ELECTION 2023: Environmental issues take center stage at Henrico Board of Supervisors candidate forum

Four Henrico County Board of Supervisors candidates gathered at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Wednesday night to answer questions about environment, school equity and public transportation.

All 10 candidates seeking seats on the five-person board were invited to the event, but only Democratic candidates Stephen Rast (Brookland District), Roscoe Cooper, III (Fairfield District), Misty Whitehead (Three Chopt District), and Jody Rogish (Tuckahoe District) showed up.

The forum was sponsored by the Virginia Sierra Club, the Henrico Conservation Action Network and the Partnership for Smarter Growth, with the targeted interest of highlighting climate-related concerns.

More than 50 community members attended the event, and many were especially interested in hearing about action addressing environmental problems.

Tom Lappas, founder and editor of the Henrico Citizen, moderated the event and asked nine questions that had been crafted by the event’s organizers and the Henrico NAACP.

The first question addressed the role that local governments should play in climate change and the potential creation of a Henrico Climate Action Plan.

"It's going to take more than Henrico County to address this, but we still need to do our part," said Rast. He said there are achievable goals for the county, such as expanding public transportation, reserving the county's forested areas and allowing for more green energy to be produced.

“The climate change is here, and Henrico needs to step up, so we need more solar on rooftops for our county buildings and our schools,” Rogish said. “I would also love to see county fleet vehicles over time become electric vehicles.”

Whitehead said she didn’t understand why Henrico County does not already have a climate action plan.

"Nothing happens without a plan," she said. "We know that nothing happens in government unless you lay it out explicitly."

Cooper also supports a comprehensive climate plan, he said. He has served on the Henrico County School Board since 2015, where he said he has prioritized action against climate change through educational opportunities.

"I believe it's imperative to continue to educate the general public and decision- makers like myself about the importance of reducing our carbon footprint,” Cooper said.

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The current Henrico board has three Rrepublican supervisors: Dan Schmitt (Brookland),  Tommy M. Branin (Three Chopt) and Pat O’Bannon, (Tuckahoe), as well as two Democratic supervisors (Frank Thornton of Fairfield and Tyrone Nelson of Varina).

O'Bannon and Thornton are retiring following 28 years on the board.

Nelson, who is running unopposed, appeared at the forum briefly but did not participate because he had to leave to attend another event. The two other candidates in the Fairfield District (independents Delta Bowers and James Middleton) did not attend.

Schmitt and Branin also did not attend, and neither did Republican Greg Baka (O’Bannon’s choice to replace her in the Tuckahoe District).

"Being able to potentially flip a board of supervisors’ seat in the West End, with Stephen or Misty or Jody, would be really, really helpful in getting that Democratic majority," said Graham Montrose, the Democratic candidate for Henrico County Circuit Court Clerk, who attended the forum Wednesday night.

On the topic of the increasing numbers of data centers in Virginia, Rogish said it is important to consider both the economic advantages and environmental disadvantages of these centers.

"They're going to put the data centers somewhere. We can control it in Virginia," he said. "They're going to put them in Henrico, and we would love to have the tax benefits. Also, though, we need to make sure that the companies pay their fair share."

Whitehead said that companies like Dominion Energy will make it seem like climate priorities need to be compromised for good data. But Dominion Energy makes $10 billion a year and can pay for itself without passing the bill onto taxpayers or the local government, she said.

Rast called the data centers "hogs for electricity" and suggested mitigating their energy use by requiring solar panels on the centers.

Many forum attendees, like Candice See from the Fairfield District, were drawn to the event to hear about these environmental concerns. She said she was "excited" to hear what Cooper had to say  about climate change.

Pam and John Reilly, Brookland District residents, went to the forum to hear what Rast had to say about environmental issues and protecting against climate change.

They also were interested in potential plans for more accessible roads to pedestrians and cyclists, and they were not the only ones. Laura Gwinn, another Brookland resident, had heard about Rast's potential plans for sidewalks and wanted to learn more about it.

"That would be a good way to bring [people] together and help have more of a community," she said. Gwinn also had concerns about how many structures are approved by the county, as well as tree removal and wastewater runoff.

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Lappas asked the candidates about environmental injustice and how they would ensure certain communities aren't being disproportionately impacted by it.

Whitehead stressed the importance of having diverse representation on all platforms to curb the unfair effects climate has on some communities.

"I think that it begins with looking at everything through an equity lens, having people that are versed in diversity and inclusion and equity in every form, and every sphere,"

L. Francis Brown from Tuckahoe was impressed by Whitehead’s performance at the forum and especially liked how she talked about environmental injustice.

Rast spoke about how zoning laws are a main cause of environmental injustice and how through change those laws underserved communities can get the help that they need.

“​​I think to help to help underserved communities moving forward,” Rast said, “We need to plan for us to help lower the air temperatures in the area, lower the electric bills and just make it a little bit nicer to be outside.”

Lappas also asked candidates about educational equity and how they would work with the Henrico County School Board to address these issues.

Rast called out two "strong failures" of Henrico County Public Schools.

There are multiple schools in the county that lack air conditioning, he said, which can inhibit students' learning. He also talked about the lack of substantial food access for some students. Certain meals served in high schools are the appropriate portions for elementary-schoolers, and students are not allowed to use their own money to buy second portions, according to Rast.

"Hungry students, just like hot students, are not able to learn properly," he said.

Whitehead talked about notable inequities between schools and the treatment of children in those schools.

"Henrico County is extremely diverse but extremely segregated," she said. These inequalities should be acknowledged and confronted, said Whitehead. She supports community conversations in order to figure out a way to equalize schools.

The forum was a success because it got the community involved and prompted attendees to think about climate change, according to Tim Cywinski, head of public relations and political communications for the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter.

“Democracy is only as strong as the people paying attention and participating in it, so seeing a few dozen people in here engaging was really encouraging,” Cywinski said.

Lynn Wilson from the Henrico Conservation Action Network said the organization aimed to focus the event on climate change because, with so many other things on political agendas, looking for climate solutions can easily be forgotten.

“COVID is back on the rise, people are worried about their economy, and the environment doesn't necessarily make it to the very top of the agenda,” Wilson said.  “What this event does is  get us focused on thinking about the environmental challenges that we haven't been able to speak about.”

The forum consisted of spoken answers on a time limit of 60 seconds apiece, with each candidate receiving one minute for an opening statement and two minutes for a closing statement.

Candidates had the option of  submitting longer answers to the questions that will be available on the Sierra Club’s website by early next month.