WYDaily asked candidates on the ballot for the James City County Jamestown District special election to respond to a few questions so readers can get a feeling for where they stand on issues. Here we interview Jamestown District candidate John Wright III.
Can you quickly share your age, family and professional background?
Republican candidate John Wright III is 64 years old. He and his wife Carolyn have been married for 42 years, and have two grown children. He retired in 2010 from Northrop Grumman, where he was an Information Technology Program Manager. His business career of 35 years spanned the areas of finance, strategic planning, training, human resources, government contracting, and information technology. Wright received a master’s degree in business from Old Dominion University.
Wright serves as chairman for New Town’s Residential Advisory Board. He served 17 years on the Board of Directors for Bayport Credit Union, and spent 10 years as chairman of its Audit Committee. He also was a member of the United Way Budget Committee.
What do you think are the county’s strongest methods/tools for controlling growth in the county? If there are any growth tools that you would like to see created in the near future, please discuss. Are you concerned about growth, or do you feel it is proceeding at a sustainable pace? Please explain your answer.
Both the Primary Service Area (PSA) and the Comprehensive Plan are the strongest methods/tools to control James City County’s growth. But both have to be tempered by the changes in residents’ attitudes and needs as the county’s future unfolds and issues arise that need to be addressed, such as the Economic Opportunity area or public services to an area like the Greensprings Mobile Park.
A better tool in my opinion would be the construction of a “Built-Out” model for the county using citizens’ input. If we start with such a model, determine the timeframe for build out to occur, and then address all of the major infrastructure projects to realize that vision, we would be in a better position to control where funding comes from and goes plus insure any developments, businesses, utilities, roads, etc. are accomplished in an organized and lowest cost manner. This process would not be easy, but in the long run would save the county and taxpayers’ money and time. A process to amend the vision would have to be incorporated as well to adjust for economic downturns/upswings plus technology impacts.
I am concerned about uncontrolled growth. James City County is historically unique and we cannot ignore our responsibility to maintain the county’s character. I have stated many times that my wife and I could have retired anywhere in the country but chose Williamsburg/James City County for its natural beauty and uncongested surroundings. I would not want James City County to look like Jefferson Avenue in the Denbigh area of Newport News. Growth is proceeding at the level the local and national economy will support. But future growth, especially in the business environment, should help to create higher paying professional jobs for county residents finishing college or technical schools. Clear cutting forested lands to simply put up another shopping mall, while others stand empty, is not on my agenda.
Before Supervisor Wilford Kale was appointed this year, the Board had trouble coming to an agreement on several issues. Do you think the Board is too divisive? Explain why or why not. If so, what will you do to help solve the problem?
The Board is still too divisive. Several board members still cling to their ideology and ask for compromise but only to their position. I have first-hand experience recently with Mr. Icenhour at a town hall meeting in New Town regarding the cell tower that he pushed through approval for a single commercial entity at the expense of hundreds of homeowners. At least one board member continues to politicize issues which are at the heart of why the board cannot seem to agree on crucial issues. After attending many Board of Supervisors meetings as Chairman of the New Town Residential Advisory Board, this particular supervisor provided the inspiration for my run as a candidate. He is also my opponent for this special election.
My actions to solve the divisive situation will be simple. I will let all supervisors know I can be agreeable to decisions that serve and benefit ALL county residents. Any proposal with a singular individual benefit will have to carry both the project’s weight and cost and be a positive asset to the county to receive my approval.
What challenges do you feel the county will face in the coming years? What do you think the county should do to be equipped to face these?
The top three James City County challenges are: 1) Keeping taxes low; 2) Financing water and sewage line maintenance and upgrades to comply with the EPA/DEQ Consent Order; and 3) Managing growth to an eventual build out population. My responses to accompanying questions furnish actions or plans that I believe should be implemented to contend with each of these items.
What issues do you feel most passionate about? Why?
From a short-term horizon, I will work with Delegate Mike Watson and his Business Development Caucus to review at the local county level, those processes and ordinances detrimental to business formation and/or success. In discussions with Russell Seymour of Economic Development, he displayed an active role of helping businesses and cutting through red tape. I found this encouraging and believe the James City County business community and local government are ready to tackle this issue for the betterment of our county’s businesses and citizens.
From a long-term perspective, maintaining our quality of life while enhancing our business climate are both essential to keeping County taxes low. As a Supervisor, I will work with other members of the Board to focus on the challenges and pressures that a long-term population build-out will have on our community. Whether it is traffic, schools, police and fire services, rural land and green space preservation, or other numerous issues, they need to be addressed and planned for now. The 2009 Comprehensive Plan takes the first step in that direction. But with almost 500 goals, strategies, and actions, we need to establish a better priority on which tasks to tackle first. With citizen input and participation, I believe we can reach a workable plan to initiate actions now rather than reacting later to uncontrolled population growth.
The County Administrator noted in his most recent budget message that the worst of the economic troubles seem to have passed for the county, but said there are still hurdles left to cross in coming years. Should budget constraints continue would you support reducing services or generating new revenue? Please explain your answer.
I will review areas that are not primary services to the county’s residents and determine if they can be reduced to contend with any persistent economic downturn. But, we cannot finance future county services solely on the wallets of our homeowners when they are dealing with the same economic collapse. Through economic development and working with our current businesses, we can expand our tax base. Private sector expansion will generate the funds to enable us to address the countless issues that will be forthcoming and affecting our quality of life. Our residents deserve good paying jobs with professional opportunities. We should strive to allow our residents to work near where they live.
Proposals to limit business growth are exactly the type of action that will drive current and potential new businesses away from James City County. Both the Comprehensive Plan and the proposed Economic Opportunity Zone provide a much better roadmap for the county. I worked in private business for more than 30 years in both for profit and nonprofit environments and know what drives business decision making. I can bring that experience base to the Board of Supervisors and change the perspective of the county to “open for business.”
What are your thoughts about the pace of commercial and retail development in the county?
As stated earlier, the pace of commercial and retail development in the county is dependent on the local, state, and federal economies. None of them are robust currently due to a federal administration more intent on growing the government rather than growing the economy with business friendly programs. Our local economy is overly dependent on tourism, retail, and the education community.
Although each of these is a vital component of our economy, James City County would be well served to diversify its business base while supporting and expanding the current foundational businesses of our economy. Our county agencies have worked to expand the base using the Enterprise Zones and looking to the future with the Economic Opportunity Zone. The latter has the greatest potential to significantly add to our business tax base by providing a streamlined approval basis for new businesses to locate to our county. Economic Development should concentrate on additional industries such as medical, engineering services, bio-tech, aerospace and defense and electronics. Such industries not only provide the needed diversification but result in higher paying professional opportunities for our residents.
