By Marsell Bustos
Contributing Writer

Powhatan Today recently asked District 2 Supervisor Marsell Bustos to offer his thoughts on his experience serving on the board so far. The following is his response.

Early October 2009 was a sad time for Powhatan County and especially District 2. We lost our pillar of strength, Supervisor Charlie Green. I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Charlie during the campaign of 2007. I came to greatly admire Charlie and the day after the election, I asked him what I could do to serve him with his visions for the county. He immediately put me on the transportation committee.

Mid October 2009, the Board held a special meeting to consider how to assure District 2 was represented in Charlie’s absence.  This process to replace a supervisor was unprecedented and the Board considered qualified District 2 citizens.  My life changed with a phone call from the Chairman of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors asking me to accept the appointment as District 2 County Supervisor.

It was unexpected, unprecedented and an incredible opportunity to make our County a better place to work and live. The first pressing task at hand was preventing the rezoning of Mosely. Many concerned citizens contacted me urging the County not to change the rural, peaceful character of Mosely. Owen Walker, District 2 Planning Commissioner, was invaluable. And thus we rewrote the Comp Plan to keep Mosely just like it is.

The next critical issue and the most challenging was the Budget. Fortunately, my experience as a Naval Officer in the Pentagon, dealing with billions of dollars, served me well. Jason Moore, District 2 School Board Representative, sat down with me in his home and discussed the School Budget, which is almost 70% of our County budget.  There is little doubt Dr. Meara, Powhatan School Superintendent, and the School Board, has built one of the finest school systems in the state of Virginia. My children have attended these schools.  District 2 priorities were to protect as many teachers as possible, to preserve the quality of our schools, and to minimize the tax burden on our citizens during difficult economic times.  Our Senior Citizens are critical to our success as a county, and I understand their frustration with taxes. Years from now we will be judged by how we treated each other during challenging times.

One of Charlie Green’s priorities was building a new Fire Station in District 2. He realized that the old fire station no longer served the needs of the citizens and was unsafe for the volunteer fighters.  The Huguenot volunteer firefighters confirmed this need with me. It was my pleasure to work with the new Fire Chief, Rick Bucher, to emphasize this need to the other Supervisors. As Chief Bucher likes to say, these are the men and women you want prepared on the worst day of your life.  I am thrilled that we will now have a new fire station. This new fire station will for the first time provide ambulance service, house a satellite Sheriff’s office, and a large community center. I continue to gather information from the citizens and from Wal-mart to make the best decision for the future of our county, not just the immediate, but the long term effect on our roads and our quality of life. I encourage you to let your Supervisors know where you stand. Your opinion matters.

Recently, an old Navy fighter pilot buddy from my days aboard the USS Saratoga called and said he heard I was a County Supervisor. He wanted to know if I had lost my mind. Maybe I have, but I know I am in good company.

A huge thank you goes to my fellow supervisors and county employees for helping me through every step of this journey. I would be lost without the guidance of people like Chairman Cosby, County Administrator Bishop, my beautiful wife, my two daughters, and my mother-in-law for listening to me and supporting me. Most importantly, thank you to the citizens of Powhatan County. You are always honest and forthright with me and that makes my job so much easier. You have really opened your hearts and minds to me and for that I am forever grateful.

Please continue to convey your thoughts and opinions to me so I know how to guide us into the future.

I feel truly blessed to have served as your County Supervisor for the past 10 months.

Most respectfully, Marsell Bustos