Retired business owner announces candidacy for Scottsville district
By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Friday, June 3, 2011
Retired businessman
James C. Norwood
has announced he will seek the Republican nomination to represent the
Scottsville District
on the
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors
.
“As a conservative, I think it’s very important at this time in our history that the rights, freedoms and liberties of all our constituents of any party orientation are maintained,” Norwood said.
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Norwood, 67, used to own and operate shoe stores in Charlottesville, Richmond, and Virginia Beach. He has served as the president of the local chapter of the American Heart Association as well as the American Cancer Society.
During an announcement at the Albemarle County Courthouse Thursday, Norwood saluted incumbent
Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr.
The Democrat is retiring after three terms.
“[Dorrier is] a truly great Virginian and someone who has contributed to the quality of life in a major way here in Albemarle County,” Norwood said.
Norwood and his wife, Joan, have five children and seven grandchildren. He moved to the area with his family in 1997 in part to enjoy collegiate sports and to take advantage of the University of Virginia Medical Center.
“We did have choices of different locations around the East Coast, but we fell in love with Charlottesville,” Norwood said.
If elected, Norwood said he wants to improve Albemarle’s school system.
“I do feel … that we have to find a way to reward our teachers in a very positive way for their excellence in the schools,” Norwood said.
Norwood said he also wants to promote small business, and pointed out that his 25-year-old daughter has recently opened a restaurant in Scottsville.
“This is what has to happen in our county in order to expand and to include more jobs for those that need them,” Norwood said.
Norwood said he needed to do more research before weighing in on issues such as the
community water supply plan
and the
Western Bypass
. However, he is a former resident of the Colthurst Farms neighborhood, which would be impacted by the current bypass design.
“We were in the bull’s-eye of the Western Bypass,” Norwood said. He added that he needed to better understand why Supervisor
Rodney Thomas
sought to revive the issue this week
before he could take a position.
Norwood said there is a need to get traffic off of U.S. 29, but he is not sure if the bypass should go through existing neighborhoods. He is also cautious about the concept of grade-separated interchanges at key intersections on U.S. 29.
“Without question, retailers on U.S. 29 are going to be sensitive to any kind of alterations to the traffic pattern,” Norwood said. “Anything that’s done is going to have to be done with the intention of not inhibiting consumers to get to those retailers.”
Norwood graduated from the University of New England in 1966 with a degree in economics. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He has also been the director of economic development for the Scottsville Chamber of Commerce.
Rachel Schoenewald, chair of the
Albemarle County Republican Committee
, said the party will decide on June 11 how it will select its nominees. She said she would not rule out other candidates coming forward.
“We are always on the lookout for people who are active in their community, who are concerned about the people in the community and have the best interest at heart for common-sense solutions for the Albemarle-Charlottesville area,” Schoenewald said.
Scottsville attorney
Christopher J. Dumler
has filed paperwork with the Albemarle County registrar and is seeking the Democratic nomination in the Scottsville District. That party will hold its caucus on Aug. 15 to select its nominees, according to chair Valerie L’Herrou.
In the
White Hall District
, only incumbent
Ann H. Mallek
, a Democrat, has come forward as an official candidate, seeking her second term. Schoenewald had no comment regarding a potential Republican opponent in that race.
Republican
Kenneth C. Boyd
has announced he will seek a third term in the
Rivanna District
. No Democratic or independent challengers have emerged for that seat.
Watch the video below
:
James C. Norwood announces campaign for Albemarle Board of Supervisors
from
Charlottesville Tomorrow
on
Vimeo
.