The Advance talks to the representative about her decision. Also in this edition: Tuesday night’s City Council meeting – Dogs, dogs, dogs
by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Despite what Republicans say, Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger doesn’t believe that her decision not to run for reelection to Congress and instead run for Virginia Governor in 2025 means control of her 7th congressional district seat is likely to flip.
“I expect that someone will work really hard because ideally, they too will believe in the strength of what they can do on behalf of their constituents,” Spanberger told the Advance in an interview Tuesday afternoon. “When that happens, I expect that we’ll hold the seat. That’s not to say it will be easy, but there’s a lot of hard workers on this side of the aisle.”
Spanberger, a former CIA officer, announced her run for governor in a campaign video released Monday. Virginia’s constitution limits governors to one term, so she will not face GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
She was first elected to Congress in 2018, unseating Tea Party-aligned incumbent Dave Brat, and was reelected in 2020 and 2022.
The seventh congressional district was redrawn last year to center more on Fredericksburg. It includes the city of Fredericksburg and all of the surrounding counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, Caroline, Culpeper and Orange.
The Virginia Public Access Project rates it as competitive. Spanberger won the district with 52.2% of the vote over Republican challenger Yesli Vega in 2022, but Youngkin won 52% of the district’s vote in the 2021 governor’s race.
Spanberger last year was rated one of the top five most bipartisan Members of Congress and the most bipartisan member of the Virginia delegation.
Following the announcement of her gubernatorial run, the National Republican Congressional Committee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Republicans are “in a prime position to pick up” the 7th district seat.
Spanberger described these as “talking points” in an interview Tuesday.
“It’s a challenging seat,” she said. “I have worked unbelievably hard in all three of my elections to win and hold the seat. But I have demonstrated that it is possible and can be done and, I think you will see people making really thoughtful decisions about what they would bring to this race.”
Spanberger said the results of Tuesday’s election showed that Virginians “want elected officials who are working on the things that matter most to them on a day-to-day basis.
“They don’t want legislators who are … waging these culture wars,” she said.
In her video, she pledged to work to lower prescription drug prices, grow the middle class, support teachers and protect women’s reproductive rights.
Spanberger said her record in Congress is as someone who works to deliver bipartisan legislation that benefits Virginia, such as the 2021 infrastructure bill.
“I hope to bring knowledge of the good work we’ve done at the federal level to the governorship level,” she said. “I have accomplished some really wonderful things that am proud of. I look forward to … continuing to serve the people of the 7th and more broadly the people of Virginia.”
City Council Wrestles with ‘Ruffs’
by Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The Barking Barley is a newly proposed business seeking a rezoning to launch its “dog friendly tap house” along Old William Street. The business would sell microbrews, along with hot dogs and snack foods, as well as a private dog park.
The land under consideration is three parcels that have a split zoning. One of the two parcels, a 0.18-acre portion, is currently zoned R-4 Residential. The other portion is zoned Commercial/Office-Transitional District (C-T). The proposal is to rezone the entire plot at C-T.
Concerns were expressed by some residents during the public hearing about possible noise from the facility. Especially noise created by the dogs coming to the park.
One citizen whose backyard abuts the property in question noted that she didn’t want the project derailed. However, her home is elevated about the level of the site where the dog park would be and looks down on the property. The sounds the dogs would make, she said, would travel up the hill and could become an issue.
She further noted that dogs can currently be heard from the existing doggy day care that operates in proximity to where Barking Barley would operate.
The owners discussed how they would work to mitigate this noise with sound baffling, but conceded that no solution is “100 percent soundproof.”
Councilman Jon Gerlach asked if the owners would commit to language in the rezoning document about the sound baffling, but they expressed a reluctance to do so because they didn’t want to commit to a particular product.
Councilman Tim Duffy told the Advance, however, that he would like to see the owners “sign onto some kind of [buffering] system” that provides adequate sound absorption.
Councilman Matt Kelly asked how issues about dog noise would be handled. Machen responded that this is normally “enforced by police.”
The owners said that they will be enforcing responsible behavior by dogs and their humans with a “three strikes” policy. Should the dog and its handler have a difficult time controlling the animal’s barking, they’d be asked to leave. Subsequent violations could lead to revocation of visiting rights.
The owners did state that they would “get in touch with the police department about handling the dog complaints” and have more answers at the next meeting.
The City Council voted 7-0 to approve the first reading of the rezoning request and will again hear from the owners at the November 28 meeting.
Should the Council approve a second reading on the 28th, they will either then, or shortly after, take up the Special Use Permit that would allow the Barking Barley to serve alcohol.
Vakos Requests Extension
The Vakos Company came before the Council to request a two-year delay in construction of Williams House, which is part of the Williams Square development that is bounded by William Street, Douglas Street, Amelia Street and Washington Avenue.
The performance agreement signed in December 2022 requires construction begin by January 1, 2024.
“Significantly higher interest rates and construction costs have made this timeline infeasible,” wrote City Manager Tim Baroody in his memorandum to Bill Freehling, director of economic development and tourism.
Councilman Kelly supported having a more robust discussion about this decision. Councilman Jason Graham proposed a closed session discussion about the incentives package given two years ago before agreeing to the extension. That closed session meeting will happen at the next Council meeting, followed by a vote in December.
In Brief
Also of note, Sam McKelvey, who leads the Fredericksburg Area Museum, was approved to be the person who leads Fredericksburg’s participation in the VA250 Commission to commemorate Virginia’s role in American independence.
Council also recognized April Peterson, owner of River Rock Outfitters, who was named a Southeastern regional finalist in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 America’s Top Small Business Awards; and one of only seven finalists nationwide out of 15,000 applicants.
Speaking of small businesses, a proclamation kicking-off Small Business Saturdays was put forward. The proclamation recognizes November 25 as the first Small Business Saturday, which runs every Saturday through the month of December.
Finally, the Council voted 7-0 to approve $100,000 for an assessment and report on the provision of services to the homeless population in and around Fredericksburg.
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-Martin Davis, Editor-In-Chief
