As one of the residents extremely interested to serve in that role and has brought some great stability and institutional knowledge with her, and we should all make a point to thank her for her continued service to the community. Now, we have to pick someone to fill that seat for the remainder of the term and help the council continue the great work it has been doing.

This election is going to be very different than the historic one we had in May. There were a lot of seats up for grabs, including the Mayor's, and we saw a record turnout for voters and tons of engagement around the election, which was a great thing for our town. All of us involved were extremely proud of not just the participation from the candidates, but from the public as well. This time, with just one council seat available and only two candidates, my hope is that there is less focus on the politics of it all, and more emphasis on what the position of being on the town council is all about… serving the local residents and businesses, supporting the town staff in the day-to-day operations of the town, planning for the future of our community, and being an ambassador for Middleburg.

As one of the candidates this fall, I am particularly focused on three things: our business community; development projects and the town brand. Admittedly, these are three HUGE issues to "focus" on, but they are critical to our daily lives and long-term future.

Economic Development is a term that you hear a lot if you attend or watch Town Council or various committee meetings. We have a lot of empty storefronts in town, not just on Washington St., but Madison and Federal as well. We need to identify the right mix of businesses to serve our local residents as well as our visitors and actively recruit them to Middleburg. We need to collect data on our existing businesses to show outsiders how great a place this is to have a store, restaurant, or office. Finally, we need to find creative and responsible ways to support our existing business community and the new ones we will be adding.

Development projects include a wide range of things. We have had what seems like an endless stream (pardon the pun) of water and road projects the past few years. There is a sidewalk project on Marshall St. planned for the fall. The town office is looking for a new and/or updated home, which is a massive undertaking. Submissions are being reviewed for a new website, which will need a ton of work and oversight over the next several months. These are all great examples of projects that need to be budgeted for, bid out, and managed in a careful, responsible manner.

Finally, the last thing I want to address is our town brand, which is a topic that is being talked about quite a bit. I think a lot of people are concerned about us changing the brand and losing our identity as a town or community. The way I see it is that our "brand" is what we portray to the outside world as a place to visit, dine, and shop. It is not our "identity," which is something that I don't think can be represented in a logo or website, so I think it is important to separate the two. Our brand will not change who we are; Middleburg will always be a place whose identity is wrapped up in all the amazing culture, natural beauty, and its people. That identity, along with all the things that are a part of it, is what I hope to preserve and build on as a member of the Town Council.

Over the next few months, I welcome the opportunity to speak with as many of you as possible about what your thoughts, opinions, hopes, and needs are so that I can represent our community to the best of my ability. Please feel free to reach out to me at chrisformiddleburg@gmail.com or stop me on the street to chat. I look forward to seeing you all around town and at some of the many amazing community events this fall!