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Two incumbents among those seeking four at-large seats in Town Council election on May 2. Date published: 4/26/2006 By Pam Jenkins
By DONNIE JOHNSTON
Seven men, including two incumbents, are seeking four at-large seats in Culpeper's May 2 Town Council election. Duke duFrane, who was first appointed to fill Steve Walker's slot in 2000, will be seeking his second full term on the council while William "Billy" Yowell is also hoping to retain the seat he last won in 2002. Vice Mayor Pam Jenkins and Councilman Tom Huggard chose not to run again. Also on this year's ballot are Kenton Dunn, Kevin Smith, Jim Risner, Steve Jenkins and "Colonel" Tom Reese, men with wide-ranging professional backgrounds. Dunn is a builder, Smith a lawyer, Risner is an army logistical specialist, Jenkins a salesman and ex-policeman and Reese is a used-car salesman and auctioneer. Incumbent duFrane is a retired manufacturing executive who is now in property management, while Yowell is a financial services officer in Northern Virginia. There is also a wide age disparity in this year's candidates, ranging from Reese at 77 to Dunn at 32. While their backgrounds and ages may differ, there is a general consensus among almost all the candidates as to the key issues in this year's election. When polled, annexation and the possible creation of a regional water/sewer authority ranked near the top of almost everyone's list. "We need to develop a water and wastewater plan between the town and county and have an open mind regarding a [regional] authority," Yowell said. "We must explore all options." Dunn, who currently sits on the Town Planning Commission, sees the water/sewer and annexation issues as intertwined. "The boundary adjustment is part of the water and sewer authority deal with the county," Dunn said. But he added that he believes that the town must lay a groundwork before the deal can be made. "The Board of Supervisors, would be reluctant, in my opinion, to approve the boundary adjustment unless major revisions take place in the town comprehensive plan and zoning/subdivision ordinances," he said. Risner also believes that changes are needed in Culpeper's long-range outlook. "[We need to] update the town's comprehensive plan in order to guide zoning and ordinance changes, which manage growth in a beneficial way for the town," Risner said. Yowell, Smith, Risner and Reese also believe the Town Council needs to take some action to relieve the traffic congestion that has been caused by Culpeper's explosive growth. "[The town needs to] define and implement near-term traffic solutions while continuing to work on long-term solutions," Risner said. "We need to develop a plan for these transportation issues," Yowell said. While most of the candidates have campaign signs along the streets of Culpeper, there are none with Reese's name on them. "I don't like to stick signs around," the auctioneer said. "I'm just going to talk to the people." Besides duFrane and Yowell, the two incumbents in this year's race, only Reese and Jenkins have previous political experience. Reese served as mayor of Remington and on the Remington Town Council in the 1970s while Jenkins served two terms (1992-2000) as the East Fairfax representative on the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors. Mayor Pranas Rimeikis is unopposed in his first bid for re-election. To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON:
Read more stories about Culpeper Date published: 4/26/2006
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