Konick’s years of experience make him stand out

Iam writing in support of the election of David Konick for Stonewall-Hawthorne District. I have lived in and around Rappahannock County on and o since I was eight years old, and have been a permanent resident for over thirty years.

In contrast to his opponent, who is a very nice and articulate young man, Konick has almost 40 years of experience in the county government, starting as zoning administrator in 1981. He always treated everyone, rich or poor, the same, and didn’t have di erent rules for di erent people as has so o en been the case, unfortunately. It was largely thanks to his input that Rappahannock got a new zoning ordinance adopted in 1986.

When Konick was appointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals in 2014, he brought his knowledge of zoning to the board, and made sure their decisions were based on the state law and local ordinances, not personalities. He helped re-write the BZA rules of procedure to make sure proper procedures were followed and hearings were fair to all parties. The BZA twice voted to nominate Konick as their representative to the Planning Commission.

When the supervisors appointed Konick to the Planning Commission in 2020, his colleagues immediately elected him chairman, which speaks for itself. He knows how to work together to get things done. For Konick, this is not just an election year slogan in a slick advertising campaign. He’s actually done it.

In one short year, the Planning Commission adopted new bylaws — although required by law, it had never been done since 1966 until Konick got it done. The 2004 Comprehensive Plan — required by state law to be updated every ve years — was nally nished and adopted 11 years a er it should have been done. It includes important new provisions that will help protect Rappahannock County’s scenic beauty and preserve our rural way of life that is threatened by development. Important amendments to the 1986 zoning ordinance, most of which were initiated by David in 2015 — also were recommended by the commission for approval and passed by the Board of Supervisors — all despite the pandemic.

My family and I all are supporting Konick’s candidacy for supervisor based on his demonstrated track record of leadership and getting things done for all of us in Stonewall-Hawthorne District and throughout Rappahannock County. We believe his leadership and experience are needed as our representative to lead Rappahannock into the future.

RICK WOOD

Castleton