Local Government, Civic Affairs and Education
Three men are vying to become Roanoke County’s next Commonwealth’s Attorney. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has the story.
Photo: Roanoke County
Roanoke County Board of Supervisors candidate Paul Mahoney has denied charges made earlier today by Democratic opponent Brian Powell – that the Republican candidate solicited a contribution from Sabrina Garvin at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center BEFORE he voted as a Planning Commission member on a special use permit to build a bird aviary. Mahoney said he DID ask Garvin for a contribution months after the Planning Commission vote on the S-U-P because he opposed the lawsuits filed against the Wildlife Center by several parties including their neighbor Stan Seymour – an independent candidate for the Cave Spring supervisors seat.
See/hear allegations made by Brian Powell in another story posted on WFIR website/Facebook
Brian Powell
The Democratic candidate for the Cave Spring District seat on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors is filing a complaint with the Virginia attorney general’s office over what he calls a conflict of interest related to his Republican opponent, Paul Mahoney. Brian Powell said today he has documentation showing Mahoney used his current position as a member of the County Planning Commission to solicit a campaign contribution – from the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke. An e-mail forwarded to WFIR by Powell indicates the one-thousand dollar campaign contribution from Sabrina Garvin at the Wildlife Center was made just before the Planning Commission initiated a proposed change to the special use permit process, but Mahoney says the actual SUP vote for the wildlife center was taken months before he asked for the contribution. The Wildlife Center is embroiled in a zoning dispute with several neighbors – including supervisors candidate Stan Seymour. Powell contends Garvin was “pressured” to make a campaign contribution at one point. Mahoney calls the allegation “a lie.”
See/hear the response from Paul Mahoney in another story posted on WFIR website/Facebook
Former Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said today if Roanoke City leaders want to change the date of local elections, they should be held in November of odd-numbered years. Bowers says state and local issues are often intertwined and it makes sense to have local elections on the same dates as state contests. Bowers introduced what he called a “Virginia Plan” to make that happen by November 2023. Right now, Roanoke City voters elect their leaders in the spring of even-numbered years, when turnout is usually very low. What Bowers did NOT do today was announce another run for City Council – he said it was too early to make that decision.
There’s no incumbent sheriff in Bedford County for the first time since 1996, but that changes a week from tomorrow. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
Brian Powell is the Democratic candidate for the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors in the Cave Spring District. Powell owns the Wine Gourmet, a wine shop in the southwest county; he says Roanoke County needs to stop planning and start acting on a number of fronts. He joined us for a wide-ranging conversation Monday on the Roanoke Valley’s Morning News. Here is the full conversation: