In Virginia, town councils are elected leaders charged with overseeing town government. They have the power to set tax rates, make zoning decisions that determine how land can be used, oversee local emergency services and much more.

The Appomattox Town Council has six council members elected to four-year terms, and a mayor elected to a two-year term. This year, three incumbents are running for three open seats on town council: Mary Lou Spiggle, Danielle Ulmer and Timothy Garrett.

Charlottesville Tomorrow designed a questionnaire for the candidates based on responses we received from our voter survey. Charlottesville Tomorrow reached out multiple times to the candidates over the phone, email and social media, but no candidate submitted a response. 

All three candidates are incumbents. Both Spiggle and Garrett first won seats on Town Council in 2010, according to records from the Virginia Department of Elections. Ulmer was appointed as an interim councilor in January 2026, to replace Nathan Simpson, who was elected to the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors.

Here are the questions we sent them. You can find their contact information, as provided to the Virginia State Department of Elections, searchable by name, if you would like to reach out to them yourself. 

  • Data centers: A company called AVAIO Digital is planning to build a $3 billion data center development at the Appomattox Center for Business and Commerce, which sits outside the town limits, but relies on a 1999 agreement allocating up to 45,000 gallons of Town of Appomattox water daily to the industrial park. That’s about one quarter of what Appomattox town residents typically use in a day. Though the developer, AVAIO Digital, says the facility will use far less water than that, residents remain concerned. What steps, if any, do you think the town can or should take regarding this agreement and the AVAIO Digital data center? And, more broadly, what is your stance on data centers within the town limits?
  • Water & sewer infrastructure: Building on that water issue: The Town of Appomattox faces ongoing costs to repair aging water and sewer pipes. What is your strategy to pay for future, critical utility upgrades, and under what circumstances would you vote to raise water and sewer rates again?
  • Water supply: And a final question on the topic of water: Appomattox buys its water from the Campbell County Service and Utility Authority. This summer’s drought led that authority to ask residents to voluntarily conserve water. Scientists predict that droughts will become more frequent in the future. Are there any steps the town should take to prepare to protect its water supply?
  • Downtown redevelopment & housing: The Town of Appomattox recently began demolition on the old garment factory site on Confederate Boulevard, using a $400,000 state grant to clear the way for 34 new “workforce housing” townhomes. The project is meant to offer homes affordable to middle-income workers, like teachers and first responders, who earn too much for low-income assistance but are often priced out of new homes. However, town-assisted housing projects like this can draw criticism for a number of reasons. If elected, under what circumstances — if any — would you vote to use town resources, state grants or zoning changes to help build affordable or workforce housing in Appomattox?

More about the candidates and issues: 

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