Two Midlothian residents stand up for Shewmake
Dear Editor,

It is apparent from reading Larry Miller's letter to the editor [Jan. 10] that he doesn't know Will Shewmake, and he is oblivious to all Will has done for Midlothian. As I understand it, Mr. Miller lives at the other end of the county. I doubt he has ever spoken with Will.

Unlike Mr. Miller, I know Will well, and it is no accident that those who know Will best are among his strongest supporters. I first met Will in the 1990s when he served as Midlothian's planning commissioner. I have also seen Will serve our community as a fellow member of the Midlothian Rotary where he has been elected as our club's upcoming president. Whether through government service, the Rotary, the Midlothian YMCA, Huguenot Little League or coaching soccer, Will has consistently tried to make Midlothian a better place. We need a community leader in the General Assembly like Will who lives in Chesterfield and has children in our public schools.

In my opinion, we don't need a former member of [Richmond] City Council like Manoli Loupassi whose claim to fame is voting to raise the city meals tax. (Richmond residents now pay a six cent meals tax on top of the five cent sales tax while also paying $1.29 in real estate tax.) Most of the county supervisors and Dr. Jim Schroeder, Midlothian's school board representative, all support Will because they know he will fight for what is best for Chesterfield, unlike Loupassi who favors "solving" the transportation crisis by declaring that counties pay for roads.

Will understands that a scheme to foist unfunded mandates on the county is not leadership; it's called passing the buck. Finally, after attacking various Republican officials (the irony apparently escapes Mr. Miller), Mr. Miller argues Will isn't a "good" Republican because he only recently joined the local Republican committee. If tenure on a local political committee is his definition of a Republican, then Mr. Miller has an extraordinarily narrow view of what it means to be a Republican, and the polls could prove an awfully lonely place for him.
Bill Stinson
Midlothian