By Matt de Simone
The Town of Buchanan hosted a public forum for this year’s candidates for mayor and Town Council. In an informative, encouraging, and unifying discussion, Buchanan residents learned more from their candidates about their thoughts on various town topics and procedures.
Mayoral candidates Chris Witt and Sue Way were joined alongside Town Council candidates Landon “Brent” Witt, Edith “Sissy” Austin, Brenda Noszek, Daniel Bratcher, and James “Jamie” Manspile as they responded to several questions that included public decorum at meetings, understanding their respective positions, leadership styles, proper correspondence about the recent high turnover of town employees, and finding common ground among opposing ideas.
The forum kicked off with the mayoral candidates giving their opening statements, followed by answering a batch of questions from the forum’s moderator, Brittany Turman.
During the discussion, candidates found themselves agreeing on many of the topics on the table. The major subjects of agreement were their respective love for the Buchanan community and hopes that the decisions made on November 5 will help propel the town into a prosperous future.
Mayoral candidate Chris Witt, a Buchanan native, U.S Marine veteran and former member of Town Council, added, “I’ve spent most of my adult life in servitude of some sort…. Everybody that’s running for council or for mayor– we all genuinely want what we feel is best for the town. We’ve had a lot of really good, in-depth conversations and I hope that we are able to continue those, whoever is elected to these positions, and I hope that we continue to make Buchanan a better place moving forward.”
Mayoral candidate Sue Way, a lifetime educator who grew up in Buchanan, shared that, “Buchanan is my heart. This is where my family is and was and this is where I have a true love for the town. That is why when someone asked me to run for mayor, I said ‘yes’ because I want the best for this town.”
Photo courtesy of Brenda Noszek
Following the questions for the town’s mayoral hopefuls, the five Town Council candidates hit the stage and fielded more questions, with some provided by residents. The five are vying for two available seats on Buchanan Town Council.
One topic discussed was whether or not the Town of Buchanan should keep its charter, or relinquish it to the county. All seven candidates responded similarly agreeing that Buchanan should keep its charter.
Sissy Austin said, “I would like the town (charter) to stay as it is and not go back to the county. We just need to work on getting things together and where (they) need to be.”
Daniel Bratcher shared, “If we were to relinquish (the town’s) charter, I think that we would lose control of our own destiny to a degree. That would not be a good thing. We need to manage the growth coming into the town…. I believe that it’s our best choice to address what we have here in our town and go forward with the town charter as it stands with any amendments agreed upon in the future.”
“We are a good people,” Brent Witt added. “We’re a proud people. We’ve just neglected to let the other end of the county know that we exist. Being from here, I feel like we have the most beautiful town in the county. I served three terms on Troutville Town Council and (was a member of the town’s Planning and) Zoning and one of the things that I saw was that too many matters that were good ideas getting swept under the map. We did have a wonderful comprehensive plan and I think that its key to keeping a sharp pencil in the box here in the Town of Buchanan.”
Brent’s son Chris added, “The question that needs to be asked to (Buchanan’s) citizens: what do you want to be years from now?…. You need results from your tax dollars. You need to really look at the structure of your organization and restructure it in a means to accomplish those goals.”
Photos by Matt de Simone
Jamie Manspile agreed with the candidates about keeping the town’s charter. “I say it like this, you’ve got too many things to lose to lose your charter. Some good; some bad– do we need to work on things? Yes. The biggest thing that council has worked on for years is that (the charter) has never been fully updated reflecting that we have a Town Manager-Town Council setup. I think with what we’ve got proposed and working on to go to Richmond for adjustment… we may have had legal counsel finally get all the changes needed to reflect (our) type of government.”
Another interesting topic of discussion revolved around the hiring and firing of town staff and whether or not information regarding a termination should be made public. Over the last year, a high turnover rate of town employees led residents to speculate as to why these decisions were made.
Candidates agreed that employees have rights and while some matters could be made public, the town can’t share personnel records. Manspile commented that the recent turnover issue “is just as much employee choice” as it is the choice of the town. Those matters generally fall on the town manager. Town Council has recently lauded the work of new Town Manager Angela Lawrence at recent meetings.
Town Council candidate Brenda Nozsek noted, “People tend to stay where they’re happy. On that note, I would say that we need to work harder on supporting our staff here in town– maybe more incentives for them to be here and work here. As far as public record, that is a slippery slope but I do believe there are times that the town deserves to know why that person chose to leave or why they were let go. I understand there are things are of a sensitive nature that have to stay sealed, but for the most part, I believe that the town elects the officials. Their taxes pay the salaries of those workers and that they have a right to know.”
Buchanan’s mayoral and Town Council nominees invited residents to add to the increased attendance of recent council meetings and not shying away from voicing their opinions on town matters when given the opportunity at each meeting.
Town Manager Angela Lawrence, who coordinated this year’s forum, thanked Turman for taking the time to moderate the event following the candidates’ Q&A.
Following the public forum, event attendees had the chance to talk with the candidates before casting their votes within the coming days.
The Buchanan Magisterial District has two precincts that will be open on November 5 at Buchanan Elementary School (225 Schoolhouse Road) and Mill Creek Baptist Church (11475 Lee Highway).
All voters wishing to vote on Election Day must do so in their assigned precinct based on their residential address. There is no voting in the Registrar’s Office on Election Day. Voters can check the status of their voter registration or find their polling location at vote.virginia.gov.
For more information, including a look at sample ballots in respective precincts, visit www.botetourtva.gov/405/Election-Information.
The candidates in Buchanan’s upcoming elections for mayor and Town Council were recently asked why they were running for positions in 2024. Read some of their responses on Page 4 (Letters to the Editor).
