Duncan and Shreve answer questions at Free Enterprise Forum

There are less than three weeks until the June 17 primary that features nomination contests in Albemarle and Charlottesville. The Virginia Public Access Project reports that 877 votes in Charlottesville have cast ballots as of publication of this post.

In Albemarle County, 1,480 voters have had their say so far. Two Democrats are seeking the Jack Jouett District seat being vacated by Supervisor Diantha McKeel.

For those who haven’t made up their mind, the Free Enterprise Forum held a forum on May 14 at which both Sally Duncan and David Shreve appeared.

Duncan is a school teacher and she had the first opening statement. She said she was running to represent people who rent rather than own a home, calling that an underrepresented demographic in local government.

“Almost 70 percent of the Jack Jouett District is made up of renters,” Duncan said. “We have a lot of people in this district who work and who are working parents. I think we need more people like me in these positions. I think our community benefits when we have a wide variety of perspectives, making decisions.”

Duncan said her experiences raising five children as well as teaching have given her skills that would be valuable in local government.

“I know how to find and understand a wide variety of perspectives, can figure out how to get a lot of different people to work together, and can help create a community where people like each other can get along and even have fun with each other,” Duncan said.

David Shreve, an economist by trade, said he made a decision early in his life to dedicate his career to public policy.

“Since that time in the late 1970s, I’ve been a political activist, a grassroots organizer, a teacher,” Shreve said. “I also became a specialist in what you might call fiscal policy, looking especially at the way the federal, state and local governments work together, or do not.”

Shreve has lived in the area since the late 1990’s. He said he studied economics and history in order to understand problems from different perspectives.

“I thought a lot of the answers we were seeking could be found in that gap about theoretical studies, but connecting them to real lives and how people actually live and operate businesses and work and so on and so forth,” Shreve said.

The first question was about housing. Moderator Neil Williamson stated that the Charlottesville region is expected to add about 2,000 residents a year.

“How do you see Albemarle accommodating their portion of this regional growth?” Williamson asked.

Shreve acknowledged Albemarle has a housing crisis.

“I don’t think we have a shortage of housing, but more a misallocation of housing,” Shreve said. “Now, that doesn’t mean we won’t have to build. We’re going to have to build, but I think we ought to be very serious and sincere about how we do that. And I don’t think we can leave it to the marketplace.”

Shreve suggested one solution may be for local jurisdictions to build their own housing to reduce costs and increase accessibility.

Duncan said everyone she talks to is concerned about housing affordability and her solution is to encourage more residential construction.

“We need to increase our housing supply by building more homes,” Duncan said. “We also need a streamlined process that allows homes to be built, you know, more efficiently and maybe a little quicker. And then national best practices like having a housing trust fund, a community land trust, and developer incentives that really work to get more affordable homes.”

Duncan said if the county doesn’t build more homes, property assessments will continue to rise thus increasing tax burden for homeowners.

The second question sought the candidates’ positions on the centerpiece of economic development efforts in Albemarle County. In May 2023, Supervisors agreed to spend $58 million to acquire 473 acres around Rivanna Station for a future campus for defense and intelligence companies.

“Did you support this acquisition and what, if any, role should Albemarle play in developing the property?” asked Jane Foy, the other moderator. “What specific type of economic development do you see as possible, possible to alleviate reliance on property taxes?”

In her response, Duncan said she supported the land purchase but did not go into any details about what the county refers to as Rivanna Futures. She does support economic development.

“I think the role of the supervisor is to responsibly and thoughtfully advocate for economic growth and tax diversification and not just say that economic growth is bad,” Duncan said.

Shreve said he did support the land purchase as an investment in property. He also said he also wanted to help diversify Albemarle’s revenue sources, but added that most localities in the country receive most of their funding through the real estate tax.

“We should understand that many of the taxes that businesses bear and pay are passed on to their consumers or their workers,” Shreve said. “And so in a sense, it’s best to look at your tax structure as something being paid by residents in general, whether it comes through property tax, sales tax, or some other vehicle, and figure out how to parse it fast, fairly.”

The third question asked whether the candidates supported the recent real estate tax rate increase approved by the Albemarle Board of Supervisors.

Shreve said he was neutral on the rate increase.

“It is important to always remember when you’re looking at property taxes in general, the rate is sort of irrelevant,” Sherve said. “If your assessments are changing dramatically, you could keep the rate stable, you could drop it. But if your assessments are increasing, you’re still going to pay more taxes.”

Duncan said she did support the rate increase because the additional revenue went to public safety, housing, and schools.

“Government is really a last resource for people,” Duncan said. “We’re kind of like the final social safety net.”

Take a look at the video to watch the entire event.

Before you go: This story was originally posted in the May 28, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and posted to this website a couple of days later. To learn more about how to support this work, please visit this link for ideas.