With an incumbent who first was not running but now is, this year’s race for the Aquia District seat on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors is turning out to be a three-way contest.
Supervisor Monica Gary, an independent, initially said she wasn’t going to seek re-election after a controversy over a county resident being removed from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library Board caused her to be censured by her peers in December.
But Gary said this week that changes in her personal life meant she could run again, and now she will face Democrat Maya Guy and Republican Hank Scharpenberg.
“So I had a lot going on personally, which is why I was considering not doing it,” Gary said. “But some things shifted, and I have the support and resourcing I need, and I never didn’t want to run for any other reason. I love what I do. So that’s it. Life changed.”
Gary said she recruited Guy, vice chairwoman of the Stafford School Board, to run when she thought she wasn’t going to seek office again.
“I wanted to do the responsible thing that I think is not done often enough in politics and have a succession plan and make sure that there was someone who is going to do the things I believe are most important right now, which is taking care of our children, and I knew that she would fight for that because she’s been on the School Board and she cares about that,” Gary said.
Monica Gary
Then when Gary decided to run, she said she tried to talk to Guy multiple times but was unable to, so she went ahead and announced her candidacy.
In politics, sometimes friends end up competing with one another, Gary said.
So, she said, “I’m going to encourage all the people who support me — as I have — to be kind and respectful no matter what because if we don’t treat each other with dignity, especially in this political climate we have in our country right now, what are we doing?”
Gary also said she isn’t concerned that she and Guy will take votes away from each other, handing the election to Scharpenberg. She said no one is “entitled to anyone’s vote,” and that she has a record to run on and can communicate that.
That record includes voting for economic development that will generate revenue and lessen the tax burden on homeowners, she said.
It includes land-conservation work, too, she said, as well as her idea to put solar panels on retired landfill cells, a proposal that the supervisors gave a green light to on Tuesday.
Gary also said she’s proud of pushing for funding for Stafford’s schools and making sure that planned data centers have a minimal impact on county water.
Maya Guy
Guy provided a different version of Aquia election events in a text message on Friday.
She said the night Gary was censured and removed from her committee assignments, she assumed Gary wouldn’t run again.
“When she later confirmed that in a social media post,” Guy said, “it only reinforced that Aquia needed steady, trustworthy leadership and someone who puts the people first. That is when I made my decision to run, and it wasn’t based on any so-called succession plan [as] she claims. It was based on her conduct on the board and the fact that our district is now represented by someone who holds no committee roles but still collects a taxpayer-funded paycheck. Aquia deserves better.”
Maya Guy
In an earlier announcement of her campaign, Guy, who is serving in her second year as School Board vice chair, said she has been a “steadfast advocate” for implementing education specialty centers, assisting in the implementation of student representatives on the school board and implementing a cellphone-free policy in the schools.
“I’ve been an advocate for Aquia for almost two decades,” Guy said in the announcement, “and I want to continue to work for our community, ensuring that Stafford remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
She said she is running for supervisor to bring the district “consistent, transparent and effective leadership while focusing on our growth and infrastructure.”
“Our families deserve a government that listens, acts and prioritizes the needs of residents over personal gains,” she said.
Hank Scharpenberg
Scharpenberg, a former combat arms officer in Europe and the U.S. before retiring from the Army, has lived in Stafford since April 1997.
In 2007, he chaired the Stafford County Task Force on Illegal Immigration and was appointed to the Stafford Regional Airport Authority.
Later, serving as authority chairman from 2012-15, he secured a grant from the Virginia Department of Aviation to build the existing airport terminal and obtained federal funding and environmental approval to extend the airport runway to accommodate jets.
Scharpenberg also was appointed to the Embrey Mill Community Development Authority at its creation and to the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee, of which he twice was elected chairman.
In the community, he joined the Senior Advisory Board for the Fredericksburg Corps, Salvation Army, and became its chairman.
Scharpenberg holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, and a master’s from George Washington University.
Hank Scharpenberg
If elected, he said he will ensure that first responders are adequately funded, and that transportation dollars are “aggressively pursued” to ease congestion.
He also would like to offer alternative transportation capabilities to residents by bringing commuter airline service to the Stafford airport.
In addition, he said he would see that local government services and county schools are given oversight to maximize efficiency and reduce cost to taxpayers, and that the schools’ EmpowerED Exploration Initiative, designed to prepare students for success in their careers, is fully supported.
Scharpenberg said he would ensure that Stafford nurtures a business-friendly environment by expediting investment that enhances quality of life and provides property tax relief for residents, as well.
And he added that he would make sure any residential rezoning actions do not burden taxpayers and maintain the county’s open spaces.
Election Day is Nov. 4.
