By Morgan Holt
Some Rockbridge County voters might wonder next Tuesday about an obscure down-ballot race called Natural Bridge Soil and Water Conservation director.
It’s the only unpaid position on the ballot, so you can safely assume the four candidates aren’t running for status or money. They are farmers and conservationists who say they care about preserving the land.
The Natural Bridge district – one of 47 Soil and Water Conservation districts in Virginia – has three areas, each with two elected directors. Those six choose two more at-large members, making a board of eight possible positions.
The two Buena Vista seats have two candidates running unopposed while currently no one is running for either Lexington seat, although it is likely a previous Lexington representative will run as a write-in candidate.
Because Lexington and Buena Vista areas are not competitive races this year, the only contested race is for the two slots from the remainder of the district, which is all of Rockbridge County outside those two cities.
J.R. “Jay” Gilliam is the only incumbent running against competitors Bernard Goodbar, Ken Mohler and Margaret Ann Smith. In order to get on the ballot, candidates had to get 25 registered voters to sign a petition.
The candidates have all called Rockbridge County home for most of their lives. In addition to farming experience, their love for the land has prodded each of them to want a say in environmental public policy.
Local conservation districts were implemented nationwide in the 1930s under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to address critical conservation problems across the old Cotton Belt South and the western Dust Bowl. These organizations sought to work together with the community to protect natural resources and encourage citizen involvement through education and collaboration.
And now, more than 80 years later, the initial legacy of soil and water conservation lives on through a select group of farmers and conservationists.
“I’ve been a lot of places, but I haven’t found any place I like better than right here,” said Goodbar. “I don’t have a voice right now and I need one. I’ve got roots and family and this community is my life.”
“This is a beautiful place,” agreed Mohler. “We have to utilize it and manage it so it can keep giving back to us. To me, a farmer has to be a conservationist or he or she is going to be out of business.”
The board, at 40 Magnolia Square Way in Lexington, meets every third Wednesday of the month. Its primary responsibility is to approve or disapprove applications for government grants, in particular for assistance to farmers to implement the best agricultural practices. In the past, the board has ordered regulations such as building fences to block streams from cattle and installing alternative watering troughs that run off solar pumps.
Campaigning in this race is low-key and cheap.
“I haven’t spent a dime and I’m not gonna,” said Gilliam.
The only candidate to spend money on a campaign was Goodbar–$200 on an ad in The News-Gazette running the two weeks leading up to the election. Because it is a local position, the rest haven’t felt the need to do anything other than campaign via word of mouth.
“I’ve spent absolutely zero and that was the budget,” said Mohler. “If the county wants me to represent them, I will take their vote. If they wish to have another representative, I understand.”
“The people who will actually vote know who you are,” agreed Smith, a farmer and the daughter of retiring county supervisor Mack Smith.
Right now, the Rockbridge area has very clean air and mostly clean water, says Gilliam, the incumbent. Goodbar agrees, saying he wouldn’t be afraid to drink a
cup of water out of any stream in the area. All four candidates feel in order to maintain this luxury, every citizen needs to focus on keeping the county and watershed clean.
“I’m not trying to change the world,” said Goodbar. “I’m just trying to protect what we have here for my children and grandchildren down the road. This county is good for them. I want them to feel proud. If someone asked me about Rockbridge County, I’d tell them it’s the best place on earth.”