Orange Town Council candidate Elliott Fox responds to voter questions

Charlottesville Tomorrow created questionnaires for local candidates in Central Virginia based on issues readers said they care about.

The following is from candidate Elliott Fox, who is running for town council in the Town of Orange, Orange County. See all the candidates and information about voting in the 2022 Voter Guide.

What are three of the most pressing issues facing your community right now? How will you address them if reelected to Orange Town Council?

The most pressing issues in our Town at this time are the replacement of our 100 year old water tower. It has been repaired to last until 2025. We are to begin the bidding process on this replacement within the next few months. We have to be competitive with surrounding areas in hiring our work force, especially our Police Department. We have to at least match any incentives that other Police and Sheriff offices are now offering. And for residents and business we need to see to the completion of our affordable  fiber broadband project for everyone in the Town of Orange. Firefly should be starting to place the new fiber early next year.

How do you plan on bolstering your local economy?

It has been difficult to attract new businesses and especially an additional grocery store in Town because half of our residential units are rental. That results in our medium income being too low to qualify for these new prospects. The 100 new houses either under construction or or planned will help raise the income and hopefully improve this situation. Also the availability of fiber broadband should help attract businesses.

Do you support banning guns on town property?

I agree with the current State laws concerning weapon carry and would support banning weapons as outlined in these Laws.

Are there capital projects that need to be completed in your jurisdiction? If so, how do you propose completing those?

I mentioned two such projects above. There are two street connections that we are currently studying and should be included in the next two years budgets. Also we are in the process of updating our trash collection system with a more efficient operation. This plan will be spread over the next two years. 

Do you support raising or lowering tax rates in your jurisdiction? If so, why, which taxes and to what extent?

With the economy in dire straits, this is not the time for tax increases. We have worked very hard to stay within our budget and proposed budgets so that this can be an affordable place for residents and businesses to survive and still maintain our present operations. The cost of everything has increased for all of our departments, but we expect to operate without tax increases.

Do you support your jurisdiction taking measures to reduce carbon emissions? If so, what measures do you support? If not, why?

I do support reducing carbon emissions. I feel that our infrastructure will need to be drastically improved before this country can truly make progress in this endeavor. We seem to have the kart before the horse. 

We can although reduce our electric usage, purchase electric vehicles if they suit our needs, and encourage our residents and businesses to do the same. There is only one EV charging station in town, and this is on Town property. We can encourage additional stations though.

While we can’t cover every story that’s important to you, we do our best to be responsive to your needs. We use tips from readers to choose which stories to cover, to incorporate information into broader reports or to help us decide how to grow Charlottesville Tomorrow. Here’s where you can tell us what you think we should be covering.