fire and rescue departments with a mixture of volunteers and full-time paid employees, which the candidate predicted would not work in the long run. Meanwhile, “if you can’t volunteer, donate to the departments,” she implored the audience. “Help them financially.
On the “big” local issue, upon which the preservation of the cherished Rappahannock County lifestyle is thought to turn, the candidates each strongly endorsed the current county zoning restrictions designed to allow only one house to every 25 acres in agricultural zones. At the same time, the candidates mostly agreed that something should be done to allow the building of clusters of “affordable” housing located in existing villages such as Sperryville, which comprises the center of the Piedmont District.
<Each candidate expressed a strong distaste for the kind of runaway suburban growth that has been springing up in neighboring Culpeper and Fauquier counties. “We are an oasis,” said candidate Wayland. “Are we going to have growth here? Sure. We have good zoning laws and will continue to build around existing villages.” Declared Baader: “Growth should be planned around perimeters of villages, and we should look at scenic easements as well.” Agreed Rifaat, “We do not want a house on every 25 acres in the agricultural areas. I would like to concentrate housing in villages, where it belongs.”
While the exchanges between the candidates were marked by their civility, clear differences emerged when moderator Tayloe asked about what they thought the supervisors should do to protect county rivers and streams from pollutants.
“I think our waters are much cleaner than when I was a young man,” declared Wayland. “They are almost pristine, and I do not want to see DEQ [Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality] come in and tell us what to do.” Agreeing, Baader endorsed “voluntary action on the part of farmers to fence off waterways” from their cattle, which are considered the major source of water pollution in the county. “But I do not think the board needs to pass a law,” she quickly added.
Wayland and Baader each expressed strong support for the current board’s unwillingness to designate segments of the Hazel River as a co-called Tier III “exceptional” waterway, which some county farmers and landowners fear would restrict their property rights and future development options. “I’m for clean water,” said Wayland. “But where you have the government coming in to try to regulate you, the rules you have today could change tomorrow.” Added Baader: “I believe it should come from us, and not government regulation.”
Rifaat politely-but-firmly disagreed as she brought her medical background and experience as an award-winning conservationist cattle farmer to bear in explaining her stance. County supervisors, she declared, should be more pro-active when it comes to protecting local waterways. Pointing to the dangers posed by the run-off of e.coli and other pollutants into streams, Rifaat said she believes strongly that the supervisors should support the Tier III designation for the Hazel River, instead of fighting it.
“We owe it to our future generations,” she declared. Noting with a trace of scorn in her voice that Culpeper’s supervisors have endorsed Tier III for the sections of the Hazel that run through their county, Rifaat drew laughter when she noted with a shrug, “Even Culpeper is ahead of us. Can you believe that?”
Asked by the moderator to say something about their core values, each candidate spoke in similar terms of respecting county traditions and praising the virtues of hard work. Drawing upon his background in the business world, Wayland said he had learned to manage budgets and to listen closely to what customers had to say. “It is important to be a good listener, and hard work is important,” he declared.
Sounding very much like the doctor she is, Rifaat likewise defined her core values with terms like “civility” and “hard work” and in diagnosing problems and then solving them. Perhaps the only difference in how Wayland and Rifaat handled the question came in emphasis, with Rifaat implying that if elected, she would be the more forceful supervisor. “I would be a strong board member,” she promised. “I would make the board stronger than it is.”
Baader also mentioned “hard work” as a core belief. “These values were something taught to me by my parents,” she recalled. Baader said that while her day job as director of inventory control at Plow & Hearth, the country-living retail chain which is headquartered in Madison, Va., keeps her busy, she would have plenty of energy left to conduct county business.
When the candidates at the forum praised the traditional Rappahannock County virtues of community service and volunteerism, and long hours for little pay, they were also describing the job that lies ahead for one of them. Members of the Board of Supervisors are paid only $200 per meeting ($400 for the board chairman, currently Robert Anderson) and mileage for car expenses–among the lowest pay rates for elected officials anywhere.
Greg Rushford, a resident of Rappahannock County, is editor and publisher of The Rushford Report (www.RushfordReport.com).
-- AdminComments
Comment from raymondboc
Time: October 19, 2006, 1:47 am
Thank you & RLEP for putting together this panel discussion. I found it most interesting and revealing of the candidates in the venue outside of the casual street encounters and meet ‘n greets. It was a great forum for the candidates to present their views. I acknowledge the candidates for their participation and
their personal sacrifice required by the campaign and eventually the tremendous responsibilities of the elected candidate.
Ray Boc
Comment from Bruce Sloane
Time: October 20, 2006, 12:48 am
Thank you, RLEP and all others who helped with this vital community service.
It was obvious to me that there was only one candidate who did any preparation for this event, and that was Monira Rifaat. That is partly due to her long involvement in county boards and community affairs, giving her a depth of knowledge and experience that the other two candidates sorely lack.
But it was more than that. On many questions, the other two candidates admitted they knew little or nothing about the subject, or they gave short cursory answers.
Rifaat had a thoughtful and detailed answer to every question, and backed up her answers with facts and figures. Whether you agreed with her answer or not, it was impressive. I wish all the candidates had been so knowledgable.
Bruce Sloane
Comment from bevhunter
Time: October 27, 2006, 1:44 am
It was refreshing to have a BOS candidate in Rappahannock county so well informed as Monira Rifaat. She has given selflessly to so many community and conservation efforts in this county, for a long time. Therefore she is very knowledgeable about the issues. We face more complex and pressing issues now than we did in the past. We need a supervisor willing to dig in and understand the complexities of the issues and take leadership for benefit of our citizens. Her good humor helps as well!
Comment from Roger Welch
Time: October 27, 2006, 8:50 pm
To clarify, Supervisors get $200 per month not per meeting. Its the lowest in the state and a badge we’re proud of. The chairman get twice that amount.
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