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The Scottsville race is the least clear cut. Lindsay Dorrier is an incumbent Democrat who tends to vote with the two Republicans on the Board. Both challengers are running as independents, and are positioning themselves in similar ways—as government outsiders critical of runaway growth who are concerned about infrastructure strains. They’ve both had previous, unsuccessful bids for local office—King for county School Board, Fletcher for supervisor (he lost the Democratic nomination in 2003). Similar positioning could mean that they split the vote looking to oust Dorrier, and thereby guarantee him a fifth term.
Biscuit Run: The county’s largest residential development, with up to 3,100 housing units, is coming to the Scottsville District, and Lindsay Dorrier was one of the unanimous votes for it. Denny King and Kevin Fletcher opposed it, largely on infrastructure issues—they didn’t feel that the developers did enough to cover the costs for traffic and…
Water: The perceived notion among many local residents is that the current Board hasn’t done enough to increase the water supply and improve the infrastructure, and Fletcher and King reinforce that notion. While the supervisors have agreed to a water supply plan that’s awaiting approval by the feds, and have limited power anyway to address the issue—largely in the hands of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority and the Albemarle County Service Authority—voters might take drought driven fears out on the incumbent anyway.
Cogency: Anyone who has attended a Board of Supervisors meeting knows that Dorrier makes the comments that are most off base. Usually, Dorrier will say something that forces other Board members to tell him that he’s off target. During last week’s rural area "protections" meeting, Dorrier suggested the Board impose protections on "blue stream" restrictions—something the county already does. Fifty-five minutes into the discussion, he wanted to re-open the public hearing—even though the public hearing had lasted five hours with 83 different speakers, everyone who wanted getting the chance to be heard.
Money: The above issues might be made moot by the fact that Dorrier is an incumbent who has the support of a party. That means cash, and Dorrier has more than double the amount of the challengers combined, with donations from realtors, developers, businesses, Democrats and Boyd Tinsley. It probably also helps Dorrier that he’s the only candidate with deep local roots.
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