Pro-business theme from supervisor candidates

As the days dwindle down to Nov. 3, Culpeper County residents were able to get another look at four of the five candidates running for the Board of Supervisors Friday morning at the Culpeper Country Club.

Incumbent chairman Bill Chase, independent challenger Gardiner Mulford and Republican nominee Dewayne Payne — in a three-way race for the Stevensburg District — answered questions before about 30 people at a breakfast held by the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce.

Cedar Mountain District incumbent Larry Aylor, running unopposed, also participated. Brad Rosenberger, supervisor in the Jefferson District, was not present.

Topics included jobs, water and sewer issues between the town and county, budget cuts, traffic impact fees, land-use taxation and transportation.

All four candidates talked about the importance of bringing new businesses to Culpeper.

Chase described members of the board traveling to Florida a few years ago to bring Terremark to the county. Mulford advocated parks and trails to attract companies that want a high quality of life for their employees. Payne spoke about protecting the land-use tax exemption for farmers.

When asked what the greatest issue in Culpeper was, both Aylor and Chase brought up water and sewer and talked about the importance of reaching an agreement with the town.

Mulford reiterated his stance that the county should not be in the water and sewer business at all and should instead rely on the town’s infrastructure. His greatest concern was the negative impact of growth outside town limits.

Payne listed multiple issues concerning quality of life, including infrastructure and water.

Each candidate was given three minutes to discuss each issue.

“I was very impressed with the way the questions were answered,” said moderator Jim Charapich, director of the chamber. “But I was also very interested in how the political process actually unfolds here in Culpeper on a small level because there were a diversity of answers.

“These were issues that I polled the community about as late as yesterday (Thursday). Many of the leaders in Culpeper were willing to give me some insight into what they thought good questions would be, so we asked those questions.”

One difference that came up involved transportation. Mulford opposed the creation of the proposed western outer loop road, while Chase, Payne and Aylor were for it.

The candidates got a chance to speak in front of a crowd of active voters that included business leaders, politicians, county staff and other important members of the community.

“When I asked how many folks in the audience voted in the last election and how many folks are planning to vote in this election, I didn’t see anybody that didn’t raise their hand,” Charapich said.

For the most part, debate was kept at a minimum during the question-and-answer session, and the tone was civil.

“I made a vow when I came in today to be a nice guy,” Chase said during his closing remarks, getting a good laugh from the crowd. “So I won’t touch on anything I disagree with.”

Missed it?

The Board of Supervisors forum will be broadcast on Channel 21 today at 7 a.m. and at other times throughout the week. For more background on each candidate, check out the archives at StarExponent.com and pick up the Nov. 1 paper for the Star-Exponent’s voters guide.