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Berryville Candidates Debate
With just weeks remaining before Berryville voters go to the polls on May 6 to elect a new mayor and town council members, candidates vying for those posts outlined their views April 14 on several issues – particularly economic development and senior and affordable housing.
Approximately two dozen people turned out for the Kiwanis Club-sponsored debate, held at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall in Berryville.
Participating were mayoral candidates Wilson Kirby, the incumbent councilman in Ward 4, and challenger Alyssa Adams, a former real estate agent, who are competing to replace Mayor Richard Sponseller. Earlier this year, Sponseller announced that he would not seek re-election after serving five terms.
Also taking part were Mary L.C. Daniels, an attorney, who is seeking election to a full term after being appointed earlier this year to the Ward 3 seat vacated by former councilman Barry Nicholson, and Roland Clarke, a civic activist, who is challenging incumbent Ward 1 Councilman Lawrence Russell III, a businessman. Russell was not present due to illness, moderator Jack Lillis said.
Each candidate spoke in favor of encouraging retail and commercial growth as long as it is properly and responsibly planned.
Downtown Berryville could be revitalized similarly to Charles Town, W.Va., Kirby said, adding he would like to see owners give their buildings a face-lift. Responding to residents’ complaints that the town has only one pharmacy, Kirby also said that he would form a mayoral task force on that issue if elected.
Both Adams and Clarke said that they also want to ensure that new businesses improve and use existing buildings. Clarke went a step further, suggesting the new joint government center now under construction is unnecessary, suggesting that existing structures could have been renovated to house town and county offices.
And Daniels, who also has served as a county planning commissioner, called business development a “priority,” adding she wants to shop locally rather than in Loudoun County or Winchester. Identifying its main corridors as the areas for retail and commercial growth was a good decision by the town, she added.
When asked about the affordable housing issue, each voiced concern.
Kirby, who said he supports more senior housing, suggested that town and county officials should consider working together to fashion an affordable housing ordinance.
Adams, who recently has been caring for her mother, said she is an advocate for taking care of the town’s senior residents. If elected she would talk with owners of properties that no longer participate in federally subsidized rental programs to determine how these buildings could again be made affordable for residents.
Daniel called affordable housing “an oxymoron in Clarke County,” saying the town should consider providing housing assistance to residents in the future.
And Clarke said that federal housing funds should be used to provide rental assistance, rather than to help first-time home buyers.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com
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