Supervisor candidates square off
VINTON – East Roanoke County citizens have not had a choice in electing a member to the Board of Supervisors in eight years. Now, a look at the two candidates running for Supervisor: Mike Altizer and Patt Patterson.
Mike Altizer: versatile vet
Candidate Mike Altizer
Incumbent Vinton Supervisor Mike Altizer is proud of what he has accomplished so far, and hopes to finish what he started.
Altizer ran against Dr. Harry Nickens for a seat on the Board in 2000, and lost. Nickens was offered a job in another area and moved away, and Altizer was appointed in his place. Now the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Altizer has run opposed for the last two elections. This year, for the first time in eight years, he is being challenged.
“He told the Mount Pleasant Civic League he was running just to give people a choice,” Altizer said about his opponent, Patrick Patterson. “It is good when citizens have a choice.”
Altizer and his wife of 41 years, Barbara, have four children: Robert, Michelle, Cheryl, and Melissa. The Mount Pleasant residents also have 13 grandchildren. Altizer is a retired Regional Operations Manager for an automotive repair company, and he worked briefly at the Bojangles restaurant in Vinton.
Altizer describes his position on the Board as one involving many different tasks. He supervises policy setting, fields citizens’ questions, and even helps people with problems such as loud dogs, skunks, and delivering the best public safety and education possible.
Altizer first became interested in becoming a Supervisor when Mount Pleasant was planning to dismiss its sole paid firefighter. He had always followed current issues in the County, and felt that he could help out.
“I really like being able to make a positive change in the community,” Altizer said.
He believes that he and the other Supervisors are laying the groundwork to make Roanoke County the best county they can. It is his priority to sustain growth, as well as to promote viability and sustainability.
Altizer takes credit for a long list of accomplishments. The first is the new regional jail, which he helped bring to the area. Altizer noticed that the old jail was overcrowded, creating a dangerous environment for deputies, and possibly leading to lawsuits against the County. There was a state moratorium on building new jail systems at the time, and Altizer spent time in Richmond convincing state representatives to allow the jail to be built.
Altizer’s helped create Roanoke County’s own Police Academy, which required more trips to Richmond, because of another moratorium. Roanoke County’s ability to train its own police officers, according to Altizer, has saved tax payers thousands of dollars.
A third achievement Altizer shares credit for is creating funding formulas, which has allowed the schools to do renovations. Each year, Roanoke County and the School Board both put money into an account, which builds capital to be used for different school projects. A new elementary school in the Masons Cove area is planned using the money which the funding formula has raised.
Altizer also feels that he played a part in developing the Green Ridge Recreation Center, which will bring much revenue to the County. A business park is planned nearby, and Altizer hopes that the recreation center has helped jumpstart that development. The School Board will receive about half of the revenue gained from the business park. More revenue will come from sports marketing at the recreation center. There will be two gyms in the center, allowing two games to happen at once. In two years a national tournament is planned for the center, which will bring tourist dollars to the area.
Altizer also believes that the Green Ridge Recreation Center will help attract young professionals to this area.
“It is a piece of the pie,” Altizer said about how young people make decisions about where to live.
Altizer is also proud that he has seen so many career firefighters brought on in Roanoke County in the last five to six years.
Although he represents the Vinton District, Altizer acknowledges that Roanoke County as a whole has been much of his focus.
“Do you have more to do in the County? Sure, but I’m looking at the town, too,” Altizer said. “You have to keep in mind that the town is an independent government.”
He also states, however, that the Board of Supervisors is partnering with the Town of Vinton on many different projects, including the Veterans Monument currently being built, the renovations to the Vinton War Memorial, and the new rescue squad building. The two governments, Vinton and Roanoke County, are also considering merging their 911 call centers.
Altizer is focusing on jumpstarting Vinton and drawing new businesses to the area.
He has other goals for his next term, however, if he is re-elected.
First, he wants to get the next budget behind him. He also wants to hire more paid firefighters. Further, he stresses the importance of the Board anticipating unfunded mandates which may be passed down from the state government, requiring additional funds from the local governments.
As for the election, he is optimistic.
“Certainly I believe we’re going to win,” Altizer said.
Pat Patterson: change, choice
Candidate Pat Patterson
East Roanoke County citizens have not had a choice in electing a member to the Board of Supervisors in eight years, and Patrick Patterson is running to change the situation.
“This is a huge election for this area,” Patterson said.
Patterson is the guidance coordinator at William Byrd High School. His wife of 19 years, Annette, runs her own small business, The Advancement Foundation, which raises money for non-profits in the Roanoke Valley. Patterson is a member of the Advancement Foundation’s board, is the Chairman of the Vinton Fall Festival, and is the Vice-President of the Vinton Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife have two children: Elizabeth, 13 years old, and Emma, six.
Mike Altizer has been the incumbent Supervisor for the Vinton District for eight years. He was the first appointed to the position in 2001 when then-Supervisor, Harry Nickens, resigned to take a job in another area. Altizer has run unopposed twice since then.
Patterson believes this lack of opposition is detrimental, and also that the people of Vinton want and need change.
“I’ve asked people to name eight things that have changed in Vinton in the last eight years that are directly related to [government] officials, and some can’t even name two,” Patterson said.
Patterson feels that there are problems in the Vinton area that he can help fix. First of all, the Vinton water mains are too small and must be fixed for more houses to be allowed to be built and connected to public water. It will take 10 to 15 years and 25 to 35 million dollars before this can be changed, however.
Until then, many new developers will have to install their own water and sewer systems. This discourages new people from building in the area.
Patterson also believes that the hoops people must jump through to make changes in Vinton, from building a fence to creating a new business, are too difficult. When Patterson and his wife bought a home on Washington Avenue to house their business, it took over a year and $15,000 before they could even put a sign in their front yard announcing that they were open for business.
“That’s not right,” Patterson said.
He promises that he will be every Vinton citizen’s representative in dealing with these sorts of problems.
Patterson is further upset that the Vinton Municipal pool may be closed, although other parts of Roanoke County have received millions of dollars to build the Green Ridge Recreation Center. He argues that it will take three years for the center to turn a profit, and even then it will only make $9,000 the first year.
Patterson argues that because only three percent of the total memberships at the new recreation center so far belong to Vinton residents, who make up 20 percent of the County, the Center was a waste of money. Patterson guarantees that if the residents of Vinton had been given their share of the budget, they would not have spent it on a new recreation center. He states that Vinton residents would have paid for their own pool to be updated, or perhaps even put the money towards refurbishing the Vinton library.
Patterson has a second reason to run for Supervisor. Although he was born in Chicago, Patterson is very passionate about the Roanoke Valley. He and his wife call it God’s country.
“This is the best place to raise a family,” Patterson said.
Because of this passion, he wants to make Vinton even better than it already is.
“There are so many great things about this place, and that’s why people like me do public service,” Patterson said.
According to Patterson, to improve Vinton, local businesses must be rewarded, and other businesses must be cultivated.
Another important way to improve a location is to speak with its citizens often, Patterson says, but after an election as well as before.
“If you’re not constantly checking the pulse of your citizens,” Patterson said, “then you’re not actively engaged in serving them.”
Patterson is hopeful that the election will work out in his favor. He has given a citizen survey to over 3,000 people, and the results have screamed that the people want change, Patterson said. He is passionate about this, and he believes that on Election Day, people will remember him for his service to the community.
“I stand on my own…I let my record speak for itself,” Patterson said.
