Payne says he feels a need to help county

Lifelong Culpeper resident Dewayne Payne says he has the credentials to “get something done” in the county.

But Payne, who is seeking the Stevensburg District seat on the Board of Supervisors, faces a substantial challenge in Board Chairman Bill Chase, who has represented the Stevensburg area for nearly 30 years. Payne is also competing against local businessman and farmer Gardiner Mulford.

At 28, Payne will be the youngest candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot in Culpeper County. He is running as a Republican and is a member of the Culpeper County Planning Commission.

Payne grows hay, soybeans and corn on his family-owned, 2,000 acre farm. A graduate of Culpeper County High School, he returned to the area after college.

Payne recently sat down with the Star-Exponent for a question-and-answer session. Here’s what he had to say:

CSE: Why are you running for supervisor and what separates you from the other candidates?

Payne: “I have five years on the Planning Commission, five years on the Architecture Review Board, I’ve served on the steering committee for the town’s comprehensive plan. … I believe that experience is not the issue. I know the county well — I’m a farmer. I believe I have the credentials to get something done in this county.”

On challenger Bill Chase, Payne said, “Bill was the first person that I contacted before I went public (with the campaign). He’s the only supervisor I’ve had, so out of respect, I met with him.

He came to my farm, we sat in his Jeep and we discussed it. We decided it would be a race among friends. I just feel that it’s time for me to step up and Bill felt he needed four more years. I believe it’s in the best interest of the county that I run for office.”

On challenger Gardiner Mulford, Payne said, “Gardiner and I just have a different approach. I’m very interactive with the residents of the community; I’ve been to hundreds of homes, and I view myself as more so the voice of the Stevensburg (District) — that’s my approach.”

CSE: What needs to happen for the town and county to reach an equitable, long-term solution to the community’s water and sewer needs? Is the county on the right track in pursuing the regional water and sewer authority?

Payne: “I believe in a joint effort between town and county for water and sewer. If the referendum with the town does not go forward, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I believe no matter what, there should be a joint effort between town and county.

“I disagree with the mega-plant in the Brandy Station village,” he continued. “When that was on the table, that was something I disagreed with, especially in this economy — we need to stay small.”

CSE: Do you think a good working relationship exists among Culpeper’s elected officials?

Payne: “As opposed to me casting judgment on the current relationships, I believe we have to look forward. There’s common ground between all these boards. Growing up here in the county, when I was attending the schools, I didn’t think of the Board of Supervisors or the School Board or the town, I thought of Culpeper as a whole. And that’s how I still view Culpeper.

These boards are designed to work together, not against each other. ... I look forward to working with the town and the School Board. I know people on all these boards. I’ve been here all my life. There’s not many people that you don’t know or know of.”

CSE: How would you attempt to balance the county budget at a time when there doesn’t seem to be enough money to meet the county’s obligations?

“I believe even though the board created a very lean budget this past year, I believe that there’s always room for improvement, we can always dig deeper, go even further into our processes and continue to eliminate more waste. And also I believe that our ability to obtain funding at every level is critical moving forward. There’s stimulus money on the table, there’s funding that we have to be very aggressive to attract to Culpeper County. I think it’s critical for the board and the county to pursue and to go the proper means of acquiring this funding. ... In this economy and in these budget constraints, we’re going to have to run more effective and more efficient and pursue more avenues of funding beyond creating a tax burden on the residents of Culpeper County. We have to provide quality services to the members of the community, while at the same time not taxing them out of the community.”

CSE: Are there any ongoing issues that you feel the county has not paid enough attention to? How would you bring them to the board’s attention and what should be done to resolve them?

“The residents of the Stevensburg District, they’re concerned about education, the afterschool activities for the children; the residents are concerned with the overall quality of life, which takes into consideration the protection of our prime agricultural soils; they’re concerned about preservation of our historic sites. It’s just a number of reoccurring themes.”

Payne also said residents have told him they’d like to see growth carefully managed and that transportation issues are a concern too.

“We should have a village center concept within the community. Within that village center concept, it will have villages of mixed-use development. It’s a great way of preserving the county.

To sit here and say, ‘No more growth in Culpeper County?’ That’s just not realistic.”

Payne also said that local teachers have reached out to him, saying budget issues are squeezing the schools at every level. Payne said he hopes local educators will “bear with us” as officials work though ongoing budget issues as best they can.

CSE: Which local transportation project should the community focus on — the outer loop road, the inner loop road, the interchange at U.S. 29 and Route 666 or something else?

Payne: “Personally, I live on Route 666, so the interchange at Route 29 and 666, of course, it hits home to me. But I understand that the funding is not there. I can remember when it was a stop sign.”

With funding presently unobtainable for the interchange project, Payne said he supports the outer loop as a more obtainable project.

CSE: Do you have any larger political goals?

Payne: “Currently I’m a farmer,” he said with a laugh. “My heart is on the farm, but I feel a need, like I can help the community, and I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Meet Dewayne Payne

Age: 28
Family: Wife, Meredith
Employment: Full-time farmer, co-owner of Payne Hay & Straw Inc.
Education: Bachelor’s in business administration from James Madison University; Master’s in business administration from Strayer University
Public office: Five years on county Planning Commission and Architectural Review Board; also currently serving on the town’s comprehensive plan steering committee
Public service: Public office: Public and military service: Planning Commission, various local committees

Candidate profile schedule
Monday: Profile, School Board - Cedar Mountain (Richard Goff vs. Elizabeth Hutchins)
Tuesday: Profile, School Board - West Fairfax (John Cerio vs. Bob Houck)
Wednesday: Uncontested School Board (George Dasher, Leanne Jenkins)
Thursday: BOS - Stevensburg (Dewayne Payne vs. Bill Chase vs. Gardiner Mulford)
Friday: Uncontested BOS, (Brad Rosenberger, Larry Aylor)
Saturday: Va. District 30 (Ed Scott vs. Matt Carson)
Sunday:  Attorney general (Steve Shannon vs. Ken Cuccinelli)
Monday, Oct. 19: Lieutenant governor (Jody Wagner vs. Bill Bolling)
Tuesday, Oct. 20:  Governor (Creigh Deeds vs. Bob McDonnell)
Wednesday, Oct. 21: Endorsements for School Board
Thursday, Oct. 22: Endorsements
for Board of Supervisors
Friday, Oct. 23: Endorsement
for Va. District 30
Saturday, Oct. 24: Endorsements for lieutenant governor, attorney general
Sunday, Oct. 25: Endorsement for governor