Public comments before the Floyd County Board of Supervisors at their meeting Tuesday night. Presented without editing or comment for public benefit.

New school board chairman David Sulzen

David Sulzen is the new chairman of the Floyd County School Board, replacing Doug Phillips, who ended an 18-year-reign over the county’s educational system.

Phillips, who remains on the school board, nominated Sulzen as his replacement.

The board also elected Clay Link as vice chair.

Phillips leaves the chairmanship after a year of controversy that led to the early retirement of longtime superintendent Terry Arbogast, who came under fire for concealing a pay increase for himself and a general lack of candor over budget questions raised by the board of supervisors.

Some in the community felt Phillips gave Arbogast too much control over the school system with too little oversight by the school board.

With two new members and a new chairman and vice chairman, the Floyd County Board of Supervisors has a new look this year. Here’s a short video with the new and old faces of the board and various elected and appointed officials.

Missing are the new treasurer Missy Keith and Commissioner of Revenue Lisa Baker as well as Circuit Clerk Wendell Peters. They were not present at the first board meeting of the year. We will try to capture them on video later at a later meeting.

Just so everyone knows who the players are:

Board of Supervisors:

Casey Clinger: Locust Grove District (New Chairman: Currently in middle of first term as a supervisor)
Virgel Allen: Little River District (Vice Chairman: Just starting his second term)
Fred Gerald: Indian Valley (The longest serving member of the board)
Joe Turman: Burks Fork (New supervisor)
Lauren Yoder: Locust Grove (New supervisor)

Appointed County Officials
County Administrator: Dan Campbell
Assistant Administrator: Terri Morris
Director of Economic Development: Lydeana Martin
Director of Social Services: Carl Ayers

Elected County Officials
County Sheriff: Shannon Zeman
Commonwealth’s Attorney: Stephanie Shortt
Circuit Clerk: Wendell Peters
Treasurer: Missy Keith
Commissioner of Revenue: Lisa Baker

Related articles

• Supervisors name Clinger as new Chairman (blueridgemuse.com)
• New feature: Voice of the people (blueridgemuse.com)

Locust Grove Supervisor Lauren Yoder and wife Chelsa check returns

In the end, an election that some felt would restructure Floyd County’s school board and redefine county government turned into an endorsement of the status quo.

Every incumbent on the general election ballot Tuesday won, including three sitting members of the school board and county sheriff Shannon Zeman, who trounced challenger Laura Sparks — a former deputy — 2-1.

After years of having at least one Democrat on the county board, the supervisors who take office January 1 will be 100 percent Republican.  The party of the elephant — running unopposed in board and constitutional offices — walked in without trouble.  Only independent Stephanie Shortt — returning unchallenged for a second term as commonwealth’s attorney — spoiled the GOP sweep.

A last minute write-in challenge by incumbent board of supervisors chairman David Ingram — who lost to challenger Lauren Yoder in the GOP caucus earlier this year — fell way short as Yoder cruised to victory along with unopposed incumbent Virgel Allen and newcomer Joe Turman, who also ran unopposed after Demoratic incumbent Bill Gardiner decided at the last minute to not seek re-election.

In the race for Floyd Town Council, challenger Dennis Wagner came close to unseating incumbent Mike Patton but — as in other races throughout the county — status quo ruled.

The three-way battle for sheriff became the county’s most-watched race with challenger Sparks waging a spirited campaign against popular incumbent Zeman and “God told me to run” challenger Paul Hill.  But the final result wasn’t even close: Zeman pulled in 2,760 votes to 1,292 for Sparks while Hills came in a distant third with 422.

While Republicans celebrated their sweep at an election watch at the library and Zeman hosted his deputies and supporters at his house, a hoped-for celebration by Sparks at Ray’s restaurant turned into a wake.

“It doesn’t look good,” Sparks texted to supporters as the early returns came in and she trailed from the start.

Yoder, openly surprised and disappointed with the last-minute write-in challenge from Ingram sweated out the evening until the Locust Grove returns came in last, giving him 599 votes to some 200 write-ins.

“I had to beat him twice,” Yoder said.

Melissa Keith won her unopposed race for treasurer along with Lisa Baker for Commissioner of Revenue.

After controversy over now-retired school superintendent Terry W. Arbogast’s budgetary sleight-of-hand with his escalating salary and perks, some expected at least some of the incumbents to lose but challenges against sitting board members Clay Link and David Sulzen fell short and Margaret Hubbard ran for re-election unopposed.  Link survived a three-way race in Locust Grove District while Sulzen beat former county administrator Henry McDaniel.

The big losers Tuesday?  Floyd County’s invisible Democratic party, which didn’t field a single candidate on the ballot and the always vocal but impotent tea party which failed to land a single victory and had no impact on any race.

Lunch last week with two friends who approach life from opposite ends of the political spectrum:  Fred First, Floyd County’s “first blogger” and Jim Connor, a relatively-recent addition to the area’s population of bloggers and diverse characters.

Fred — for the most part — is an unabashed liberal, an ardent environmentalist with a passion for resource conservation.  He is one of the driving forces behind Sustain Floyd.

Jim is a proud conservative and a gun-safety trainer and with strong beliefs in his causes.  He serves as sergeant-at-arms for the local tea party and moderates their on-line discussion forum.

As most readers know, I don’t fit into a conservative or liberal mold. For the most part, I’m a political agnostic.

Yet the three of us are friends.  We share a common love of writing and photography and we all three have Internet sites where we freely express our opinions.  We also love our country, even if we think it should be headed in different directions.

The fact that we can have lunch together, poke fun at each other and laugh and have a good time makes us an anomaly in today’s overly-stressed and overly-tense political environment where different beliefs become personal vendettas and turn friends into enemies.

As someone involved with politics for most of his professional life — mostly as a journalist and for a while as a Capitol Hill staffer, political operative and a political action committee executive — I’ve watched politics shift from just being part of a person’s life into a controlling influence that dominates thought, actions and the sole determining factor of lifestyle, social interaction and litmus test for friendship.

Because of political differences, some who once called themselves my friend now send letters to editors of publications I write for and demand that I be fired. Some have contacted the advertisers on this web site and others that I have and called on them to drop me as a client because of views I have expressed publicly.

Fred First and I have had differences over the years but we have always worked them out because we value friendship above politics. We’ve have the ability to disagree without being disagreeable.

That’s how true friendship works.  My granddaddy once told me: “A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body.”  Haven’t had to move any bodies lately so I can’t vouch for that litmus test of friendship.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed the companionship of friends from widely-varying political and philosophical beliefs.  My circle of friends includes liberals, conservatives, independents, Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, heterosexuals, bisexuals and gays.

Yet a growing number of folks I know can no longer do so.  They limit themselves to social interaction only with those of similar political views, obtain news only from sources that agree with their own political bias and attend only events that agree with their narrow views of the world.

Life, in my opinion, is far too short for such limitations.

We all need to remember that this nation was founded on the desire to welcome — and embrace — all forms of opinion, religion and beliefs.  We all need to remember that the expression of a differing opinion does not make one a moron or wrong.  We need to relearn how to enjoy the company of others without labels, stereotypes or bias.

In 1982, I worked on the re-election campaign for Rep. Manuel Lujan of New Mexico.  During that election, I became friends with the campaign manager for Jan Hartke — Lujan’s opponent.

We had dinner, shared beers and campaign war stories and respected each others opinions.  After the election — which Lujan won — I recommended him for a job on the Congressman’s staff as a veterans affairs caseworker.  Manuel did not care if he was Democrat or Republican.  He did care that he was a veteran with a strong commitment to helping those who served.  He became one of the best case workers on a staff known for its casework and constituent service.

Could that happen in today’s highly-charged, overly-personal political environment?  Probably not.

The sad fact that it cannot may explain the mess we’re in as a nation and a society.

But a lot of Floyd County residents will find wannabes for office at their door in this political season. Most likely, they will be running for the school board, where two of three seats are contested, or the sheriff’s race with three candidates or the town council where three seek two seats.

Political candidates are salesmen and saleswomen, trying to sell themselves to a voter/consumer, which means you have to wade through a lot of propaganda and hype to discover where they actually stand on issues.

In our district — Little River — we have three candidates, including the incumbent, running for the school board.  If any of them had nerve enough to show up at our door, I’d ask the following questions:

1. Why should I vote for you?
2. Are you a member of any political party? School board elections are non-partisan but political affiliation is important.  It provides a clue to their beliefs on public education.
3. Did you graduate from a public or private school?  Those who attended a private elementary and/or secondary school sometimes look down on public education.
4. Were you home schooled?  Same reason as above.
5. Are a you a member of, or are you seeking endorsement by, Floyd’s tea party?  The tea party doesn’t care much for public education, which means a candidate who listens to them could vote against raises for teachers or against federal funding for schools.
6. Did you attend Floyd County public schools?  Those of us who did are damn proud of it.  It means something.
7. Do you have — or did you have — children in the Floyd County public schools?  Those who did may know more about the school system than those who did not.
8. What about the controversy over departing school superintendent Terry Arbogast’s salary package and his handling of questions about it?  Was he right or wrong?  Did the school board mishandle the issue?
9. Tell me five good things about the Floyd County school system?
10. Tell me five bad things about the schools.

There are other questions.  If the candidate starts spouting off about public employee unions, show them the door. Floyd County’s public employees — including the teachers — are not unionized.  Never have been. Probably never will be.  This is a right to work state.

Questions for other candidates coming soon.

With the ballot set for the upcoming local and state election you will not find a single Democrat running for any office in Floyd County.

No one. Not one. Nada.

Back in the 1960s my granddaddy would joke that the Floyd County Democratic Party could meet in a phone booth.

Not many phone booths left nowadays.  Even fewer Democrats — especially in Floyd County.

Come January, the county board of supervisors will be all Republican. Not even an independent in the mix.  Burks Fork Democrat Bill Gardner is leaving the board after just one term.

He says he’s tired.

Maybe he’s tired of being outnumbered.

All of the candidates for the board of supervisors are Republicans.  No Democrat even filed.  No independents either.

Sheriff Shannon Zeman, a Republican, seeks re-election.  His two opponents — former deputy Laura Sparks and “God told me to run” Paul Hill — filed as independents.

Incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Shortt — running for re-election as an independent — is unopposed.  No Republican, Democrat or independent wanted to take her on, or maybe nobody else wants the job.

Shortt may be a Democrat, but she’s not admitting to an affiliation with any political party. She won the office four years ago as an independent.  That’s her story and she’s sticking to it.

Candidates for Commissioner of Revenue and Treasurer?  Republican, both of them, and unopposed.

Two of the three open school board races are contested but all the challengers call themselves independents and the education system elections are “officially” non-partisan.  Scratch any of the existing school members or those seeking election and you will most likely find an elephant lurking just under skin.

Excluding Shortt, the remaining, so-called “independent” challengers for seats are  Republicans.

Floyd Town Council elections are also considered non-partisan so party affiliation is not declared.  There may be a closet Democrat in there but nobody’s admitting anything.

Some of the candidates for the school board and town council have ties to the Floyd Tea Party but they aren’t touting it.  Recent polls show the tea party about as popular with voters as Barack Obama at a Klan rally.

We could ask a Democrat what they think about one-party rule in Floyd County.

If we could find one.

(For the record, the author of this article is not now, nor has he ever been, a member of any political party.  His credo is: “I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am an American. There is a difference.”)

Related articles

• Republicans use politics, redistricting to save House majority (capitolhillblue.com)
• Republican ‘young guns’ now draw more jeers than cheers (capitolhillblue.com)

Lauren Yoder speaks at recent board of supervisors public hearing

Longtime Floyd County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Ingram’s loss to political newcomer Lauren Yoder in the Saturday GOP canvass surprised few.

It’s a bad year for incumbents and the furor over tax hikes a few months ago signaled trouble for anyone who supported the hikes.

The local tea party hasn’t taken credit for Yoder’s victory yet but I suspect they will. The tea party would claim responsibility for the sunrise if they thought they thought it would serve their various — and often hidden — agendas.

Yoder won for two reasons:

First, he worked hard for the victory, working the Locust Grove district door-to-door and campaigning tirelessly.

Second, Ingram wasn’t tireless. He just seemed tired. The veteran board chairman has talked about not running for the past two terms. His heart wasn’t in it.  A drive through the sprawling Locust Grove district revealed many Yoder yard signs. I never saw one for Ingram.

Ingram also appeared distracted in recent months. He was often late for board meetings, leaving vice chairman Fred Gerald to run things until he arrived.  An illness in his family also took its tool. I suspect he ran more from a sense of obligation than any burning desire to continue.

Yoder — who should easily win the general election in November in the heavily-GOP Locust Grove district — will bring some youthful energy to the board and he philosophically is closely aligned with Courthouse Supervisor Case Clinger.

Ingram’s loss is a wake-up call to two other incumbents seeking re-election this year: Burks Fork Supervisor Bill Gardner — who faces a challenge from retired sheriff’s deputy Joe Turman — and Virgel Allen in Little River, where former supervisor Kerry Whitlock is considering a run as an independent.

Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Well, he was half-right.

I’m not a conservative. I’m not a liberal.

I’m not a Democrat. I’m not a Republican.

I’m an American and there is a difference that those who blindly follow the folly of partisan political action can never understand.

It drives partisans crazy when they can’t stereotype someone. It drives members of the fake grassroots movement called the tea party insane when someone shows true independence from their idea of lockstep ideology.

As for “biased,” I consider that a compliment when it comes from a tea party fanatic. It’s hilarious that members of the so-called tea party call themselves a grassroots movement. Their so-called party was created not by the grassroots but by two billionaire brothers named Charles and David Koch with the help of former Republican House leader Dick Amery and GOP mega-consultant Eddie Mahe. I know. I once worked as the senior communications consultant for The Eddie Mahe Company and part of my job was to create phony grassroots movements like the tea party for well-heeled corporate clients. It’s not something that I’m proud of but I was drinking a lot then and the money was good.

To the rabid right wing, being “biased” means having independent thought and an open mind. There’s no place for either in the tea party.  It means evaluating each issue on its own merits and not being swayed by the ideologues that want to stifle independence and freedom.

It’s also interesting that someone who considers Fox News fair and balanced has the gall to call me “biased.”

Conservatives claim liberals oppose freedom. Liberals say the same thing about conservatives. The sad truth is that any political “movement” demands rigid compliance to an dogma that restricts freedom and independence.

The right-wing labels any Republicans who shows some independence or moderation as “RINOs” (Republican in Name Only) and vows to defeat them at the polls and put in their place only those who subscribe to the narrow point of view of their restrictive beliefs.

That’s how we got intellectually-challenged members of Congress like Michelle Bachmann.

God help us.

For the record, I’m a political agnostic. I don’t believe in any political party or philosophy. I’m conservative on some issues, liberal on others. I’m a gun owner who supports freedom of choice when it comes to abortion.  I’m an environmentalist who supports free enterprise.

That kind of independence doesn’t sit well with partisans.

Good.

They can’t handle real freedom anyway.

Related articles

• Beyond “Liberal” And “Conservative”: A New Political Typology (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Joining a political party means surrendering your freedom (capitolhillblue.com)
• GOP Base vs Traditional Conservatives (benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com)
• The dangerous myth conservatives believe – Tea Party Nation (gds44.wordpress.com)
• The Top 10 Conservative Moguls Who Control Your Life (mogulite.com)
• Partisan Is As Partisan Does (themoderatevoice.com)
• Even The Internet Is Partisan (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)

Outgoing Congressman Rick Boucher on one of his last visits to Floyd befoe the election.

Mason Adams at The Roanoke Times has a good profile of outgoing Congressman Rick Boucher who is leaving Congress after 28 years representing the “Fighting Ninth” of Southwestern Virginia.

Writes Adams:

For 28 years, U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher divided his time between the mountains of Southwest Virginia and the ornate buildings on Capitol Hill.

By all accounts, the long-serving congressman’s roots and life in the 9th District thoroughly influenced his work in Washington — and vice versa.

Boucher was known on Capitol Hill for his work on the cutting edge of technology and telecommunications, and he consistently tried to use that knowledge to build a 21st century economy in Southwest Virginia.

Boucher talked up the need for “electronic villages” and broadband Internet service while at home, and then pushed to extend those networks to rural areas using his senior position in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

He used his pull in Congress to secure federal funds for projects such as the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Blue Ridge Music Center while encouraging local officials to boost their tourism efforts.

Boucher leaves Congress as a victim of voter anger, the fantasy of the Tea Party and an election driven by those whose message was nothing more than “let’s change even if we don’t need do.”

I’ve had my differences with Rick and he served in Congress for much of my own 23 years in Washington.  Our paths never crossed on Capitol Hill. My journalistic focus was not on Southwestern Virginia politics.  I got to know him better after returning to Floyd County in 2004. I thought he was too quick to waste taxpayer money on pork barrel projects for the district. We differed on other issues but he was quick to jump into the problems with the National Park Service when it decided to unleash a goon squad on FloydFest attendees a few years ago.  They even stopped and harassed Floyd County Sheriff Shannon Zeman.

But as Congressmen go — and I’ve dealt with many over the years and served on the staffs of three — Boucher was better than most. He often put the needs of constituents over demands of his party — a trait that I have yet too see from Republican “yes man” Morgan Griffith who replaces Boucher as our Congressman.

Boucher will be missed. I suspect that as we see more and more of the extremism that has marked Morgan Griffith’s political career in the Virginia General Assembly, we will miss the affable Congressman from Abingdon even more.