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As longtime residents of Radford, all three candidates running for the two at-large seats on the city council remember better times for the independent city lodged between Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
They also know this is no time for nostalgia.
Solving financial issues will be the chief mission for the Radford City Council over the next two years. The three candidates, one of those an incumbent, one a former member and the third, who has raised six children within the city limits, know that the top two vote-getters will be expected to help their community work through some difficult times. “The budget is definitely a challenge for sure,” said current council member Kellie Artrip. “It’s definitely the top priority. … We’re definitely not where we need to be.”
Artrip was one of four candidates elected to council in 2022, but she and Bobby Davis finished third and fourth, respectively, behind Seth Gillespie and Jessie Foster. The top two vote-getters won four-year seats, while Artrip and Davis filled two unexpired terms that would be back up for election in 2024.
Davis chose not to seek re-election, leaving Artrip as the lone incumbent.
She is not the only candidate with experience.
Guy Wohlford, who graduated from Radford High School in 1965 and has lived in the city all his life other than the time he attended Hampden-Sydney College, is a former member of city council, the school board and election board. (Corrected Nov. 1)
His decision had nothing to do with the feeling that he needed to get involved again, but he felt obligated to throw his hat in the ring when, with two weeks left before the filing deadline, no one had entered the race. “If you looked at my bucket list, doing this was nowhere on my bucket list,” Wohlford said.
Carl Mitchell, the third candidate, has lived in Radford for more than 30 years and is a former member of Radford’s school board. He believes his professional experience as a fundraiser and part of the leadership at one of Virginia Tech’s most successful business partnerships can help Radford come up with ideas to fill some anticipated revenue shortfalls as a result of the closing of several businesses, including Moog Industries, which plans to completely shut down its plant that employed more than 150 workers, at the end of the year.
Another task facing the council is hiring a new city manager to replace David Ridpath, who announced in August that, after 15 years in the job, he will be retiring at the end of the year.
The city is also in the process of paying off a $4 million loan it obtained to cover city expenses in anticipation of future tax revenues. It is expected to be paid off by next June but also brought to light some of the financial troubles the city is facing.
Following are what the candidates have to say about their primary reasons for running and what issues they will be focusing on if elected:
Kellie Artrip
Artrip, who holds degrees from both Radford High School and Radford University, has worked as both a bank examiner and auditor and said those experiences will be useful now for the city.
“It’s been a tumultuous two years for sure,” Artrip said. “It hasn’t been the normal council stint. The next four years, the beginning of that term probably won’t be either. But toward the end, I hope to help the city get to a better place.”
Getting to a better financial place could mean additional taxes for city residents, who have traditionally enjoyed some of the lowest property tax rates in the region, she said. Costs could also be cut by temporarily reducing some services as well, such as cutting costs in city departments, eliminating curbside leaf removal, reducing operation hours at the city’s rec center, and raising prices for services such as sanitation, water and electricity.
“Nobody is going to be happy about raising taxes,” she said. “But I pay these taxes, too, and I don’t want them to go up either. We’ll definitely try to do everything we can before that happens. It’s not a fix-all. We’re not just going to raise taxes and expect that’s going to solve all our problems.”
Artrip said she has found during her conversations with voters that many fear if financial conditions do not improve, Radford’s status as an independent city could be in danger. She said those types of interactions convinced her that she should run for another term.
“I’ve gotten some invaluable experience over the past two years that I think will definitely be an invaluable asset for the next four years,” she said. “I’ve been in all the meetings. I’ve been involved in hiring the next city manager, so I already have the back knowledge. I’m hoping that I can get people’s votes based on the hard work I’ve put in.”
Carl Mitchell
Mitchell has spent a significant part of his career at Virginia Tech working to create partnerships between the university and private industries to further the school’s research capabilities and other endeavors. Most of his efforts currently focus on the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
He said that as Radford tries to replace lost businesses such as Moog and looks for tenants for the West Radford Commerce Park, the focus should be on attracting technology-based businesses that will be steady customers for the city’s water and electrical services and increase employment.
He said the perks of living in Radford, such as a quality school system and dependable services, are already a good draw for prospective businesses. The city just needs to find the right fit.
“We have a solid and excellent school system,” Mitchell said. “People want to live in our community. And businesses will come because they know their children will be well-educated.
So it’s a hand-and-glove collaboration. And if we’re targeting a specific type of industry, we need to make sure the school system is reflecting some of that in their training.”
Mitchell said he believes the city needs to be aggressive in its economic development. While he supports the plan to use the $4 million revenue anticipation note to cover costs until anticipated tax revenues arrive later this year, he said it’s not a practice that should be used multiple times.
He supports keeping the tax increases that came as a result of recent property reassessments but also said some uncomfortable budget cuts will have to be made.
“If we have to cut the budget and we have to reduce any [services], my perspective is that it needs to be an across-the-board budget reduction,” he said. “… If our city leadership has done as good of a job as it could in hiring divisional directors, those individuals should be in partnership with us to determine how they handle a budget reduction.”
Mitchell said he has focused on the economic needs of the community during his campaign and will continue that practice if elected.
“Like every small town in America, we face challenges, but challenges like this always open up new opportunities,” he said. “We have to keep thinking forward and build some progress to remain an independent city. We can do it, but it will take the efforts of the entire community.”
Guy Wohlford
Wohlford’s first term on the council began in 1988, and he acknowledges that the issues facing the city in a post-COVID world are much different now.
“I’d have to say it was a better time to be in Radford,” said Wohlford, who has spent much of his working life as an insurance salesman. “One big difference is [the city] had money.”
Wohlford said the evolution of his current campaign began when he became aware of the budget issues facing the city and its need to have people step up to help work through those problems.
“I started listening and started looking to see who was going to run,” he said. “Two weeks prior to the closing, no one had filed paperwork. That just concerned me greatly.”
Wohlford said he was glad to see that Artrip and Mitchell also entered the race, but he is also concerned that too many residents of the city seem to have little desire to become more involved.
“People are becoming complacent,” he said. “Too many residents didn’t even know we were in financial trouble in the city. They don’t keep up with what’s going on in the city, and that troubles me to no extent.”
Wohlford said that first and foremost, Radford must make sure that the real estate within the city limits that is not already under the control of Radford University and other nonprofit entities that don’t pay property taxes remains private.
“We’ve gotten to the point that we’re so small, that it’s hard to draw in businesses that will bring people in,” Wohlford said. “All we have are little shops. … It’s just hard for the small businesses to keep up with sales taxes.”
He said when he speaks to voters, he tells them he will work to try to bring back a better balance between larger companies and the small businesses that have made Radford a great place to live in the past.
“I just tell them that I’ve lived here all of my life,” he said. “I love my city and want to see us remain an independent city, and I’m willing to put the time into keeping us that way.”
