By Grace St.Germain, Intern for Director Laura Thompson

Prior to their victories in the latest elections, James River Soil and Water interviewed Board of Supervisor member Mark Miller and Congressman Rob Wittman. To find out more about them, continue reading!

Midlothian Board of Supervisor Mark Miller

The newest representative elected into office is Democrat Mark Miller. Mark Miller is a longtime resident of Chesterfield County’s Midlothian Magisterial District and has experience serving the community through his work as a mental health professional for Chesterfield Mental Health and for Brightpoint Community College for the past 8 years. Mark Miller will serve through his newly won position as a member of the Midlothian Board of Supervisors for Chesterfield County. In this position, his responsibilities include creating local legislation, budgeting, and voting on issues in public meetings. As for his goals while in office, Mark Miller is focusing on managing growth regarding pollution and the overcrowding of schools, strengthening the public school system through technology, engagement from radiating teachers, and building a thriving economy with the filing of storefronts, low taxes, and supporting new businesses.

Mark Miller was raised to value the environment due to his father’s work at the Department of Agriculture for forty-two years as a research chemist. With his new position, Mark Miller plans to prioritize the environment through his specific decision-making and requires that businesses and developed enterprises become environmentally aware while holding them to a standard of good environmental practices. Alongside that, Miller believes that now is the time to address and engage with healing actions regarding climate change. To do this, Miller suggested water conservation and moving towards electric cars.

Congressman Rob Wittman

The next representative, Republican Rob Wittman, has been serving Virginia’s First Congressional District since 2007 through the U.S. House of Representatives. Since 2007, Rob Wittman has served as the Vice Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee, Co-Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, and House Natural Resources Committee. While in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rob Wittman’s responsibilities are to introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendments, and serve on committees. As a Congressman, Rob Wittman plans to prioritize repairing the economy by fighting for pro-growth policies to set our younger generations up for success and get people back to work, providing the individuals within the Armed Services/Veterans the ability to easily access educational and medical opportunities/benefits, and conserving our natural resources and encourage responsible stewardship of our land, water, and wildlife.

With the topic of the environment, Rob Wittman makes it a point to protect and heal our environment as much as possible. With climate change in mind, Rob Wittman believes the best actions would be promoting policies that encourage clean energy like nuclear, hydropower, natural gas, wind, and solar. Additionally, Wittman focuses on working on issues that are central to the Chesapeake Bay through policy creation. For example, his Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act, which increases coordination and transparency within Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, or his Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization Act, which is attempting to fully fund the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program for the next five years to ensure that states get the resources they need to comply with their obligations to protect and preserve the Bay.