Mary Graham
Background: I started as Rappahannock County Deputy Commissioner in 2016 under the leadership of Sharon Dodson who prepared me for assuming this position when she retired. I grew up in Arlington and have an Associate’s degree in General Sciences from Northern Virginia Community College, and a BA in Digital Arts from George Mason University. My diverse background from drafting to data management and information design all help in my Commissioner role. Since 1995, I’ve been a contractor doing desktop publishing and data analysis for nonprofits. I’ve lived in Rappahannock since 2006 and am finishing up my 14th gardening season here.
RappNews: What is the most urgent issue facing the county now?
Graham: Attracting and keeping younger people here. Agriculture is the backbone of our county and our farmer population is aging.
RN: What in your background and experience would help address that?
Graham: In my years as Deputy Commissioner and now as Commissioner of the Revenue, I’ve seen that the effective, rational, and fair implementation of assessments and the land use program help support our agricultural way of life and provide opportunity for young people who wish to pursue farming. Good communications are also important — designing websites and other products that make information easy to access and understand. I developed a web page on the county website that provides information to our citizens about my office and what we do. I studied architectural drafting and worked as a cartographic draftsman, so I understand building plans and maps. And I’ve always been good with math and numbers.
RN: What do you see as the responsibilities of the Commissioner of the Revenue?
Graham: The office strives to provide efficient and effective tax services through diligent and careful maintenance of tax programs and records. We are tasked with assessing real and tangible personal property accurately, uniformly, and fairly. We administer meals and lodging tax registration and the land use program; tax relief for the elderly and disabled, and disabled veterans and surviving spouses; protect confidential taxpayer information; and assist taxpayers with state income tax returns. In fulfilling this role, we also need to work with the other constitutional officers, so that we all efficiently and seamlessly serve the taxpayers of the county.
RN: Why do you want to be re-elected for this position?
Graham: I love my job and believe strongly in the mission of this office. I have close to four years of experience in this office, which gives me the background needed to better serve. My daily goal is to help our citizens and do all the tasks required of my position to the best of my ability.
RN: What have you accomplished as Commissioner of the Revenue?
Graham: One of my goals has been to develop clear, easy-to-understand communications. I redesigned many of the forms and letters sent out by our office, so that citizens can better understand what we need from them, and so that we collect more complete and accurate information. I developed and published an information-rich web page on the county website to serve our citizens. I use my extensive computer skills daily to streamline our office processes to make the office more efficient. I plan to phase out duplicative systems.