Thank you – November 8, 2011

Thank you, citizens of the White Hall district. You participate in your local government by voting, by speaking at public meetings, by attending town halls, and by reaching out to your local representatives about issues of concern.

Thank you to the many who participated in this campaign, helping to send mailings, organizing meet and greets, attending events.

We are so fortunate to live in this wonderful place, with a quality of life admired by others. We have much to appreciate, to protect, and to enhance to leave this place an equally wonderful place for our grandchildren.

I look forward to representing you again and hope I will see you soon.

Come out and vote on November 8!

Dear Voters of the White Hall District,

I have had the privilege to serve as your representative on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors since 2008.  I have enjoyed working with the citizens of the White Hall District and look forward to continuing to represent you for the next four years.

I am running unopposed for re-election this fall, but I ask for your vote on November 8.  Please come out to show your support for my agenda of good government and citizen collaboration.

  • I actively listen to citizens in my Town Hall meetings, bring varied opinions together, and represent the majority of citizens in our district;
  • I have championed our County’s Economic Vitality Plan which refocuses the Plan on rural economy, agriculture and tourism.  This plan supports business and the critical resources we cannot create, but only protect – our environment and scenic beauty. I believe that economic recovery and environmental protection go hand in hand;
  • I respect and appreciate our County’s volunteers and expect that government does;
  • I work hard to provide access to government process, open communication, and helpful constituent services;
  • I stand up for transparent decision making in local government;
  • I support effective, student-centered education for the leaders and citizens of tomorrow.

Have questions about where you vote? 
Call Voter information at 434-972-4173. Need a ride to the polls? Contact me at amallek@albemarle.org or 434-996-6159.

See you there!

Top issues in my own words

Civic groups and news organizations in Albemarle County work hard to educate their members and local citizens to help them be a part of the electoral process. The following are my responses to candidate questionnaires from these groups prior to the November 2011 elections.

North Charlottesville Business Council 2011 Candidate Forum

The Hook

Sierra Club

The Daily Progress

Blue Ridge Apartment Council

Charlottesville Tomorrow

League of Women Voters

Education Pac

Friends of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library

Good Government Depends on Citizen Involvement

I have been honored to serve as your representative on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. I look forward to the opportunity to continue representing the White Hall District. While I am running unopposed for re-election this November, I ask for your support as I work for you and our community over the next four years.

I am proud to be a citizen activist, with sole allegiance to you and to our county. I stand up for open, accessible processes and transparent decision making, as I believe these are essential to build and maintain the public’s confidence in local government.

There are many critical issues facing our District and our County right now—economic development and employment, success in our schools, transportation priorities and the Western Bypass, zoning concerns, air and water quality, water capacity planning, and the County use of tax funds, to name a few. I actively listen to citizens, bring varied opinions together, and represent the majority of the citizens in our district. Please share your views with me by calling or e-mailing. Invite me to speak with your neighborhood or homeowners association, or community group.

Good government depends on citizen involvement. Citizens have an important role to play in government, and government should work responsively and collaboratively with them. I appreciate all of the time and effort you take to get involved in your community and help us all build a better future. My proudest accomplishments are those that I have achieved by working with County citizens:

  • Adoption of the Volunteer Protection Ordinance, working with Fire and Rescue Agencies;
  • Revision of the Crozet Master Plan, updated with changes requested by citizens;
  • Development of final plans for the Crozet Library bid, working with the Crozet Library Committee;
  • Passage of new ordinances enhancing winery events, farmers markets and farm sales;
  • Protection of natural and historic resources, adding new County parks and historic districts;
  • Improved budget processes, with joint School Board/Supervisors meetings this fall;
  • Protection of neighborhood character and safety as new projects develop.

Community

I have spoken of “community” for years, of the essential nature of the Albemarle County in which I was raised. Community is citizens working together to help a neighbor in crisis, to help youngsters learn to read in small groups at school, to pick up trash along the scenic roadways, to look in on a friend during a storm. Community is the best within us, to be considerate, to think of others as equally important, not as someone to pass on the street and forget.

As we face more lean years ahead in this economy, as we work to gather the resources to move ahead with necessary capital projects and services, the County needs to rely on the assistance of citizens in many ways.

One important way for citizens to be involved in an essential government project for the next several years is to participate in the review of the comprehensive plan. The comp plan is required by the state and is the backbone, or should be the backbone, of every decision we make in our legislative permitting processes at the Board of Supervisors.

Work on the plan this time is especially important, as citizens and staff try to iron out some of the inconsistencies of the various goals and provide a plan which can be more productive. Clean water and resource protection as a goal does not have to be counter to one of economic vitality.

Each of us has special reasons why we choose to make Albemarle home. The comp plan should help us maintain those values. Download the comp plan.

Independence Day Pictures

Thank you to everyone who walked with us in the Independence Day
parades and to the communities of Crozet, Free FireworksUnion, and Earlysville for joining in the fun.

See our pictures here!

If the recent Board actions to prevent public input concern you, help send Ann back for another term. Focus Albemarle on the work ahead, not back to the past. Volunteer or Donate to the Campaign. If you have donated already, thank you!

No Accountability in Government

On June 8, at 11:30 p.m., the Board voted to suspend an important rule in order to allow them to vote on a matter of enormous public interest — the Western Bypass — without notifying the public.

Only two supervisors voted against dispensing of this rule – Ann Mallek and Dennis Rooker. Transparency in government is important.

Read more about this vote and the Board Meeting of June 8 on Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Welcome to the 2011 Campaign

Thank you for visiting my campaign website. A native of Albemarle and a graduate of Albemarle High in 1967, I grew up in a family dedicated to helping the community. After twenty-five years of active service in Albemarle – on the farm, in the classroom, and at the committee table and Board of Supervisors – I am running for re-election to the White Hall district seat on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. I ask you to join in this important campaign for the future of our County and region. Connect yourself to the County’s future.

I ran for White Hall district supervisor in 2007 because the future of our county and its residents was threatened.

January 2007: Representation of citizens was not considered an important part of the job. Preparation for Board and County staff decision-making was lacking. The state closed the Advance Mills Bridge and tried to close the Free Union VDOT depot. No one kept track of the approved units of housing and square feet of commercial space, deciding instead on each application in a vacuum, and 4,000 new units were approved in the Crozet area in four short years. Many of these units provided no proffer funds to offset the costs to the community. Citizens who had been a part of the Crozet Master Plan process felt their work had been in vain, as votes on the Board of Supervisors did not reflect the Plan’s basic tenets.

January 2011: Since 2008, I have focused on representation, hosting fifteen town halls around the district. Citizens have met with me over coffee in my kitchen or theirs to discuss their issues of concern. From working with Crozet residents on the successful revision of the plan that protects the character of their small town, to support of off-farm sales for farmers throughout the County – I have worked to connect citizens to the people who can improve their situation and represent all of the citizens of our district. With an army of committed citizens we grabbed the attention of VDOT to fast track the replacement of the Advance Mills Bridge, which opened April 16, 2010. Both the Yancey and Free Union depots are now fully staffed. The citizens of Crozet steadfastly reviewed and supported the updated Crozet Master Plan.

There is more work to do, and I seek the opportunity to continue. Should we have government that values what is good for the few and thinks that will be good enough for the rest?

Open government is not a slogan, it is a way of life.

For our future,
Ann