Choose candidates who will allow us to survive — and then thrive!

In 1950, my family started a migration to Northern Loudoun County from Arlington, Virginia, where I was raised. By the mid-1960s they were in Loudoun full-time with my father commuting to downtown DC; it took an hour. Loudoun had a plan in place such that land east of Leesburg (Route 15) could be developed, as Sterling Park was already a reality in the eastern end of the county. To the west, the plan was to keep the county in an agricultural setting. The prominent bumper sticker was “Don’t Fairfax Loudoun!” This large part of Loudoun was very productive from an agricultural perspective, and it was beautiful as well.

The next thing you know, the county Board of Supervisors changed composition and they began to welcome change. Look at Loudoun today. Much of that beautiful land is now either a housing development, a data center, or a shopping center. While these uses provide enormous nancial resources to the county, our county has chosen a path that does not provide us with enormous nancial resources, but does provide us with the beauty and tranquility we seek.

What changed in Loudoun? The local elected officials!

In Rappahannock, we are in the midst of an election for School Board and Board of Supervisors.

It seems to me that the single most important thing a citizen can do is to make certain that the elected o cials not only serve their constituents, but also do so with integrity, humility, decency and respect.

I am aware that there are citizens in the county who want NOTHING to change. I get that, as we have a real pearl of a community. But, it is also naïve to assume that we can operate in a cocoon, ignoring the very substantial ways the world around us is changing. For example, in the fall of 2021, the way in which people earn their living has changed dramatically as many no longer go to an o ce. Rather they work from home, enabled in many ways through the use of high speed internet. In our county, that high speed internet is Not widely available.

Our school children were confronted with this hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic, very possibly putting them at a disadvantage compared to others who had access to learning because of their internet availability. This includes academic competition as well as employment competition. We can’t “leave the children behind” because we nd it too expensive, or we don’t like the process of picking a partner to obtain high speed internet.

For those who have traditionally worked on a farm, that too is a shrinking opportunity. There are only six farms in the county that depend solely on farming as the source of income. So that raises the question, “who is going to be there to buy your farm when you are through with it?”

The county’s greatest asset is also its greatest liability. That is this beautiful landscape protected by very tight zoning restrictions.

We must choose supervisors and school board members who are respectful of our history and are thoughtful, positive, constructive and forward looking as they will face many di cult decisions about our future. We cannot allow ourselves to be turned into a Loudoun County, nor can we be bullied by those who simply oppose everything.

A friend of mine has o en said that his best method of evaluating people is simply: “Would you be happy if they married your offspring?”

We citizens who have deep love for this beautiful place we call home, must evaluate each candidate against the standard stated above. Would we welcome them into our family? The quality of our future depends on our picking candidates who are open minded, thoughtful, positive, constructive and forward looking, and who act and behave always in ways which are beneficial for the county and its residents.

Our goal must be to rst survive, and then thrive! And make no mistake, we are in a race for survival.

I am aware that there are citizens in the county who want NOTHING to change. I get that, as we have a real pearl of a community. But, it is also naïve to assume that we can operate in a cocoon, ignoring the very substantial ways the world around us is changing.