Bob Scott, a candidate for Spotsylvania's Courtland District, walks through the Sheraton Hills East neighborhood. ram

Courtland District hopeful Bob Hagan looks over his list of potential voters as he goes door to door. ram

Courtland voters have to choose between two Bobs in supervisor race.

By BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 11/2/2002

Tuesday votes will decide it

A man named Bob will be the next Courtland District supervisor in Spotsylvania County.

Voters on Tuesday will decide which Bob--Robert "Bob" Hagan or Robert "Bob" Scott.

Both men sought the job earlier this year when Mark Cole left to join the House of Delegates. Three supervisors backed Scott for the seat; three others wanted Planning Commission member Hugh Montgomery.

In the end, a judge tapped former Supervisor Jerry Marcus to serve until the special election. Marcus is not running for the seat.

Scott has lived in Spotsylvania for more than 30 years. Hagan arrived four years ago.

Both live in Sheraton Hills. Both are fiscal conservatives. Both are Republicans.

Hagan won the Republican nomination and has pledged not to raise taxes. Scott did not seek the party's nod.

Growth is an issue where there are clear differences.

Hagan is opposed to changing zoning to allow more homes in fast-growing Spotsylvania: "I can't think of something offhand that would make me want to vote for a rezoning."

He would vote against Lee's Parke and Chancellorsville, two high-density projects under consideration right now. Lee's Parke likely will be voted on before the new supervisor takes office, but Chancellorsville--which would be in the Courtland District--probably won't.

Scott says he doesn't have enough information to make a decision on the projects. But he has questions about the county's Comprehensive Plan, which calls for concentrating growth in the suburban areas where more services are available.

"I'm against sprawl, but I'm also against jamming [people] in."

Hagan was born in Philadelphia 52 years ago and grew up in the city's suburbs. He applied to only one college--the University of Virginia--because he admired its founder, Thomas Jefferson. He met his future wife, Brenda, in college; she was in the first class of women at U.Va. They married the day after they graduated in 1972.

For most of his career, Hagan worked for agencies that helped disabled people find jobs. In 1990 he opened Chesapeake Promotional Services, which sells marketing products--coffee cups, key chains and T-shirts--to organizations.

The Hagans were living in Ocean City, Md., at the time. They moved to Spotsylvania in 1998 because Brenda's father was ill.

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Date published: 11/2/2002