Roberta Anne Kellam has announced her candidacy for the District 4 seat on the Northampton County Board of Supervisors, the seat being vacated by current Board Chairman Spencer Murry.
Mrs. Kellam has been active in Northampton government and politics. She served on the Northampton County Planning Commission and the Virginia State Water Control Board.
Kellam has also been an advocate for smart growth policies and environmental protection for the Eastern Shore. She was one of the more vocal and active opponents of the infamous 2015 Zoning ordinance.
Kellam graduated from the SUNY Buffalo Law School with a Juris Doctor cum laude. Her practice has mainly focused on environmental, land use, and energy law.
Mrs. Kellam has served on the VIMS Foundation and is currently the Board Chair for the Eastern Shore of Virginia Birding and Wildlife Programs, Inc.
Paul Plante says
Good luck to Ms. Kellam, whose driveway seems to have become the “go to” place for people from Cape Charles or Accomack County and maybe Baltimore and across the bridge in Norfolk who are looking for a place to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes.
HourAhead says
I see that the Wellington Neck Mafia has selected it’s replacement mouthpiece.
Blue Hoss says
Easy now, your slip is showing. He is a Vet, he earned it the right to type as he pleases.
Freedom is not free.
Paul Plante says
Good morning, Hoss, hope all goes well with you this fine morning, and let me remind you that in this country today, military veterans are those who get spit on by self-righteous liberals, so being a vet and $7.50 buys you a grande latte with sprinkles at the nearest Starbucks.
And I don’t think he was referring to me there.
I think he was actually referring to Ms. Kellum, whose driveway seems to have become the “go to” place for people from Cape Charles or Accomack County and maybe Baltimore and across the bridge in Norfolk who are looking for a place to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes, as the replacement mouthpiece for the Wellington Neck Mafia.
Blue Hoss says
I got their backs 24/7.
Paul Plante says
Say, Hoss, you’re in tune with these things; do you think that HourAhead dude talking about the Wellington Neck Mafia selecting it’s replacement mouthpiece could really be Dixon Leatherbury slinking in here with a fake name to anonymously throw some low blow opening shots in this contest in an attempt to deflect attention away from the serious question of what would happen if Dixon Leatherbury wins District 4 so he can be a prime mover of an assault on the rural quality of life down here if he instead of Ms. Kellum gets elected by making this an attack on Ms. Kellum instead?
Is that the type of campaign from him that we are going to see, do you think – a lot of underhanded dirty political tricks to demean Ms. Kellum as his opponent in an effort to build himself up at the same time keeping the attention off his own record?
What about a town hall where people can ask Dixon Leatherbury point blank what will happen down here should he in fact win the election?
Shouldn’t the people get a chance to pin the dude down on his plans for the future should he be elected before its too late?
Sounds like a good idea to me, anyway.
I’d like to hear what they are, and I am sure that I am not alone in that, especially all the people concerned about the future of the water, and rightfully so.
Make him answer the question of who would be more trustworthy with their future – him or Ms. Kellum, and why.
Paul Plante says
And let me come back in here to clarify that I am very much on the side of Ms. Kellum here, she seems nice, and I personally do not think she is associated with any kind of mafia, as a mouthpiece, or otherwise, and did not intend to imply that Ms. Kellum was such a mouthpiece when I simply defended myself by deflecting the charge off myself.
And really, people, think about it – this election is not about what transpires in Ms. Kellum’s driveway!
What this election is really about is what happens if Dixon Leatherbury wins District 4.
Think about that for a moment, all of you people who care about your community.
Would Dixon Leatherbury be a prime mover of an assault on your rural quality of life if he instead of Ms. Kellum gets elected?
On her side of the ledger, Ms. Kellum is viewed by concerned citizens who know her as a member of the Planning Commission who was able to hold her own against a motley crew of self interested pro-development-at-any-cost fellow commissioners.
So the choices are very clear, people.
Think about it – do you really want Dixon Leatherbury in your future?
The choice is yours and don’t forget to vote your conscience.
Paul Plante says
Now, let me say as someone who comes out when called out, and who likes forceful public servants who know the law and act within the law for the common good, that I was both concerned and curious about Ms. Kellum’s silence in here.
So I asked her, and this is what she told me:
Thanks to the Cape Charles Mirror and Mr. Dufty, especially, the overriding issues facing the people who can actually vote are spelled out in detail, which opinion I certainly concur with, so there really is nothing that Ms. Kellum can say now that will shed new light on anything, and so to keep this from becoming about personalities, Ms. Kellum is running an old-fashioned front-porch campaign allowing the issues of the future of the East Shore to be front and center where it should be so that democracy on the East Shore can operate as it was intended to do, which is informed consent.
For those too young to know the term, a front porch campaign is a low-key electoral campaign used in American politics in which the candidate remains close to or at home to make speeches to supporters who come to visit and the candidate largely does not travel around or otherwise actively campaign.
The successful presidential campaigns of James A. Garfield in 1880, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and William McKinley in 1896 are perhaps the best-known front porch campaigns.
And as to how long these issues have been in the news, again, thanks to Wayne Creed and the CCM, we have LEO KELLAM: Hearing on Northampton County Zoning was Despicable on MARCH 20, 2016, where he set forth the issues that are still festering or simmering today depending on your point of view, whether you are for giving political power to William “Dixon” Leatherbury, or whether, for the good of your grandchildren, you are going to withhold from him and grant it instead to Ms. Kellum, quite eloquently as follows:
I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the March 9, 2016 public hearing on the amendment to the 2009 zoning ordinance and appreciate this opportunity to give your readers my take on what happened on that night.
After a brief presentation by our $3,000/week county administrator (whose salary and benefits are paid by a poor county with only 12,000 people) who by the way has mismanaged this county to the brink of fiscal collapse, Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission Dixon Leatherbury took on the Board of Supervisors, expressing his frustration that the 2015 zoning ordinance was being challenged.
He forgot to mention that his wife, Bev Leatherbury was a co-author of the new commercial real estate manifesto, as she is part of the county’s legal team who has been on the front lines of this ridiculous scheme.
He is joined by Mike Ward on the Commission, another major player on the planning team running the ball toward the 2015 goal post and a major contributor to the pending rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan (and wait til you see that!).
Mr. Ward never mentions that his wife is a real estate for Coldwell Banker while at the same time he pushes for the 2015 zoning ordinance which will break up Northampton County in a manner similar to commercial development in Virginia Beach and Ocean City (whose real estate taxes because of that scheme are nearly twice that of Northampton County’s).
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/leo-kellam-hearing-on-northampton-county-zoning-was-despicable/
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There is who and what you get if you reject Ms. Kellum and instead put your future into the hands of William “Dixion” Leatherbury.
There is what you reject if in turn you go with Ms. Kellum.
So as she so wisely says, people, keep reading the Mirror and keep seeking the facts, and above all, don’t make it a contest of personalities – keep it about the issues, exercise critical thinking, and the future will be secure.
Paul Plante says
And with respect to the issues at stake in this up-coming election which in the spirit of true democracy will be a chance for the people of the community to have a real voice in their future and that of their grandchildren, I just learned that the Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Committee, comprised of the Northampton County contingent of John Coker, Chair, and please, people hold your applause if you will so that we can get through the list, there is also Gene Hampton and John Salm and Taylor Dukes and Charles Kolakowski, while representing Accomack County, we have Paul Muhly, Vice Chair, along with Jim Belote, Grayson Chesser, Daniel Hershey and Mike Mason, to insure that each citizen who speaks before the board has the same three minutes as everyone else, so there is no discrimination, has a factory certified technician come in to insure that the egg timer they use is running up to snuff, and really, when it comes to protecting due process of law, that is really something, isn’t it?
But how much due process of law do you get in only three minutes, when it takes longer than that yo frame the issues to be discussed.
And the answer truly is none – when you only get three minutes, the hearing is a farce, and can hardly be said to be fair.
In one hearing up here where I was speaking for local citizens as their expert witness on groundwater affairs, I had for “experts” for the permit holder on the witness stand for weeks pulling down their house of cards until finally the lead engineer was forced to have to admit that he did not do the proper engineering because he didn’t get paid enough, so he threw together some bull**** that he hoped would go through without a hitch, which it didn’t.
And that is what you people need down here with respect to the groundwater – a hearing where Mr. Dufty and your other experts have an opportunity to cross-examine the water board members and their experts on the premise that the more we drain the Yorktowns, the faster the recharge, and no matter how much water is withdrawn by the poultry industry in Accomack County, it will have no impact on Northampton County unless a well in your southern county is within the cone of depression from a poultry well across the border.
These are statements attributed to the Committee Consultant, Britt McMillan, P.G., Hydrogeologist, Arcadis-Malcom Pirnie, who at the same time, during presentations, has said they know very little about lateral migration or transport of groundwater, which raises the point of how they can map and account for cones of depression while at the same time claiming they know very little if any about lateral transport or migration of groundwater.
Another statement attributed to consultant Britt is that the Tyson Foods processing facility is nearing critical drawdown (the 80% drawdown limit), which is the first time many or most concerned citizens heard that expressed.
And there is also the fact that Chincoteague purchased 30+ acres for a new well field, a purchase that was supported by the groundwater committee with them needing new wells because Wallops Fire Training facility sprayed so much foam onto the ground, PFOA’s contaminated the groundwater.
Since then, a concern has been raised in the community, where nothing is a secret, that when the driller went to drill new wells, he could not find enough water to meet the needs of the town, while at the same time the Groundwater Committee was being told that your groundwater supplies are at equilibrium and there is nothing to worry about, this as evidence surfaces that appears to show salt is a contaminant of concern as information comes in that the paleochannels in Exmore and Chincoteague are showing higher levels of chloride.
So, people, all the telltale signs are there.
By the time people realize it, will it be too late?
The choice is yours, people!
Don’t let your vote go to waste!
Especially when the water board crowd has an egg timer in one hand, and a gavel in the other.
Paul Plante says
So what then is the Northampton County Board of Supervisors and what the heck does it have to do with whether or not the water board crowd, that being the Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Committee, comprised of the Northampton County contingent of John Coker, Chair, and again, people, please hold your applause for your hometown heroes if you will so that we can get through the list, there is also Gene Hampton and John Salm and Taylor Dukes and Charles Kolakowski, while representing Accomack County, we have Paul Muhly, Vice Chair, along with Jim Belote, Grayson Chesser, Daniel Hershey and Mike Mason, uses a factory-certified egg timer when it limits citizens to just three minutes with which to unravel bull**** that it might take a week of days of intensive cross-examination of the water board expert and Committee Consultant, Britt McMillan, P.G., Hydrogeologist, Arcadis-Malcom Pirnie, starting as is proper with his professional qualifications and leading from there into the scientific basis for his theory that the more the Yorktowns, which are confined aquifers, are drained, the faster they will recharge, and no matter how much water is withdrawn by the poultry industry in Accomack County, it will have no impact on Northampton County unless a well in the northern part of Northampton County is within the cone of depression from a poultry well across the border in Accomack County to unravel, and that is ACCOUNTABILITY, as in holding this water board crowd accountable to the people of Northampton County who have a valid right to be concerned about the future of their drinking water!
And how is a District 4 Supervisor supposed to be able to do that?
Well, for that answer, the best place I can think of to go is the website of the Northampton County Board of Supervisors https://www.co.northampton.va.us/government/departments_elected_offices/board_of_supervisors
which site tells us that the BOS is made up of five elected officials who serve for a four-year term, and the Board of Supervisors has both administrative and legislative responsibilities.
According to the website, and why should it lie, the powers and duties of the board include: preparing the county budget and appropriating funds; levying county taxes; appointing members of various boards and committees; pre-auditing claims against the county and issuing warrants for their settlement; constructing and maintaining county buildings; adopting the county’s comprehensive land use plan and approving and enforcing related ordinances; adopting and enforcing ordinances for police, sanitation, health, and other regulations permitted by state laws.
end quotes
And there it is, right there in that last sentence, in District 4, the Supervisor is responsible for enforcing health regulations, which would give the District 4 Supervisor leverage over the water board crowd that an ordinary citizen simply would not have.
So who do you really want in that seat?
Someone who will take your valid concerns seriously and help you press your case with the water board crowd?
Or someone who will blow you off like the water board crowd does now?
And that question takes us back to an earlier edition of the Cape Charles Mirror http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/anonymous/ where we had some real life history as follows:
Regarding the public hearing on keeping the 2015 Zoning vs approving the improved and amended 2009 Zoning – Wednesday evening at Northampton High School – The “Yellow Shirt” speakers, repeatedly claimed, that realtors and other promoters of unbridled, unsustainable development here, were not behind their sudden vocal support of the fatally flawed 2015 Zoning, that was dumped on Northampton County citizens by a lame duck board.
However, I counted quite a few realtors and developers among the speakers promoting the 2015 Zoning; they even brought a Virginia Beach attorney to speak.
Really?
Do you think we are that stupid?
The calling out by name (I consider that an honor not an insult) of those individuals and organizations who have repeatedly taken the time to participate in this process and have spoken out in favor of responsible, sustainable zoning, is oddly reminiscent of the tactics used at a recent Accomack Board hearing, leading me to believe, that DPI, and/or other nefarious forces are at work.
I also found it amusing, that the honorable Spencer Murray was quoted repeatedly in an effort to discredit him; that tactic backfired.
It sounded as if those who spoke had their speeches written and handed to them.
The most disappointing aspect of that hearing, was the demeanor taken by Mr. Leatherbury, and other members of the Planning Commission, toward those objecting to their ill conceived visions for Northampton County, as reflected in that travesty of a zoning document, the 2015.
I would like to remind the Planning Commission that they are appointees, chosen to serve at the pleasure of Northampton Citizens, and the our Board of Supervisors are our ELECTED representatives.
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As to water in Accomack County respecting the political boundary between Accomack County and Northampton County, quite frankly, that sounds like balderdash to me, and for that reason alone, Ms. Kellum should be elected District 4 Supervisor, as that would be one step closer to getting the water board expert and Committee Consultant, Britt McMillan, P.G., Hydrogeologist, Arcadis-Malcom Pirnie, under oath in a hearing-like setting where he can’ wriggle off the hook like he can at a water board meeting so he can be questioned further as to how water in Accomack County knows where the county line is, given that before it was Accomack County, Accomac Shire was established in the Virginia Colony by the House of Burgesses in 1634 under the direction of King Charles I.
It was one of the original eight shires of Virginia, and consisted of the whole of Virginia’s Delmarva territory.
The shire’s name comes from the Native American word Accawmack, which means, “the other shore”.
In 1642, the name was changed to Northampton County.
(In England, “shires” and “counties” were the same thing).
In 1663, Northampton County was split into two counties.
The northern two thirds took the original Accomac name, while the southern third remained as Northampton.
In 1670, the Virginia Colony’s Royal Governor William Berkeley abolished Accomac County, but the Virginia General Assembly re-created it in 1671.
In 1940, the General Assembly officially added a “k” to the end of the county’s name to arrive at its current spelling, which is Accomack.
So, given all of that actual history, one of my first questions to the water board expert and Committee Consultant, Britt McMillan, P.G., Hydrogeologist, Arcadis-Malcom Pirnie, would have to be, “my goodness, Mr. McMillan, and golly gee, I find that so very confusing myself, one day it’s all Accomack County, then another, it’s all Northampton County, and another day yet, it’s both Accomack County and Northampton County, but they are not evenly divided, so how do you think the groundwater was able to keep that all straight so that water in what is no Accomack County knows to stay there, and not cross the county line over in to Northampton County?”