November Referendum on Growth in Albemarle

Will Goldsmith with C-Ville has an excellent summary of next month’s Albemarle County BoS election (no longer available):

In electoral terms, this is an off year, with no federal offices up for grabs. Typically, voter turnout is particularly low in Virginia during odd years like these, when there’s not even a governor’s race to push the masses to the polls. To see that, we can look at 2003, the last year a Board of Supervisors race was held without a governor’s race: Of 54,000 registered to vote, only 17,500 came out—32.5 percent. This time around, the Board of Supervisors race will probably come down to 10,000 to 12,000 voters. With the seats divided up by district, that means each seat will be decided by 3,000 to 4,000 voters.

With so much at stake, this has shaped up to be one of the most meaningful races for the Board of Supervisors in recent memory—the perfect referendum on the path the county has been taking lately, particularly as concerns development.

Vote or don’t complain.

Charlottesville Tomorrow’s election guides have just been released as well. For those who think otherwise about their motives:

Charlottesville Tomorrow does not endorse candidates or make contributions to political campaigns at any level.