By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Friday, May 27, 2011
Scottsville attorney
Christopher J. Dumler
has entered the race to succeed
Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr.
on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.
Dumler, 26, will seek the nomination of the Democratic Party when it holds a caucus later this summer. Dorrier announced in March that he would not be running again. Scottsville Republican James C. Norwood has also filed as an official candidate for the open seat.
 Christopher J. Dumler Photo provided by candidate |
“I am running because I think that we really need a concrete comprehensive vision for the community that extends more than three to five years in the future,” Dumler said.
According to Dumler, that vision needs to include economic development, education and rural and agricultural preservation as priorities.
“Job creation is my No. 1 priority,” Dumler said.
“Albemarle and Scottsville deserve a government that is accountable,” Dumler said. “A vision should be born out of a public process, but be implemented fully such that it doesn’t have so much wiggle room that it changes at the whim of vocal minorities.”
Dumler moved to Virginia from Georgia after receiving an undergraduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2009 and opened his law practice in Scottsville in 2010. He is an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps.
Dorrier, also a Virginia law graduate and former JAG officer, will leave office at the end of 2011, having served 18 years as the Scottsville district supervisor.
“I am running to follow in the footsteps of Lindsay Dorrier,” Dumler said. “I don’t think anyone could replace Lindsay and I truly respect everything he has given to Albemarle County. He is the epitome of a public servant.”
“If there is a legacy I would follow, it would be his responsiveness and recognition that local politics really is local,” Dumler added.
Dumler has been involved in the community as a member of the Region Ten Community Services board of directors and an appointee to
Albemarle’s Natural Heritage Committee
. He also serves on the Scottsville Board of Zoning Appeals.
“Albemarle deserves a government that is collaborative,” Dumler said. “We have a very poisonous relationship with city of Charlottesville today, for a variety of reasons, including the water plan, the
Meadow Creek Parkway
and revenue sharing.”
“Through my board service, I have developed a number of relationships with people in the city that I think can lead to breakthroughs on those issues,” Dumler said.
The Albemarle supervisors have unanimously backed the almost $140 million 50-year community water plan since it was approved in 2006. Dumler said he supports the construction of a new earthen dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.
“I do support the water plan that has been approved,” Dumler said. “It is not the perfect plan, but it was born out of a public process and it is a sustainable plan. It is also a plan that takes advantage of a great bidding market right now.”
Dumler said his campaign will allow him to better understand the needs of the Scottsville district.
“I want to find out what the local neighborhood problems are and develop neighborhood solutions,” Dumler said. “That’s what Lindsay did so well.”
Three of the six supervisor seats will be on the November general election ballot. Two current supervisors —
Ann H. Mallek
, D-White Hall, and
Kenneth C. Boyd
, R-Rivanna — have announced they are seeking re-election.
Norwood is the only other candidate who has filed paperwork to become an official candidate for supervisor. Norwood postponed an election campaign announcement earlier this week and was unavailable Friday to comment on the race.
