Mayor Unopposed; 4 Vie for 3 Town Council Seats in Middleburg

By Bill Brubaker (Contact)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

• Editor's note: This story is part of the 2008 Voters Guide.

In her run for mayor two years ago, Betsy Allen Davis got 122 votes, which in tiny Middleburg was good enough to give her 93 percent of the vote. Her opponent mustered two votes, and write-in candidates got seven.

Davis's path to a second term might be even easier. She is unopposed in Tuesday's election and, barring a surge of write-in votes, seems headed to another lopsided victory.

"One of the reasons I'm running again is because I had an awful lot of people asking me to, which made me feel good," said Davis, a former emergency medical technician who manages her family's Middleburg gift shop.

Three Town Council seats are also up for grabs and have drawn four candidates, including two incumbents: real estate agent C.C. "Bundles" Murdock and builder Trowbridge Littleton.

Littleton is founder and president of Melmore, a Middleburg construction management and land development company.

In a recent interview, he cited his council experience — he was appointed in December 2006 and served from 1974 to 1994 — as a reason he should be reelected. He said his expertise in the construction industry also can help the town with its most urgent need.

"We need to upgrade the water and sewer [systems] to meet the new, more stringent state requirements," Littleton said.

Murdock is an agent for Middleburg Real Estate Sotheby's International Realty who once served as the State Department's deputy protocol chief.

Asked about the town's most pressing problem, she said: "Maintaining and stabilizing our financial situation. A couple of years ago, we were not in a very good position. We are almost on track now, and we need to continue in that direction."

Murdock said Middleburg officials also must monitor the impact of the 168-room Salamander Resort & Spa, scheduled to open next year, on the town's infrastructure.

The other Town Council candidates are Kathy jo Shea, co-owner of Middleburg's Solstice Healing Center, and Sara E. "Sally" Bolton, owner of the town's Corner Garden & Flower Shop.

Shea is a massage therapist who has worked with rural development and sexual assault programs. She said she hopes to focus on the town's water system and quality-of-life issues.

"With the growth occurring in Loudoun County, we need to ask: How do we ensure that we keep some of the qualities of a small town?" she said.

Bolton is seeking a council seat "to do something to preserve the water, the trees and the natural beauty of this village."

"The most important thing this village needs to deal with is preserving, supporting and repairing the water infrastructure," she said.

Davis, whose family owns the Fun Shop on West Washington Street, also spoke of the need to "get our old infrastructure current. I mean, we still have old pipes."

She echoed a concern of many longtime Middleburg residents.

"There's always the fear of losing our personality with all of the development — especially in the areas of shopping and housing — that's going on around us," she said.

The Town Council has eight members, including the mayor and vice mayor. Council members are elected to four-year terms, the mayor to a two-year term.

Tagged: Mayor Betsy Davis, Middleburg, politics

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