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New River Notebook

Nutter polls nearly 60 percent to win re-election

Dave Nutter won a fifth term in the Virginia House of Delegates Tuesday.
Unofficial results showed Nutter, 54, an economic development specialist at Virginia Tech, came out well ahead of challenger Peggy Frank, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Pulaski County.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Nutter received nearly 60 percent of the votes cast.
“I think people were responding a lot to a basic message of getting the job done. I’ve been able to do that in the General Assembly,” Nutter said.
Two years ago, the district’s voters also chose Nutter, a Republican, over Frank. The race was decided by fewer than 700 votes.
This time, Nutter pulled significantly ahead. He beat Frank in her home county of Pulaski, garnering 69 percent of the vote. Nutter took slightly more than 60 percent of the votes cast in Montgomery County.
In contrast, Radford nearly split over the question of which one should be the region’s next lawmaker, with 54 percent voting for Nutter and 46 percent voting for Frank.
Nutter also led in fund-raising. His campaign raised $197,621 in money and in-kind donations and spent $177,291. Frank’s campaign chest came to $150,569. She spent $116,675.
This will be Nutter’s fifth term representing the state’s 7th House district, which consists of Radford and portions of Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
One voter who cast his ballot for Nutter explained his decision this way.
“I can rely on him to be against cap and trade,” said Mark Larkin of Claytor Lake. “I can rely on him to be against a public option. I can rely on him to be against big government.”
Kate Smith, who lives in the Pulaski County community of Mountain View, said she was struck that she did not seen Frank campaign signs nor receive a mailing in the rural community.
“It made me think she wasn’t interested in our area,” said Smith, who gave her vote to Nutter.
Carlotta Lewis, a Pulaski County resident, said she liked Frank and based her decision to vote for her on TV commercials and a call to her home from the campaign.
“She’s capable and she will do a good job,” Lewis said upon leaving her polling place.
-- Jeff Sturgeon

We have complete results here.

Christiansburg votes to change municipal election date

With nearly 90 percent of the vote, Christiansburg residents voted to change the muncipal elections from May to November, beginning in 2011, according to unofficial tallies from the Montgomery County regisitrar's office.

We have complete results here.

Anderson, Bush, Chachra, Newcomb win Blacksburg Town Council seats

John Bush celebrates his win.

John Bush celebrates his win.

Four available Blacksburg Town Council seats were won tonight by incumbent Susan Anderson and newcomers John Bush, Krisha Chachra and Cecile Newcomb, according to the Montgomery County registrar's office.

We have complete results here.

We have analysis of the statewide results here.

Nutter re-elected to House of Delegates

Dave Nutter won a fifth term in the Virginia House of Delegates tonight, the Associated Press reported.

Incomplete returns showed Nutter, 54, an economic development specialist at Virginia Tech, well ahead of challenger Peggy Frank, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Pulaski County.

Two years ago, when offered the same two choices, the district's voters also chose Nutter, a Republican. The 2007 contest was a close race decided by fewer than 700 votes out of 12,644 ballots cast.

This time, Nutter pulled significantly ahead. He beat Frank in her home county of Pulaski, garnering 69 percent of the vote. However, Radford nearly split over the question of which one should be the region’s next lawmaker, with 54 percent voting for Nutter and 46 percent voting for Frank.

Montgomery County has not reported any results to the State Board of Elections as of 9:45 p.m.

We have complete results here.

We have analysis of the statewide results here.

Election update: The polls are open until 7 p.m.

Polls across Virginia opened at 6 a.m. today; they close at 7 p.m.

Do you have news (or even photos) to share from your polling place? Long lines? Short lines? No lines at all?

Let us know by posting a comment here.

We'll have updates through the day; and then tonight, we'll be posting election returns and analysis both here and on roanoke.com's election site.

Deeds will campaign in Christiansburg and Pulaski on Saturday

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, will make the traditional final-weekend stops in Christiasnburg and Pulaski on Saturday. It's been traditional for Democrats to spend the final weekend of the campaign in Southwest Virginia.

Meanwhile, Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, is elsewhere in the state. Here are the official schedules for candidates. Read more »

Deeds and Democratic ticket will be in Floyd tonight

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, and the rest of his party's ticket will be in Floyd tonight for the Floyd Jamboree.

Deeds' official schedule is below. If we hear of any appearances in the New River Valley in the closing days of the campaign by any of the Republican statewide contenders, we'll post them here.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

9:30 PM IN FLOYD - FLOYD COUNTRY STORE FRIDAY NIGHT JAMBOREE. Sen. Deeds, joined by Governor Tim Kaine, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Jody Wagner and Democratic candidate for Attorney General Steve Shannon, will attend the Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree.

When: 9:30 PM

Where: Floyd Country Store
206 South Locust Street
Floyd, VA

Both candidates for governor will be in Blacksburg Thursday

Both candidates for governor will be in Blacksburg Thursday, campaigning in and around the tailgating at the Virginia Tech - North Carolina game.

Here are the official schedules for both Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds. McDonnell's is a little sparse on details at the moment; if we get more specifics, we'll post them here.

MCDONNELL:
4:15pm Tailgate at Virginia Tech University

Blacksburg

DEEDS:

4:30 PM IN BLACKSBURG - TAILGATE WITH VIRGINIA TECH YOUNG DEMOCRATS. Sen. Deeds will join the Virginia Tech Young Democrats for a tailgate before the Virginia Tech Hokies take on the University of North Carolina Tarheels. Deeds will talk to students about the importance of getting out to vote on November 3rd.

When: 4:30 PM

Where: Lane Stadium Parking Lot
Corner of Spring Street and Stadium Road
Lot # 1, Space 327
Blacksburg, VA

7 PM IN BLACKSBURG - VIRGINIA TECH VS. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL GAME. Sen. Deeds will attend the Virginia Tech football game. Kick off time is 7:45 PM.

When: 7:00 PM

Where: Lane Stadium
Corner of Spring Street and Stadium Road
Blacksburg, VA

Also, Deeds will be back in the New River Valley on Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, he'll at the Floyd Country Store and on Saturday, he'll be in Christiansburg. Here are details on the Floyd visit; the Christiansburg info hasn't been finalized yet:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

9:30 PM IN FLOYD - FLOYD COUNTRY STORE FRIDAY NIGHT JAMBOREE. Sen. Deeds will attend the Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree. The Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree features live music and dancing.

When: 9:30 PM

Where: Floyd Country Store
206 South Locust Street
Floyd, VA

Deeds will campaign in Radford and Blacksburg on Saturday

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, will make appearances in Radford and Blacksburg on Saturday.

When we get word about any campaign appearances in the New River Valley by Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, we'll share them here, as well.

Deeds' schedule is below:

1 PM IN RADFORD - LUNCH WITH SUPPORTERS. Sen. Deeds will join U.S. Senator Mark Warner, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th District) for a lunch with supporters at a house in Radford.

When: 1:00 PM

Where: Home of Gail Montouri
801 Oak Lane
Radford, VA

3 PM IN BLACKSBURG - GET OUT THE VOTE EVENT WITH SENATOR MARK WARNER. Sen. Deeds will join U.S. Senator Mark Warner and Sen. John Edwards (D-Roanoke) for a get out the vote campaign event in Blacksburg. Sen. Deeds and Sen. Warner will speak to voters and supporters about the importance of getting out the vote on November 3.

When: 3:00 PM

Where: Democratic Coordinated Campaign Office
208 North Main Street
Blacksburg, VA

Blacksburg candidates address town's needs

By Sharla Bardin

BLACKSBURG — Candidates for town council say they want to serve because they love the town, have ideas about how the community should grow and want to work for open and accountable government.

Those were some of the responses given in Monday’s candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County and held in council chambers.

More than 70 people were in attendance at the forum  that allowed the candidates to talk about why they are running, while also answering questions that touched on such topics as council actions, alternative transportation and affordable housing.

The candidates for the four open seats are incumbent Susan Anderson, Bryce Carter, Frank Lau, Cecile Newcomb, Robert “Tom” Rogers, Michael Sutphin, John Bush, Krisha Chachra and Greg Fansler. Incumbent Mayor Ron Rordam is running unopposed.

Candidate Paul Lancaster announced in September that he would cease active campaigning for the election to  dedicate time to his health. Lancaster was hospitalized in April with an extremely rare spine infection that affected his mobility. He returned home in July.

The election is Nov. 3, and the council seats are voted on at-large.

In Monday’s forum, candidates were asked to cite examples of what the current town council has done right and wrong.

Carter said he applauds efforts to create a more sustainable community but would like to see officials take a closer look at the historical value of structures in the historic overlay district.

Chachra said what the council has done right includes partnering with groups in the community and working to make it a tourist destination. She said a challenge in the town is the use of land and space in downtown and thinks  it’s important to take a look at zoning and the best use of downtown space.

Fansler thinks what the council has done right is revitalizing downtown storefronts . One action he questions is the renovated Blacksburg Motor Co. building. Fansler also said there is no current plan for the Blacksburg Middle School property redevelopment.

Lau said what the council and town staff have done right is addressing the sewer capacity issues in the north end of town. As for what the council has done wrong, he said a lot of time is spent on issues in downtown and there are other issues in the town.

Newcomb said what the council has done right is passing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2006. One of the goals is  adopting emission reduction targets, according to the town’s Web site. Newcomb thinks a wrong action was that town council should not have rezoned the entire First & Main shopping center property as commercial. She said there should have been a buffer of less-dense zoning between the homes and businesses.

Rogers said what the council has done right is the approach with protecting the environment. “We need to be good keepers of our land.” As for what’s wrong, Rogers said the town needs a better tax base to afford different projects and needs to work more with retail developers.

Sutphin said what the council has done right is creating an open government, complimenting the town’s use of its Web site. As for a wrong action, Sutphin said the council did not create a buffer zone between the residential area and commercial area at the First & Main shopping center property.

Anderson said what the council has done right is the environmental efforts going into “greening our community.” Anderson also said she thinks the Blacksburg Motor Co. building “is a showcase and gem” and was an effort to take a historic building and reuse it. She also thinks the farmers market renovation will help enhance downtown. As for something that council needs to address, Anderson said there needs to be a closer look at overoccupancy of some residences.

Bush said right actions from the council have been the efforts on downtown revitalization and the Blacksburg Motor Co. building. He thinks the council needs to focus more on creating more affordable housing.

More pathways needed?

Candidates also were asked whether they think it’s important for the town to have a totally connected and uniformly identified system of pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Rogers said he thinks the pathways are important and also said they should be safe. Sutphin said the town needs to be a pedestrian-, bike- and transit-friendly community.

Anderson said it is important to have a connected community of pathways and there are plans in the town that aim to enhance pathways. Bush also said he supports more bikeways and walkways and suggests that the town partner with neighboring communities to provide more paths.

Carter said he supports more pathways and also would like to see a trolley system. Chachra said she believes in the benefits of alternative transportation and thinks incentives could be used. She also said she is interested in a trolley service that connects to the town’s commercial centers.

Fansler said pathways are also beneficial and  that it’s important to improve the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians in the town. Newcomb also wants to see pedestrian and bike paths throughout the town, as well as more lighting for pedestrian paths in some areas.

Lau said he thinks students need more education about safety with alternative transportation, such as their roles as pedestrians and bicyclists.

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Comments

    • Morris Fleischer: I think very highly of Dave Nutter and his wife, Jackie. I know them personally and, overall, I...
    • Morris Fleischer: My vote’s for St. Mikes…it’s a holy place!
    • Morris Fleischer: This was simply a “no brainer.” The May voter turnout was so poor that to even consider...
    • TE Carter: Too bad the actual results from this race are not on the web site they link to. 4,671 YES, 600 no....
    • Peg Fisher: Congratulations to everyone! May you work well together on behalf of our wonderful town! All the Best, Peg