Republicans to select Brookland supervisor candidate Aug. 16

Eligible Brookland District voters will cast their ballots Aug. 16 at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen to select a Republican nominee for the Brookland District seat on the Henrico Board of Supervisors.

Voters will choose between Brookland District School Board member Bev Cocke, who also serves as a business development manager for T3 Media, LLC, the parent company of the Henrico Citizen, and RMC Events President Dan Schmitt, who also serves as president of the Glen Allen Youth Athletic Association. Brookland voters who pledge to support the eventual party nominee in the Nov. 6 general election may cast their ballots Aug. 16 between noon and 7 p.m.

The candidates’ platforms overlap in some ways, but each would bring years of vastly different work experiences to the position.

Cocke has represented the Brookland District on the Henrico County School Board since 2012 and has spent years cultivating relationships with her colleagues on both the School Board and the Board of Supervisors, as well as other public officials, she said.

“It’s exciting to know that in Henrico, we have never had an elected School Board member become a supervisor,” Cocke said. “I could bring fresh insight into the way both boards view each other’s responsibilities and work together.”

Schmitt, in addition to his other leadership roles, has served as a Henrico County representative on the Capital Region Airport Commission, a collaboration between the regions surrounding the airport.

If elected, he hopes to apply what he’s learned from serving in his various positions – the importance of fostering a strong community, regional cooperation and informed decision-making – to the role of supervisor, he said. The commission, for example, has proved to Schmitt that collaboration across county lines not only is possible but can result in tremendous achievements.

“You put Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Richmond all in the same room and try and have one set accomplishment, that’s hard to do,” Schmitt said. “What I can take away from that is open, honest, collaborative, frank discussion can lead to excellent results for all four jurisdictions.”

Cocke, who has lived in the Brookland District all her life, decided to run because she truly knows and loves Brookland, she said.

“In our house, the kids have always teased me that it is God, family, Brookland,” Cocke said. “I know the communities and I understand the distinct challenges each face. I’ve always said that Brookland is the heart of Henrico County. We are uniquely diverse.”

Similar to Schmitt, “representation” is a key part of her platform.

“Brookland is my focus,” Cocke said in an e-mail interview. “I will have no other full-time job, no other full-time commitments — just a servant leader for Brookland.”

Cocke also emphasized education and economic growth as the two other primary points of her platform. Both Cocke, who works for a small, Henrico-based business, and Schmitt, who owns his own company, stressed the importance of continuing to support both Brookland and Henrico businesses.

“Take it from a small business owner, take it from an entrepreneur – I love business support,” Schmitt said. “It breeds jobs and it breeds tax revenue for our county.”

Schmitt, who said he decided to run after realizing he took for granted the 30 years that the late Dick Glover served as Brookland supervisor, described his platform as having five pillars: accessibility, safety, education, economic stability and a “balanced Brookland.”

“Mr. Glover was supervisor for 30 years and I had his cell number in my phone, much like probably 10,000 members of the Brookland District,” Schmitt said, emphasizing that he puts his personal cell phone number on all of his campaign literature. “He was accessible. When that didn’t happen in the last year and a half, I started to realize that wasn’t so normal.”

For Cocke, her experience working with Henrico’s public schools has allowed her to meet several small business owners and better understand their needs.

“Small business owners are parents in my schools. I answer their calls, emails and meet with them each week,” she said. “Of course we talk about their students, but also life in the Brookland District and policies that impact them directly. Henrico has the reputation of being one of the best-run counties in the country and one of the reasons is the real estate tax reductions.  We need to continue such fiscally conservative practices.”

On the issue of education, both Schmitt and Cocke view it as important but intend to approach it differently if elected.

Schmitt plans to take a hands-on approach when working with the School Board. Supervisors allocate an annual budget to the School Board but have no authority over how it is spent; Schmitt vowed to keep a close eye on that money.

“[I]f you’re going to come to me, and I’m going to approve 56 percent of my residents’ dollars [for education], I reserve the right to follow up and ask questions,” he said. “I want to see action, I want to see movement.”

Cocke vowed to continue working with business and school leaders to create innovative programs that prepare children for the future work force, she said. One of her initiatives is pushing for a bilingual program to be implemented at the new $20-million Brookland District elementary school, which will be built adjacent to Holladay Elementary.

“There are many academic and social benefits associated with bilingual programming, as all students learn to speak and write in both languages,” Cocke said. “The community around the new school has a high concentration of Hispanic speaking population. Such a program will assist with their sense of belonging to the school community, while English speakers have the opportunity to become proficient in a new language by secondary school.”

It is Schmitt’s burning desire to do something bigger that fuels him for this new challenge, he said.

“A passion for people, a ridiculous amount of energy, an over-the-top zeal for detail and probably a multiple-perspective glance at our district,” he said. “I think that’s probably what makes me a little bit different.”

If elected, Cocke hopes to continue to be a servant leader to her community, she said.

“I will continue to be accessible, consistent, and accountable,” she said. “These are my three pillars of leadership that I have followed for over two decades. I know sometimes I don’t get it right, sometimes I don’t win the fight, but each time I do try with all my might to be a clear, honest voice for Brookland.”