Albemarle County now has a contested race for the Samuel Miller District seat on the Board of Supervisors. Veterinarian and Albemarle County Service Authority Vice-Chair Liz Palmer announced yesterday that she’s seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat, which Republican Duane Snow is running to keep.
Palmer, 57, has lived in the county since 1996, and owns and operates Charlottesville End of Life Pet Care, providing in-house hospice service for dying pets. The Ivy resident was appointed to the ACSA Board in 2006 by then-Supervisor Sally Thomas, who is now serving as Palmer’s campaign manager. She served on the Board until 2009, and was reappointed in 2010. According to her campaign website, it was her activism in pushing to protect water resources shortly after she moved to the area that got her into local government.
At a gathering in front of the County Office Building yesterday, Palmer told supporters and onlookers she would bring a fresh perspective to the Board, saying Snow has listened well to his constituents, but that “it takes more than just listening,” according to a Daily Progress report.
“Albemarle County needs thoughtful, engaged leaders to share information and encourage public participation before decisions are made,” Palmer said in a news release on her website. “Effective supervisors must seek feedback and then follow through with quality, long-term decisions.”
She points to her work on the joint city-county Community Water Supply Plan, adopted in 2011, as evidence that she can do just that.
Palmer and her husband Herb Stewart have three children, the youngest of whom graduated from Western Albemarle High School in 2008.
Two other seats on the Board of Supervisors are up for grabs this year. Rio District Republican Rodney Thomas will run again, and so far has no challengers. Independent Jack Jouett Supervisor Dennis Rooker announced last week he would not run again, and has endorsed Diantha McKeel, also running as an independent, as his replacement.