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Meetings

Supervisor to address impacts of development

Orange County Supervisor J. Bryan Nicol will speak to the LOW Democratic Club on March 13 about issues facing Lake of the Woods as a result of the proposed Wilderness Crossing development on Route 3, which is expected to include data centers as well as other commercial and residential enterprises.

The club’s meeting will take place in Classroom 2 of the LOW Community Center. A gathering period will begin at 1 p.m. and the program will commence at 1:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend, regardless of political affiliation.

Nicol, who has represented District 5, which includes Lake of the Woods, since 2023, has been an outspoken critic of the Wilderness Crossing project, saying it poses significant water and utility, traffic, noise and other issues that would affect the community.

Nicol is a former deputy attorney general of the State of Indiana and served as commissioner and deputy commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. He is currently chief strategy officer for an architecture, engineering and consulting firm. He and his family have lived in Lake of the Woods for 15 years.

The LOW Democratic Club regularly meets at the community center at 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month as well as on social hours at 5 p.m. at the LOW Clubhouse four times a year. The next social hour will be Thursday, March 27.

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Campaigns

Miller seeks House seat

Forrest Miller, a retired U.S. Army veteran from Spotsylvania County has announced that he will seek to represent the 63 District, which includes Lake of the Woods, in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Assuming his nomination by the state party, Miller will oppose incumbent Republican Delegate Phillip A. Scott in the November 4, general election. nO other Democrat has undertaken a campaign for the seat. The deadline for filing is April 3.

Miller was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2000 and attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. In May 2009, he graduated from the Warrant Officer Candidate Course and later retired in 2021 as a Chief Warrant Officer 3.  

During his military career he served tours as the trip site director, White House Communications Agency; Commander’s Communication Team director, U.S. Northern  Command/NORAD, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and network operations director, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

He served combat tours in Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where he was awarded the Bronze Star medal. He also deployed to numerous locations such as the United Nations General Assembly, New York City and the multiple G8 Summits around the world in support of the President of the United States while stationed at the White House Communication Agency.

Miller holds a Masters in Network and Communication Management, a Bachelors of Science in Technical Management and an Associate of Applied Science in Network Administration.

He is married to Jamie Miller, who is a veteran and former law enforcement officer. The couple have two children, who attend Spotsylvania County Public Schools.

“As recently as last year, I would have told you that I was a moderate Republican,” Miller wrote on his web site. “However, today that is no longer the case. I just could not follow where that party was going any longer.

“In my military career, I learned how important values such as honor, respect, integrity, and selfless-service are. I believe that these are fundamental character traits that make us Americans and are hard to find in today’s Republican leadership,” he said.

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Uncategorized

Battlefields at risk

Shannon Doherty, education manager for Historic Germanna, represented the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition at the LOW Democratic Club on Feb. 13, giving a very informative presentation on issues facing Orange County as a result of the planned Wilderness Crossing development on Route 3.

Ms. Doherty attempted to show a video describing the threats from the development, but could not due to technical issues. She has provided the video below to supplement her presentation.

Categories
Meetings

Battlefield Coalition representative to speak on development

Shannon Doherty, education manager for Historic Germanna, will represent the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition at the LOW Democratic Club on Feb. 13, speaking about issues facing Orange County as a result of the planned Wilderness Crossing development on Route 3.

The 2,600-acre development is expected to include data centers as well as other commercial and residential enterprises.

The club’s meeting will take place in Classroom 2 of the LOW Community Center. A gathering period will begin at 1 p.m. and the program will commence at 1:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend, regardless of political affiliation.

The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition (whose partners include the American Battlefield Trust, Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Cedar Mountain Battlefield Foundation, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, Historic Germanna, Journey Through Hallowed Ground, National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Piedmont Environmental Council and Preservation Virginia) formed to build legal and public pressure on officials to reconsider allowing the project to move forward and to educate the public about the proposed development and its impact on the battlefield.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition announced that the Wilderness Battlefield was named one of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic places due to the threat of a massive 2,600-acre development that is proposed for neighboring land in Orange County.

The American Battlefield Trust, the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, and neighboring landowners have filed a lawsuit challenging the rezoning.

Categories
Meetings

Election expert to speak

Dave Leichtman, director of global elections for Microsoft Corp., will be guest speaker at the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club’s January 9 meeting.

The meeting will begin with a gathering period at 1 p.m. in Classroom I at the LOW Community Center. The program will start at 1:30 p.m.

Leichtman’s experience has given him a informed perspective on the state of democracy throughout the the world and expertise on the accuracy and security of elections in the United States.

As part of Microsoft’s Democracy Forward program, Leichtman leads nonpartisan civic engagement efforts and works with election officials and those upholding democracy worldwide to address tech, security, and AI needs. He also leads the company’s internal U.S. and international election strategy.

According to its website, the goal of the Democracy Forward program is “to preserve, protect, and advance the fundamentals of democracy by safeguarding open and secure democratic processes, promoting a healthy information ecosystem, and advocating for corporate civic responsibility.”

Leichtman has held this and similar roles for 10 years at Microsoft. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at several U.S. political technology firms. He also served as state leadership of Virginia Democrats for over a decade. Dave holds a B.S. degree in physics and computer science from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. degree in particle physics from the University of Washington. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.


Microsoft’s Democracy Forward Program