In Virginia, Boards of Supervisors govern counties, and members are elected to four-year terms. Among other duties, they oversee the county budget, set tax rates and approve zoning regulations. Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors has six members, one for each district. 

Democrat Sally Duncan is running unopposed in the Jack Jouett District. She’s a high school teacher who has served on Charlottesville’s Historic Resources Committee. 

Though Duncan is the only candidate certified by the Virginia Department of Elections, voters can write-in other candidates. 

Charlottesville Tomorrow designed a questionnaire for Duncan based on more than 160 responses we received to a voter survey. She provided answers below.

Responses have been fact-checked by reporters and lightly edited for readability.

Many Albemarle County residents who responded to our voter survey expressed concerns about the lack of affordable housing in the area. Meanwhile, others are concerned about the effects of residential development on the environment and rural character. How do you see this issue?

Sally Duncan: It’s helpful to remember that development in the county is restricted to certain areas — the county has a Development Area and a Rural Area.* The latest buildout analysis states that the county only has 813 vacant developable acres left. But development and the environment do not have to be in opposition; there are many neighborhoods in the rural area that have large green spaces and trees, and have strong rural character. Housing is a human right and everyone needs access to a home that they can afford. Housing prices continue to rise in the county – we don’t just need housing units, we need homes that people can afford. I believe the limited supply of land is contributing to the unaffordability, because if land is expensive, then the home that is built has to be priced high enough to cover that cost. This is a problem that we need to face and work together to find solutions.  

*Editor’s note: According to the Albemarle County website, Albemarle County is divided into five Development Areas, which together cover approximately 35 square miles, or 5%, of the land in Albemarle County; and Rural Areas, which together cover approximately 695 square miles, or 95%, of the land in Albemarle County.  

What do you think about local law enforcement working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement? And if the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail is pressured to incarcerate detained immigrants for ICE, how would you respond?

Duncan: It can be easy to focus on individual cases, and lose the forest for the trees. When it comes to what ICE is doing now, we must understand it in context. These raids, arrests, and detentions are coming from an authoritarian government that continues to violate the U.S. Constitution. We do not have an obligation to participate in this. One role of government is to protect and defend the people of our community and to stand up for their human rights and their human dignity. People have constitutional rights such as due process and not being racially profiled. People who are here legally on green cards and visas deserve to have those documents honored. I do not believe local law enforcement should be cooperating with ICE. If the ACRJ is pressured to participate, I will not support that, and you will see me standing with our community members in protest. 

What is your position on data centers in Albemarle County?

Duncan: I am still actively researching the issue. I continue to be concerned about the lack of statewide regulations, as well as their sound, emissions, water, and energy uses. I personally am not in favor of data centers. But I do understand as a government official, it is a more complicated issue; there are some financial benefits, and there are ways of mitigating some concerns. We also have to keep in mind the size of them. The hyper-scale centers are millions of square feet in size, which I would never support. The consideration here is for smaller ones, but I also have concerns about contributing more to a state that already has too many. In sum, I am very opposed to them, but I am open to the possibility that I could be wrong. 

The assessed real estate values in Albemarle County are increasing. Do you support keeping the tax rate steady, or even increase the rate, to collect more income for needed government projects? Or would you support lowering the tax rate to keep residents’ tax bills consistent?

Duncan: Assessments and the tax rate are two different things. I think that because of the economic principle of supply and demand, assessed values will continue to rise if developable land continues to be scarce. (The flip side, of course, is that no one complains about increased value when they go to sell!) I would not support lowering the tax rate to compensate for the decisions we have made around land use. But, the county does have tax relief programs for people, and I would support changing the parameters of those programs so more people, such as those who are on fixed incomes, can afford to stay in their homes. This is why economic development is key and why we need to grow our business tax revenues so that we are not continuing to put the burden on our residents.

It is likely that in the future, Albemarle County might need to provide more funding for its public schools, as both state and local funding decrease. Do you support providing more funding to schools? And if so, how would you go about doing that while continuing to fund other needed priorities?

Duncan: I very much support making sure our schools are funded, and that should be one of our priorities, especially if state and federal funding decrease. We need to work with the state government to allow a 1-cent sales tax that would go towards school projects. We can also follow in the footsteps of other districts who have done public-private partnerships* in order to create the school infrastructure that is badly needed. Our schools are a place where our kids are able to access a wide range of services, including food and mental health support, in addition to education and extra-curricular activities. We must prioritize our schools, and make sure we are providing a space for our students and staff to thrive. 

*Editor’s note: The Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act was passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2002 to allow localities to form partnerships with the private sector. Virginia Beach City Public Schools has replaced a few of its schools via a partnership with a private construction company, according to the district’s website.

As federal social service programs also contract, what role, if any, do you see the county government playing in supporting folks who can no longer access these federal services?

Duncan: I think one of the main roles of local government is to ensure that the basic needs of our community members are met. When other agencies and governments are unable to meet the needs of people, then we do have to increase our support. More than likely, this will involve hard decisions when the budget is being created. But we must ensure that people have food, shelter, and access to healthcare. These are not just line items in a budget — these are people’s lives, and we have to prioritize people. We need to continue to support the many organizations in our community that are doing the good, daily work of meeting the needs of people. It is going to take all of us working together to make sure that we have a community where everyone can thrive, especially now.

Albemarle County has and could face challenges from severe weather events, including heavy rainstorms and prolonged droughts that scientists predict will become more frequent in the future. What do you think the county’s Board of Supervisors should do to prepare?

Duncan: We need to continue the community work being done in the Resilient Together plan, to ensure that we are prepared for severe climate events. We also need to make sure that we are able to support the people who are affected, and work to proactively help the most vulnerable people. We also need to do our part and continue on with our climate action goals, increase our use of solar, improve our public transportation system, and ensure we have enough water stored. We also need to prepare for the likelihood that we will be an area that people will move to because of climate change, which means that we need to also continue to increase our housing supply.

Are there any other pressing issues facing Albemarle County that you think voters should know about?

Duncan: I know that local government matters to people and I think the work we do is really important. I believe government should be inviting people in, creating community and being a place where we can all work together so that everyone can thrive. The future can be daunting, but it is also exciting, because we really have the ability to shape it. Albemarle County is a great place to live, and I can’t wait to see it become even better. 

More about the candidate and issues

Here are key dates and deadlines in the 2025 elections

Friday, May 2, 2025Early voting for primaries begins weekdays at local registrar’s offices.
Tuesday, May 27, 2025Deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration for the primary election. You can still vote in the primary if you miss this deadline by registering at the polling place and casting a provisional ballot.

You do not have to be a member of a political party to vote in that party’s primary election. However, you can only vote in one party’s primary election each year.
Friday, June 6, 2025, 5:00 p.m.Deadline to apply for your ballot to be mailed to you. Requests must be received by your local registrar’s offices by 5 p.m.
Friday, June 6, 2025, 5:00 p.m.Deadline to apply online for an absentee ballot using the Citizen Portal.
Saturday, June 7, 2025Local voter registration offices open on Saturdays for early voting for primaries.
Saturday, June 14, 2025, 5:00 p.m.Early voting for primaries ends at local registrar’s offices.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025Primary Election Day!
Friday, Sept. 19 to Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 5:00 p.m.Check with your local registrar’s office for early in-person voting.
Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, 5:00 p.m.Deadline to apply with your local registrar’s office for a ballot to be mailed to you.
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025Election Day!

We will update this list periodically as deadlines approach or we receive new information.

Register to vote, check your registration, find your polling places and apply to vote absentee at the Virginia Department of Elections here. Remember, even if you miss registration deadlines, you can register through Election Day and vote using a provisional ballot.

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