Letter to the Editor

My name is Bridge Littleton and I am running to succeed Betsy Davis as our next Mayor. One of the greatest qualities that Betsy has brought to our Town and the Office of Mayor is

being a person of action, not words. She has tirelessly represented us at every level, engaging with all part of our community and government to make Middleburg heard and we owe her a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. This is one the most important roles of a Mayor and a chief reason that I have chosen to run, to continue her mission of protecting the historic community of Middleburg with action. I know this is something of great importance to all of us.

Middleburg as a community has worked extremely hard for many years to keep our town and our way of life the way it is. Despite this effort, growth is creeping closer. We on the Town Council have the authority to control growth and development inside Middleburg’s borders. That border, however, is where our authority ends. All development outside of the town is controlled by Loudoun County and its Board of Supervisors. It is only our influence there and the relationships we have and strengthen with them which will restrain this encroachment.

Loudoun is currently rewriting its entire land use and zoning plan, known as the Comprehensive Plan. This process was named as Envision Loudoun and has been underway for over a year. It is headed by a special committee of 26 individuals chosen by the Loudoun Board of Supervisors. This “Stakeholder Committee” meets every other Monday from 6pm to 9 PM in Leesburg to write our future. I have been attending each of these sessions since last summer and have sought to ensure Middleburg’s priorities are represented and understood. As a former Planning Commissioner for Middleburg I understand how important this process is and that we must be represented now because after the plan is written, we will be stuck with it for the next 20 years.

Just this week, the Stakeholder Committee met again to review it’s plans for the small towns of western Loudoun, including Middleburg. The plans and policies which were presented were extremely concerning, not because of what they said, but because that didn’t really say anything! Much of what had been incorporated into prior plans for preserving your heritage, protecting our agricultural/farming areas and the open spaces around Middleburg and Western Loudoun had been removed. This leaves us at risk as it does not express the intent of the County to protect these spaces. For these plans, silence is deadly.

Late that night after the meeting ended I spoke at length with the Director of Planning Ricky Barker and the County Planner on his staff responsible for these policies and expressed Middleburg’s extreme concerns and worries that our way of life was not being adequately protected by this latest set of policies. These concerns were sincerely heard, and the County agreed to actively engage now with each town government of western Loudoun, including Middleburg, to safeguard that our needs are met in this new plan and to establish an ongoing dialogue between Middleburg and the County. This is one of the most important functions of our next Mayor, to actively engage. We are a small community but with hard work, we have a large, loud voice and can make a difference. I truly look forward to serving our community as your next Mayor and continuing to work hard to protect the town we all cherish. I cannot thank Betsy enough for her decades of service to us all.

If you have any questions on this or any other issue facing our Town, please email me at bridgelittleton@gmail.com, or call 571-276-7730. Thank you for your support and be sure to vote on May 1st.

Please visit my website at www.bridgeformiddleburg.com, and follow on Facebook and Instagram at “Bridge for Middleburg Mayor” .

Bridge Littleton

Middleburg, Va