Know Your Candidate: Crystal Hale, OC Board of Supervisors District 4

Crystal Hale, candidate for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 4. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Crystal Hale)

This interview is part of a series intended to give readers an overview of local political candidates and what they believe. Read responses from two other candidates for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 4 by following the links below, and check back later this week to hear from fellow candidate Laird Knights.

Know Your Candidate: Ryan Soon

Know Your Candidate: Brit Lewis

(Note: Responses may be edited for length or clarity.)

Can you tell us about your background?

My name is Crystal Hale. I am a native of Orange County. I have lived my entire life on the family farm in Burr Hill, where I also built a house and raised my children who are now young adults. I'm a graduate of Orange County High School. I went through all of Orange County Public School systems, as did both of my children, as did my dad. I'm a Christian with conservative views.

I'm the director of the Orange County Department of Social Services and have served in that capacity for six years. I have been a public servant for my entire career. My undergrad is a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and I have an MBA, both from the University of Mary Washington.

Do you have any previous political experience?

Running for district supervisor is my first real political experience but of course, being a public servant for so many years, I'm very familiar with politics. I did serve on the Orange County Planning Commission for three years from 2014 to 2017, which is an appointed position, and I am currently the interim supervisor for District 4.

Any community involvement outside of politics?

Currently, I am the president of Rotary Club of Orange and vice chair on the board of directors for Aging Together. I just finished up a term in July as chair of the Community Policy Management Team, which is a board of supervisors appointed position and kind of flows with my director of social services position. I have served on CPMT for the past six years.

I'm on the Juvenile Court Advisory Council. I am the founder and facilitator of EpIC, which is a community council addressing the opioid crisis, and the founder of the Orange Re-Entry Council, which helps provide services, support and resources for incarcerated individuals re-entering society in an attempt to help them be successful and minimize recidivism.

What motivated you to run for a position on the Orange County Board of Supervisors?

There were a few things. One is my longevity with this county. I have a vested interest in this county. I love this county. I am born and raised here and want to make sure this is a place where my kids, my grandchildren and future generations will want to be. I'm one of those fortunate people where my kids love this county as much as I do. I want to keep that tradition going and have it be a place where everybody loves to be — not just live here and travel outside of the county boundaries to work and play, but a place where we can thrive and enjoy all of the wonderful aspects of this county.

Another factor is that, having worked for the county for the past six years, I've gained an even deeper insight as to what positive aspects we have with our county government and what not-so-positive aspects are there, and what needs to be worked on.

So, it’s about my familiarity, my vested interest, and also the changes that are coming along — the potential for growth, and the potential for possible predators who may be seeking opportunities to exploit our wonderful resources in Orange County. We're at a critical point where four of our five board of supervisors seats are up for bid. Whether we always agreed with the decisions made or not, we've had a lot of stability over the years and the fact that four of those seats are up presents an opportunity, but also a little bit of fear. And that's why I decided I want to be a part of this process.

What is your understanding of the role of a county supervisor?

The role of the county supervisor is to be the voice for the citizens. As District 4 Supervisor, my role will be to be the voice for District 4 folks, to listen to their concerns, ideas, and feedback — to listen to all citizens of Orange County, and to be the worker bee that takes those thoughts and feedback and brings them to the table to make sure that they're acted upon. I need to make sure that their concerns are addressed, and that we have representation of everyone at that table. There are 37,000 people in Orange County and five people sitting at the table to represent them, and I'll be a strong leader to make sure the county is moving forward in positive and responsible direction.

At the recent Chamber of Commerce candidate showcase, virtually all of the candidates stated their desire to preserve the county’s rural character. What sets you apart in that regard?

I would say where I stand apart is that I have a lifelong love for this county and the rural nature of this county, but I'm also a business person. I'm a sound business mind, and I know that the beauty of this county and the wonderful resources that we love cannot adequately survive without some well-managed, properly planned growth.

It would be my job to ensure that current spaces identified in this county for growth, that help to preserve and protect the rest of the county that we love, are properly managed and supported in that effort so that we can survive financially and maintain our agricultural and rural areas in the rest of the county.

 In the most recent fiscal year, Orange County Public Schools experienced a $1.2 million shortfall in funding from the Board of Supervisors, forcing the school district to make cuts on facilities improvements and hiring for new positions. What are your views on increasing school funding in the county budget?

The board of supervisors needs to work closely with the school board. It should be a much closer partnership than it is now, and I feel like open, candid, honest discussions about budget and funding should be occurring routinely.

There were a number of years where there was a lot of funding left on the table, and so I think maybe the pendulum has swung to where that was trying to be better managed. And maybe the pendulum has swung to the extent where it went in the opposite direction. But if we're having these open conversations about what is needed, and we're properly managing the budget and working together with school board, school financial folks and the county financial folks, we should be able to get to a point where we're in agreement and offering the proper funding for schools.

What does transparency look like in practice for you?

I always use the terms open, honest and fair. You have to be open about conversations that you're having, be honest when you take a stance on an issue, or what you do or do not know about an issue, and be fair to all who are involved.

I think some candidates might think that transparency means every single conversation is public knowledge. Again, I’m a business person. I understand that is actually not feasible. From a business standpoint, you can't always have contractual and business transactions made public until they are complete, just due to the nature of competitiveness. You cannot always have personnel and human resource types of conversations public. There are a lot of protected conversations, so to say that every conversation would be transparent would not be of sound business mind, and oftentimes it's not even legal.

But in general, to be open, honest and fair. I mentioned at the candidate forum, a lot of times I will not make a decision on some of our smaller issues until I have carefully researched and gathered all information. I am perfectly fine letting people know that I'm not sure where I stand on something at this point, but I'll continue to ask the questions and get the information I need to make a good decision.

As someone who is employed in a county office, how do you intend to handle any real or perceived conflicts of interest between your job and elected position?

So, the major conflict of interest would be when the board votes on anything pertaining to the Orange County Department of Social Services. Very rarely do I have anything from the Department of Social Services come up for a board vote. One of the very few times that I can think of that happening is our annual budget, so I would just have to abstain from any and all votes pertaining to the department. And if there are any major crises or scenarios where the board does have to be involved, I of course would have to abstain. But in the six years that I've been there, I can remember one grievance that came through.

Other than that, there really isn't a conflict. In the Department of Social Services, I lead from a supportive standpoint in that I'm not dictatorial to my staff. I support them and make sure they have the tools and resources they need to do a good job, and that's what I expect the county administrator to do with me, as he does currently. So then as a supervisor, I actually would change hats and lead, and provide the best support I can to our county administrator to ensure he or she has the tools needed to do the job.

Let’s wrap this up with a few apolitical get-to-know-you questions. Favorite ice cream flavor?

Right now, I am addicted to the caramel cheesecake swirl from 2 Scoops ice cream shop.

Musical artist or band?

I'm a music lover, so it's kind of an inside joke with all my friends and family. Almost every song that comes on, I say that's my favorite song. I love everything from old bluegrass to country, to modern-day pop and hip hop.

Hobby or way to relax? 

Pickleball. It's a great way for me to release energy and stress, and it's so much fun. I've been playing at the Locust Grove pickleball courts that the Orange County Department of Parks and Rec installed and they're fabulous. I would say right now that’s my favorite hobby, aside from spending time with family and being here on the farm doing my normal livestock duties with my goats and pets.

To learn more about Crystal Hale, visit www.crystalhale4bos.com or her Facebook page here. For more information on Orange County elections, visit www.orangecountyva.gov/354/Voter-Registration-Elections or call the Orange County Office of Voter Registration and Elections at (540) 672-5262.