Schmitt to seek Republican nomination for Brookland supervisor's seat

RMC Events President and founder Dan Schmitt, who also serves as president of the Glen Allen Youth Athletic Association, has announced plans to seek the Republican nomination for the Brookland District seat on the Henrico Board of Supervisors.

Schmitt becomes the second candidate to seek the nomination, joining Brookland School Board member Bev Cocke, who announced last week.

Schmitt founded RMC Events, an event management company that until recently was based in Henrico, in 1999. The company employs nearly 2,000 people, most on a part-time basis, and provides security and management to numerous sporting events, concerts and other activities. Schmitt also serves as a representative on the Capital Region Airport Commission as an appointee of late Brookland Supervisor Dick Glover.

“I’m fortunate enough to wake up every day and absolutely love what I do," Schmitt said in a statement announcing his candidacy. "Whether it’s within my business or volunteering in my community, I welcome the variety, chase opportunities, focus on flexibility, embrace the challenges, accept nothing but success, and refuse to settle for mediocrity. I will take this same attitude and passion to work for you as your next Henrico Brookland District Supervisor.”

Schmitt vowed to work for an increased sense of community if elected, as well as enhanced recreational and economic opportunities within the district, while keeping tax rates low.

In May, Schmitt was recognized by the Richmond Regional Tourism Board as the 2018 Unsung Hero of regional tourism for the impact RMC Events personnel have upon the visitors to the region. In May 2017, he was named the Henrico County Community Leader of the Year by ChamberRVA and the Henrico County Business Council.

During his tenure as president of the Glen Allen Youth Athletic Association, Schmitt has led efforts to refurbish four playing fields and add a number of amenities to the complex, including batting cages, scoreboards and paved walkways.

The Henrico Republican Party is expected to set the parameters for its nomination process sometime this month. A party canvass is expected to be held in August. The nominee will compete in the November general election for the right to serve the final year of the four-year term vacated last month by Democrat Courtney Lynch.

Lynch had won a special election last November to serve the final two years of the term originally won by Glover, who died in February 2017. But she clashed with fellow board members and County Manager John Vithoulkas and decided not to complete the term.

Democrat Danny Plaugher, the executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail and the 2015 Democratic nominee for the seat who earned about 40 percent of the vote in a loss to Glover that November, has announced that he will seek his party's nomination again. He lost to Lynch last summer during a similar nomination process.