Economy tops Staunton election issues

By Bob Stuart

Published: May 2, 2008

A pair of incumbents and four challengers are vying for four seats on Staunton City Council in Tuesday’s city elections.
Incumbents Dave Metz and Dickie Bell are seeking new four-year terms.
They are joined in the race by current Staunton School Board member Ophie Kier, former Augusta County Supervisor Rusty Ashby, former Staunton School Board member and second-time council candidate Andrea Oakes, and Staunton native and DuPont retiree Bob Campbell.
The candidates answered questions about three key factors regarding Staunton’s future: economic development, infrastructure and taxes.
Dave Metz
A 59-year-old Illinois native and business degree graduate of Purdue University, Metz spent three years in the Navy and worked for U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania before moving to Staunton in 1976 to start Taylor Rental, a general equipment rental business. Metz and HIS wife, Debbie, sold the business in 2004.
The incumbent councilman does not want to raise taxes, but said the only long-term alternative might be reducing city services, something he does not want to do.  “I don’t feel we can cut police, fire and public works. We need to keep fixing our streets,’’ he said.
The city’s streets need paving and stormwater improvements also must be made. “The real key is to have an infrastructure plan and get started on it,’’ he said.
Metz said the city must emphasize tourism in its economic development plan. While he wants Staunton to battle for higher-paying jobs, Metz said the city is competing against a big pool of other communities for those jobs.
Tourism pays its way in Staunton, he said. “For every dollar we spend on tourism, we get $12 returned,’’ he said. Metz said despite the current economic doldrums, Staunton’s visitors center is showing a 10 percent increase. “That is remarkable,’’ he said.
Dickie Bell
A special education teacher and coach at Riverheads High School, the 61-year-old Bell is a graduate of James Madison University and has done graduate work at Old Dominion University.
Bell said taxes are necessary to pay for city services, but said taxes also inhibit the economy. “The money you pay in taxes is money we take out of the economy,’’ he said. “You can’t tax your way to prosperity. Tax cuts and lower taxes put money in the economy.”
Staunton is decades behind in its infrastructure work. “We need work. We have 50- and 60-year-old infrastructure. Some fee system needs to be in place,’’ he said. “I don’t think it should be a general fund item.”
As for economic development, Bell said he would like to see the city fill up its industrial parks with good light industry. While he does not oppose retail development, Bell said “retail can be very fickle. Big box retailers will go where they can be profitable and they will leave you with a white elephant.”
He said the city needs better-paying jobs so that residents will stay in Staunton.
Ophie Kier
Kier is a 55-year-old Staunton native and R.E. Lee High graduate. He attended Eastern Mennonite College and is the former owner of a company, Achievement One. Currently, Kier works as a loan officer with Village Bank Mortgage in Mount Sidney. He is completing his sixth year on the Staunton School Board.
Kier believes if the city focuses on economic growth, taxes will not be raised. “Even if we have to give concessions to industries, they will increase our tax base and our sales and meals taxes,’’ he said.
As a member of the city’s industrial development authority, Kier said there has been a focus on high-tech industries. But he also sees the value of Staunton’s tourism efforts.
“I’m smart enough to see that tourism itself is very beneficial to Staunton and the surrounding areas,’’ he said.
Kier said Staunton’s stormwater issue must head the list of infrastructure priorities.
“We’ve got people’s yards and houses flooding. That is not sitting well with me,’’ he said.
Andrea Oakes
A 41-year-old insurance claims specialist, Oakes served one term on the Staunton School Board and ran for council in 2006. She holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Sweet Briar College and master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Oakes believes taxes in Staunton can be held down if the city pursues a strategy she favors for economic development.
“I want high-tech and distribution businesses in the Green Hills Industrial Park and I’m also interested in selected retail in the area,’’ she said. If her strategy succeeds, Oakes said the city can fund police, schools, fire and its infrastructure needs without tax increases.
Oakes said she is concerned about the city’s decaying water mains, which must be fixed. “Several of them could rupture at any moment. It would be a mess,’’ she said.
Rusty Ashby
The 57-year-old Ashby grew up in Staunton and graduated from R.E. Lee High.
He attended Blue Ridge Community College and spent 33 years working in the trucking business. He is currently a financial consultant.
Ashby spent six years as a member of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors before moving back to the city of Staunton.
Ashby calls himself a fiscal conservative who recognizes taxes are necessary to provide the city services.
As for economic development, Ashby said a regional effort might be the best route to attracting a big industry.
“We need to look at revenue sharing,’’ he said of a possible combining of efforts along with Waynesboro and Augusta County. “If we combine revenues and recruit a business together, we could share the tax revenues.”
He said the city’s infrastructure has a backlog of projects that need to be attended to.
Ashby favors prioritizing the infrastructure projects, starting with the most pressing ones first, instead of many at one time.
Bob Campbell
The 69-year-old Campbell is a DuPont retiree, a gospel singer and currently works as an assistant at Henry Funeral Home in Staunton.
Campbell is an advocate of low taxes, who also wants the city to work hard on economic development.
He wants the available land at Western State Hospital to be developed, and would like to see more retail development.
“Waynesboro has been eating our lunch with the big box development,’’ he said.
Campbell said the city has neglected its infrastructure needs for 30 years and must proceed with a stormwater improvement project.