Know Your Candidate: Anne LeHuray, OC Board of Supervisors District 5

Anne LeHuray, candidate for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 5. (Photo Credit: Anne LeHuray)

This interview is part of a series intended to give readers an overview of local political candidates and what they believe. Read responses from the other candidates for the Orange County Board of Supervisors by following the links below.

District 2: Ed Van Hoven; Delton “DJ” Anglin

District 3: Ellen Pitera

District 4: Laird Knights; Crystal Hale; Brit Lewis; Ryan Soon

District 5: J. Bryan Nicol

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

Can you tell us about your background?

My name is Anne LeHuray and I'm running for Orange County Board of Supervisors for District 5, which is essentially Lake of the Woods plus a few other people, mostly along Route 20.

I have a Ph.D. in geology, and my dissertation work actually included this area of Virginia. It was on aspects of geochemistry of hydrothermal systems in the Southern Appalachians, which includes the Central Virginia Gold and Mineral District.

I've really had three careers. I was a research scientist at Columbia University in New York, and then I got lured away into the field of environmental consulting when the Superfund program was blooming and there was a lot of need for science decision-making. In the early ‘90s, I took a transfer to Washington to the inside beltway office of the company I was working for, so that's how I ended up in Virginia.

From there I went into my third career, which is working for trade associations — mostly heavy industry trade associations, the American Chemistry Council. After a number of years, I had an opportunity to go out on my own as a consultant continuing to work with trade associations, one of which I started from scratch, the Pavement Coatings Technology Council.

That got me involved a lot at the local level, as well as national and international, because everybody has pavement, and every town council and state legislature all the way from the bottom to the top wants to know something about the environmental impacts of pavement. So, that's how my exposure to local government came about, which is one of the reasons why I made the decision as a failed retiree to find a way that I could use my skills I've developed over the years to serve the community by running for board of supervisors, because people with technical backgrounds like mine don't usually run for office like this.  

Do you have any previous political experience?

I've never been an elected representative and I've never drawn a paycheck directly from a government since I was a graduate student. But that said, when you’re a research scientist, you get a lot of funding through government agencies, the National Science Foundation in particular. And then as an environmental consultant, a lot of the work was done as a government contractor. I did a lot of work with the Department of Energy as well as with NASA.

And then I went 100 percent private sector working for trade associations. What you essentially do there is to speak to the science aspect of an issue that might be regulated or legislated, so you interact with government, but you don't work for government.

Any community involvement outside of politics?

I'm a Lioness at Lake of the Woods and the treasurer for the dog park.  I also teach water aerobics at the Wilderness Presidential Resort. Professionally, I am on the Science Integrity Committee at the Society for Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists, and I've been a longtime member of the American Chemistry Society.

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

As I said before, I've had experience testifying to governments and working with politicians and civil servants. I was looking for ways that I could give back, and it's always been in the back of my mind. When it became clear that Mr. Frame was not going to run again, after much thought and prayer about it and talking with friends and family, I made the decision that I would go ahead and run.

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

The biggest part I suppose that people think about is budgeting — essentially keeping Orange County up and running, making sure that the money coming in matches the money going out and that it doesn't get too out of balance in one direction or another. And that's a big responsibility, as well as zoning and things like the issue du jour, Wilderness Crossing. The impact that it's going to have, particularly on our little corner of the county, is big.

And then what does it take? I think that it takes leadership. It takes understanding projects, including their budgets and scopes. It can get pretty detailed at this level, but it's also where the rubber hits the road in what our government does. Most of what you hear on the news is what comes out of Washington or Richmond, but a lot of that is just conceptual. I don't think that people appreciate local governance enough, and I know I didn't appreciate it enough until I actually started working at the local level with the pavement industry.

Both the Wilderness Crossing hearing and drought conditions earlier this year have brought concerns about Orange County’s water supply into focus. If elected, what steps do you plan do take to ensure that residents have adequate access to water, now and in the years to come?

First of all, I think there has been a lot of misunderstanding of the drought conditions and the various alerts that we've received. The way that a water authority is regulated, is by the permit that’s issued by the county and the state. Virginia is an authorized state, so it wouldn't have to go to the federal level, for which we're very fortunate.

Right now, Rapid Ann Service Authority is permitted to draw 3 million gallons a day from the Rapidan River and by permit, when there's a drought, they're required to send out alerts and to put in certain restrictions when the flow reaches a certain level. That level, as I understand it, for 3 million gallons a day is something like 30 cubic feet per second. But what I've been told by the Rapidan Service Authority when I asked is that typically they draw about a million to a million-and-a-half gallons a day, which means that the alert level, if they were permitted for what they're actually drawing, would be much lower.

So, while it's clear that we had a drought, it wasn't as serious as some people had imagined it to be. That said, in previous years, oftentimes in the late summer, there have been very serious droughts that have reduced the water.

So, what would you do? It seems to me there's two different ways to think about it. First, right now the RSA is permitted for twice the amount of water that it typically draws, so that means the room for growth is actually in there. And the reason it's permitted for that much is they have the capacity to do that. I understand they're even going to ask for an increase in the amount that they're permitted for. We'll see how that goes. But that means that the growth has already been factored into the facility and into their capabilities.

But according to the current plan, there's going to be growth at this end of the county. One way to approach that is, if somebody has a development that they're going to put in, they have to put in some sort of backup water supply. You could impound it by building a small reservoir or a water tower. That is something that the board of supervisors actually can directly have a role in and say that in order to change the zoning, this has to be part of the proffers.

I've also heard people talk about a reservoir. Well, what do we mean by a reservoir? Think about Motts Run Reservoir in Spotsylvania County. It starts around Ely’s Ford Road and it goes all the way to Central Park along River Road. It's a pretty big piece of property. And that is a whole different kettle of fish, because that’s something that the board of supervisors would have to do and it would cost an enormous amount of money.

District 5 almost entirely consists of the Lake of the Woods community, which has its own unique character that sometimes diverges from that of the county at large. If elected, how do you intend to balance the needs and concerns of your constituents in Lake of the Woods with those of the county as a whole? 

That's a very good question because not everybody, but a lot of people in Lake of the Woods are retirees who've moved from other places, and we live inside a bubble. You go inside the gate at Lake of the Woods and it's like its own little community. And so, the needs of those outside are looked at through the lens of how will that affect my life here at Lake of the Woods and my vision for what I'm doing.

I think a part of transparency is not being just transparent about yourself, but also about projects as they go forward. I know for myself, I wasn't hyper-focused on it, but I did go to a few meetings over the past 10 years or so when they were developing the Germanna Widlerness Area Plan. So, I was sort of aware, but most people are not analytical and geeky like that. So, I think that one way to achieve that is simply to encourage people in Lake of the Woods to understand the community that they're living in.

The second part is to have the community we're living in understand Lake of the Woods, and to be able to work together to develop what's right for most people. That's a tough nut to crack, but I've proven that I can do this because I've worked for trade associations. A lot of my job was knowing the needs of the industry, the government and the public, and trying to get something that works for everybody. I see that this job is being very similar to working with government affairs and regulatory affairs for a trade association.

What has your campaign for the Board of Supervisors taught you about how you intend to communicate effectively with Orange County residents?

I've met a lot of people that I didn't know before and we've talked about all sorts of things. People are living their own lives, and I think one of the things that they expect of a board of supervisors member, is that you're going to take care of them and their issues. A lot of them don't want to know the details, but there's a lot that do, so you've got to be transparent. In the case of District 5, that could mean continuing to have the regular column in “Lake Currents” every two weeks perhaps, and then initiatives like the OC Bulletin can help people in Lake of the Woods understand what's going on in the rest of the county.

But the point is just to make sure people are aware of the resources and what's going on. A lot of people are really focused on Fredericksburg and northern Virginia, and they don't look the other way down Route 20. But we also have a lot of families with students who go to the schools here, and they're very much integrated into Orange County. It sounds trite to say, but communication is what it's all about.

During your campaign, you’ve sent out sample ballots via email instructing voters in District 5 to vote for Republican candidates. However, some recent discourse, for example in Spotsylvania with Democratic candidate Nick Ignacio, has raised concerns about the potential of sample ballots to confuse voters. Can you talk about your own views regarding the role of sample ballots in the democratic process?

Not being an experienced politician, I was reprimanded by the Board of Elections for having sent out that sample ballot because apparently there were errors on that ballot. I've now seen the official one, so I said, okay, that was right, and you're supposed to have specific wording and things like that.

But if you're endorsed by a party like me — I'm endorsed by the Republican Party — then the sample ballot simply says who's been endorsed by that party. In this particular case, I sent it out because these are other people who are endorsed, and it's not just about you in any kind of circumstance — it's about who you're going with.

At the local level, a lot of people like to say that it's a nonpartisan position, and it is. Any elected position, from president of the United States all the way down to dog catcher, is nonpartisan because you're representing your constituents. But that doesn't mean that you don't have an approach, and I think that saying which party you lean towards tells the voters something.

It says, are you always going to look for a solution that involves the government stepping in and taking over a project, or are you going to look for private sector solutions? Which way do you tend to think? In an ideal world, that’s the role of having an affiliation and telling people what your affiliation is. Then, once you're in an elected position, one of the things you have to be concerned about is representing everybody, not just the people who think the way that you think.

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

This is going to sound really geeky, but Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I listen to that a lot, but I've got lots of other things I like. Today's playlist for water aerobics involved Elton John and Blondie. 

Holiday?

I like Christmas. It's not just the one day; it's everything that goes before and after. There are lots of opportunities to see different people, to have dinners and parties and give presents.

Way to spend a weekend?

I've traveled a lot in my life, so when I was working, it was definitely staying home for the weekend. Now, I like going out and doing things, just exploring different places and seeing what there is to see.

To learn more about Anne LeHuray, visit www.lehuray.org or send a message to anne4supervisor@gmail.com. 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.