Photo: Skyclad Aerial
This is the first article in C-VILLE’s 2025 election series, which will cover local and statewide races in the lead-up to Election Day, November 4.
Early voting is underway and, among a sea of uncontested races, three in Albemarle County have two candidates on the ballot: the Samuel Miller District Board of Supervisors, the Rio District School Board, and the Scottsville Town Council.
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, Samuel Miller District
With current Board Chair Jim Andrews not seeking reelection, Samuel Miller District voters will elect a new supervisor in November. The race between Fred Missel and Scott Smith marks the first contested election the magisterial district has seen in eight years.
Despite their otherwise divergent priorities, the candidates agree on affordability, a streamlined process in development areas, and diversifying the county’s tax base.
Fred Missel
Democratic candidate and current Planning Commission chair, Missel is a familiar face at Albemarle County government meetings, with roughly 15 years of work in local planning and architecture. If elected to the board, he says he will prioritize affordability, rural and environmental stewardship, and public schools and services.
While Smith has raised concerns about conflicts of interest given Missel’s employment by UVA and his role on the Planning Commission, Missel says his experience and collaborative relationships are a benefit to the county.
“I’ve worked on projects with the university that have benefited the greater community,” he says. “It’s important that we partner as a community, [the] county, the city, and the university.”
Drawing on his experience at the University of Virginia Foundation and on the Architectural Review Board, Missel wants to streamline the processes of building in development areas to improve affordability while preserving the character of the county’s rural areas.
“I’ve watched growth occur, and it’s inevitable,” he says. “We have to think about how best to do that in a way that makes the most sense for the infrastructure that as taxpayers we’ve invested in. So concentrating growth in the development areas also allows us to preserve the rural areas.”
From strengthening the county’s affordable housing fund to diversifying the tax base, Missel sees several paths to address Albemarle’s affordability crisis.
As for schools and public services, Missel says he is “learning more about education in schools and understanding how to provide fair salaries to our teachers, to empower them, and to continue to ensure that the quality of our local public schools is at its highest level,” and noted the concerns about academic performance at county schools.
More information on Missel’s platform can be found at missel4albemarle.com.
Scott Smith
It’s been over a decade since a Republican was elected to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, but that hasn’t deterred Smith.
“I care about this community and want people to feel heard. Too often, decisions are made without considering how they affect families, businesses, and neighborhoods,” he says. “I want to bring common sense leadership that always puts residents first.”
If elected, Smith says he will prioritize affordability, safety, and government accountability in Albemarle.
“Housing prices have skyrocketed, property tax bills keep climbing, and families are being squeezed. We need to make sure county funds are spent wisely to ease that burden. We should also look at creative solutions like rezoning long vacant commercial properties for mixed use development,” says Smith. “I would focus on putting housing in the right places, keeping county spending in check so costs are not passed on to taxpayers, and protecting rural land to prevent sprawl.”
Framing himself as “the voice for common sense,” Smith also supports investing in law enforcement and crime prevention.
“Locally, the 2025 Mid Year Police Report shows public generated service calls up 8 percent and officer generated calls up 9 percent,” says Smith. “Mental health remains a challenge. … Residents I have spoken with report concerns about gunfire and safety in their neighborhoods. Officers have also shared frustration that criminals often return to the streets quickly.”
To promote economic development in Albemarle, Smith proposes “targeted incentives to companies,” cutting red tape for small businesses, and tailored workforce training programs.
“Skilled trades in particular are in demand and provide strong incomes,” he says. “Keeping talent here shows businesses that Albemarle is the right place to set up shop.”
More information on Smith’s platform can be found at scottsmithsupervisor.com.
Albemarle County School Board, Rio District
Both Leslie Pryor, who was appointed to the county school board after Chuck Pace died, and Jim Dillenbeck, who previously sought election and appointment to the same seat, are vying to represent the Rio District.
Jim Dillenbeck
A frequent face at Albemarle School Board meetings, Dillenbeck’s priorities are largely unchanged, with a continued focus on academic performance, support for teachers and support staff, school safety, career preparation, and communication.
“The issues and problems that have existed for a number of years continue this year,” says Dillenbeck. “I feel compelled to speak up on behalf of the teachers that are working so hard and the students that seem to be, in some cases, falling further and further behind.”
Dillenbeck would like to see an “increased focus on helping the students, particularly at Woodbrook Elementary School, where more than half of the students in the last three years have failed the reading tests, the math tests, and the science SOL tests.”
Dillenbeck’s proposals include shifting funds from the central office to educator and support staff salaries.
“We’ve got to hire more elementary teachers in particular, and I think I see my role as bringing to the board’s attention the need for smaller class sizes and for greater teacher training and for retention,” he says. “Another thing that I’d love to do as a board member is to meet with teachers on a regular basis to hear what’s working well, what’s not working.”
More information on Dillenbeck’s platform can be found at jimforschoolboard.com.
Leslie Pryor
Appointed unanimously to the school board in January, Pryor has highlighted her professional experience and the perspective she brings to the role as a Black woman. She does not have a campaign website, and did not send responses to C-VILLE’s questions by press time.
Scottsville Town Council
In the Town of Scottsville, a special election is on the ballot to fill the seat left vacant when former councilmember Meredith Haynes left on October 22, 2024.
Molly Angevine
After putting together a write-in campaign, then seeking appointment to the seat, current Planning Commissioner Molly Angevine is now running a formal campaign.
“Last year, I entered the race to help properly represent the town of Scottsville’s demographic makeup. The current Town Council is made up of white males. This does not diminish my confidence in their abilities whatsoever,” says Angevine. “I bring a bit of diversity to the mix and will work hard to be an advocate and an ally to those who are underrepresented.”
If elected, Angevine’s priorities include emergency preparedness and expanding the boundaries of the town proper.
“[Town Council’s] justification for [dissolving the Emergency Preparedness Committee] was that we did not need it,” she says. “I disagree and would like to propose the next phase of emergency preparedness that encompasses a communication plan (including sirens and what they mean), written materials, coordinating volunteers, and threats beyond flooding or weather-related events.”
To include more neighbors in the electorate and bolster the budget, Angevine would also like to explore annexing more people into the town proper.
“When I talked to people last year, the number-one complaint … was that they lived and worked in [the] Town of Scottsville, but they didn’t have a voice in local government,” she says. “I would like to work with the members of Town Council to create committees of non-voting members to act as a stop gap to this issue until we can solve this problem.”
Edward Payne Jr.
After a narrow loss in Scottsville’s 2024 mayoral race, Payne resigned from his expiring term on Town Council to seek appointment to the seat left vacant after the general election.
At press time, Payne has not responded to C-VILLE’s request for comment.
A roundtable discussion including Payne and Angevine will be held at the Scottsville Library at 6pm on September 30.
