Hollins candidates Mike Bailey and Al Bedrosian.
Monday night about 75 people came to the Roanoke County Administration Building to hear from the four candidates running as Republicans for two seats on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.
Mike Bailey and Al Bedrosian are running for the Hollins District seat. The two candidates running for the Windsor Hills district are RoxAnne Christley and Joe McNamara. Jason Peters is the lone candidate for the Vinton District, the third open seat, and since he has no opposition and no primary he did not participate.
Local residents submitted questions to David Suetterlein, chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Committee, in advance of the forum. Each candidate was allowed opening remarks and an equal amount of time to answer the questions. A coin toss determined speaking order.
Joe McNamara touted his previous twelve years of service on the board and spoke about his eventual loss to Ed Elswick four years ago. He attended UVA and is a CPA with a degree in accounting. He stated that during his years on the board he helped balance twelve budgets, as constitutionally required. During his tenure the board instituted a combined county/school debt budget payment resolve to help either the county or the schools in tough economic times.
RoxAnne Christley touted her long volunteer service with many organizations and candidates through the years. She stated that, “What you see is what you get and I always give 110%.” She said she will always tell county residents the truth and considers herself a Reagan conservative, whereby she wants a citizen responsive government. She said she has personally reached over 1098 households during her campaign, demonstrating her hard work ethic.
Mike Bailey supports small, limited government, protection of individual freedoms and property rights, and the support of the free enterprise system. He chastised his opponent for saying he does not believe in any debt or government restrictions on the use of private property. Bailey stated that the county must have some debt to be able to function and there also must be some types of restrictions on property or people could do anything they wanted to the detriment of their neighbors.
Al Bedrosian said he has spent a great deal of time knocking on doors to listen to people and their concerns and that he is a limited government candidate. He says the county debt is a big problem and that each citizen’s share is $2,100.00. He called the new South County Library the “Taj Mahal” and feels the county should not have put us in debt with the Greenridge Recreational Center or the library.
Voting in the firehouse primary will take place on Saturday, May 11th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Voters in the Hollins District will vote at the Hollins Library on Peters Creek Road. Windsor Hills voters will vote at the Brambleton Center on Brambleton Avenue. Citizens must show proper identification as a resident of either district and pledge to support the Republican winner in the general election on November 5, 2013.
Carla M. Bream
