Make history in Blacksburg today

This morning, poll workers will arrive at multiple schools, places of worship, the library and the community center in Blacksburg to partake in the democratic process. Candidates and their volunteers will bring yard signs, stickers and campaign literature to the polling places. And voters will select on a touch screen which candidate they believe will best represent the people while in office.

But today is not just any Election Day. It is an opportunity to make history in Blacksburg.

For the first time, the town council and the gubernatorial election are in sync. Many students who would have been preparing for finals, packing or heading home for the summer during the May election will be making a trip to the polls today.

We hope that the change in election schedule will enfranchise students and young professionals not only because we are the only undergraduate student and the only recent graduate at Virginia Tech in the running, but also because young people should have a say in the town’s decisions. Even though Virginia Tech students have made up about half of the town’s population since the school’s founding in 1872, not a single student has ever sat on the Blacksburg Town Council. A town council member — or two — with close ties to the university would be able to bridge the divide between town and campus.

We envision a Blacksburg where locals understand the tremendous talent and creativity that students bring to the town and students realize their real impact on the community at large. We are not two communities — we are one. The Town of Blacksburg and Tech must work together to create a more vibrant downtown, use new technologies and creative approaches to local governance, and ensure that we have a sustainable future that meets our community’s long-term needs.

For too long, students and young professionals have lived, worked and studied in town without representation on the Blacksburg Town Council. Let’s change that. Find your ID or voter registration card, look up your polling location, and make a trip to the polls before 7 p.m. today. You might just make history in Blacksburg.

Bryce Carter
senior
humanities, science & environment major
town council candidate

Michael Sutphin
tech alumnus
communication, ‘06
town council candidate

Read the article on the Collegiate Times website.

In recent weeks, I have learned just how tough local elections can be. I have spoken with I-don’t-know-how-many voters. I have knocked on hundreds of doors. I have given my pitch to many groups, from the Student Government Association to the AARP, from Coffee with the Candidates to, yes, the League of Women Voters. I have passed out campaign literature at Steppin’ Out and Gobblerfest, and I have waved at the Homecoming Parade. I’ve even been dunked for charity.

My bumper stickers grace both small cars with good gas mileage and gas-guzzling SUVs. Homeowners who have lived in Blacksburg their entire lives have placed my signs in their yards, and so have young professionals who have just moved to the area. I have answered questions on many issues, from bus routes to bicycle lanes, from the cost of living to Costco. And I have earned an endorsement from the Roanoke Times.

While I respect all of my opponents who have made it this far, I do not agree with them on every point. One issue—one question—has emerged above all the rest, and in many ways this election has always been about this issue: How will Blacksburg grow and prosper? How will we promote economic development and maintain our quality of life?

On the campaign trail, I have outlined a vision for smart, calculated growth that allows for retail and commercial development but addresses neighborhood and environmental concerns. Blacksburg has gone through many changes over the years, and it will continue to change in the years to come. We must elect progressive leaders who will ensure that this change does not come at the expense of our shared community values—leaders who will listen to citizen concerns and find practicable solutions for the good of the whole, not those who would divide our town for the good fortune of a few.

I am running for Blacksburg Town Council because I believe my platform of downtown revitalization, smart growth, public and alternative transportation, and citizen engagement does represent a balanced approach to local government that will meet our economic, environmental, and social needs.

I am running because I want town residents to find a job, own a home, start a business, and enjoy Blacksburg’s high standard of living—because I understand that big business is not the only side of economic development in a small town, that “kitchen table” issues are what matter to many in a struggling economy.

I am running because I want to listen and respond to the needs of all Blacksburg residents, regardless of their age, income level, or station in life—because I want locals to understand the enormous talent and creativity that Virginia Tech students bring to our town, and students to understand the real impact that they have on the community at large.

I am running because I want to be an advocate for young voters, because I have experienced life in Blacksburg both as a Hokie and a permanent resident, and because this puts me in the best position to unite the town and campus.

And finally, I am running because I want to bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the community I have called home for the past seven years. I have served my neighbors in the New River Valley and elsewhere on many occasions, whether painting part of a house for an elderly couple during the Big Event or volunteering at a home for Haitian street kids in the Dominican Republic for a local nonprofit.

On November 3rd, you decide whether I serve our community on the Blacksburg Town Council. I thank you for this wonderful opportunity, and I would appreciate your vote and your support.

Watch video of the Oct. 26 forum.

‘Smart growth’ in Blacksburg

What does “smart growth” mean, anyway?

In 2002, developer Bob Pack made plans for a 100,000-square-foot, two-building complex known as Kent Square. He envisioned office, retail and residential spaces in close proximity and sought $2 million in public funds for a 380-space parking garage for downtown shoppers and residents.

While some described the compact, mixed-use development as a prime example of “smart growth,” not everyone supported Pack’s vision for downtown Blacksburg. Opponents argued that the three-story structure would erode Blacksburg’s small town charm. With time the controversy subsided, and the two Kent Square buildings opened in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

But the tug of war between developers who stand to profit from new construction and residents who wish to protect the character and property values of their neighborhoods continues, with the renewed debate over a big-box store in Blacksburg as the latest struggle. The term “smart growth,” which has particular importance as Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg celebrate Sustainability Week, appears as both rallying cry and pejorative in the public debate, often without sufficient explanation.

Before the 1970s, most community leaders took an approach to urban planning that moved neighborhoods farther and farther from the city center, relied on automobiles as the primary form of transportation and divided commercial and residential areas based on use. Smart growth – which favors long-range planning, regional needs, public health and environmental stewardship – emerged as an alternative to urban sprawl.

Smart growth does not mean “no growth,” but it does mean that we should encourage economic development and maintain our quality of life at the same time. We must elect leaders to the Blacksburg Town Council who will support mixed-use development, preserve our neighborhoods, offer housing opportunities for residents of all income levels, conserve green and open space and improve access to public and alternative transportation.

Yet, smart growth is not the only way to ensure that Blacksburg has a sustainable future. For starters, we must find a way to extend the downtown recycling pilot program to the rest of Blacksburg, reduce greenhouse gas emissions as promised under the Cool Cities initiative and Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and lead by example with green, energy-efficient building practices.

Most importantly, though, we must educate citizens about how their decisions affect the community at large and empower them to make choices that, using the United Nations’ definition of sustainable development, “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Michael Sutphin
Town council candidate
Alumnus, communication ’06

Read the article on the Collegiate Times website.

Make Blacksburg transportation a major priority

Today, the Active Commute Celebration on the Drillfield marks the middle of Virginia Cycling and Pedestrian Awareness Week. Cyclists are learning about bike registration and safety, Blacksburg Transit riders are picking up copies of the latest schedule, and U Car Share members are finding out how to register and unlock a vehicle.

In an era with more students bringing their cars and trucks to campus and parking spaces moving farther from academic and residential buildings, we need to do all that we can to reduce traffic and ensure that everyone can find a way to campus and downtown Blacksburg. Not everyone can take a bus to work or ride a bike to school, but we must increase opportunities for those who can and do.

In 2008, the American Public Transportation Association found that a person who forgoes a personal vehicle in favor of a bus or metro pass saves an estimated $8,700 each year. If more Blacksburg residents ride the bus, fewer vehicles will be on the road, reducing the town’s carbon footprint. What’s more, a community that promotes walking and cycling is a healthy one.

Blacksburg already has an extensive network of sidewalks and greenways, but we can always do more to expand them and create pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Bike lanes cover much of Blacksburg, but we still lack a fully connected bike path and “share the road” loop in our historic downtown. Our local elected officials must not only continue public support of BT but also expand service in selected areas, including our commercial centers and student neighborhoods where service nears capacity.

As with any type of growth, Blacksburg must take long-range planning into consideration. Many of my colleagues at Virginia Tech commute from Roanoke, Floyd and Giles. Some take the SmartWay bus as a low-cost way to travel to and from Roanoke, and others search for carpool and vanpool opportunities. They also benefit from RIDE Solutions, a regional ridesharing program developed by the New River Valley Planning District Commission and the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission. Recognizing that the town’s workforce lives throughout Southwest Virginia, Blacksburg should also support the expansion of regional Park-and-Rides.

In 1904, the Huckleberry line first connected Blacksburg and Christiansburg by rail. Designed and built in part by an engineering professor and his students, the railroad revolutionized travel in and out of Blacksburg. Although our community has grown, our technology has changed, and our understanding of how this technology impacts our environment has improved, the university and the town still have the talent to find transportation solutions for a new century.

Michael Sutphin
Town Council candidate
’06 alumnus, communication

Read the article on the Collegiate Times website.

Blacksburg’s youth must vote

In past elections, most candidates for Blacksburg Town Council did little to court the votes of students and young professionals.

They declined to knock on doors in student neighborhoods or mail campaign literature to campus addresses. And they had good reason. Many students are registered to vote in their hometowns instead of in Blacksburg. Others skipped the May election to study for finals or pack for the summer.

But that has all changed. With the election in November for the first time, Blacksburg voters will pick their local and state leaders on the same ballot this year. Virginia Tech students, who increased the county’s voter registration list by more than 7,000 last year and flexed their political muscle in the 2008 presidential election, have the power to determine who does and does not get a seat on the town council.

The town counts Tech students, whether they live on or off campus, as a part of Blacksburg’s population to compete for state and federal resources. These students pay the meals tax when they eat off campus, fund a large portion of the Blacksburg Transit with a student fee, and use the town’s services and resources en masse. Through numerous service organizations and activities like the Big Event, they spend thousands of volunteer hours improving Blacksburg and its neighborhoods. Our local representatives must understand that the body politic includes the student body.

Likewise, a growing number of young professionals, like myself, are staying in town after graduation. Others are moving to the area to live, work and raise a family. Whatever the case, young professionals have the potential to reshape the local and regional economy with their talents and creativity. The town and its leaders must work hard to attract and retain this emerging demographic.

If the Blacksburg Town Council wants an effective local government that meets the needs of all citizens, it must take a proactive approach to reaching students and young professionals. It must increase their representation on council-appointed boards and committees, and it must turn past attempts to unite the campus and town into a comprehensive effort that engages everyone in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

The biggest issues in Blacksburg affect all of us. We would all benefit from a vibrant downtown, economic growth that protects our natural and built environments, improved public and alternative transportation, and an open and accountable government. The town council must engage all citizens, whether they live here for four years or their whole lives, because we all make Blacksburg “a special place.”

Michael Sutphin
Blacksburg Town Council Candidate
alumni, communication ’06

Read the article on the Collegiate Times website.