By Taylor Boyd
Five years after ending her term on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, former Smith River District representative Crystal Harris is seeking the seat again in the Nov. 4 election.
Harris will face interim representative Richard Cox, who is also seeking the post. The winner will serve the remaining three years of the current term.
Harris previously served on the board for 21 years. She said she decided to seek the position again because she felt the need to work as a team with the Board of Supervisors.
“I did say we need new eyes,” at the end of her last term, “but what I think I said was ‘young, new eyes.’ We’ve had a hard time recruiting the young people to get involved. With the community behind her encouraging me to run again and with a lot of thought and consideration, I decided that I could be a benefit to the county,” she said.
Harris said her more than two decades of experience on the board gives her knowledge she could use to serve the community.
“You have to be patient. County government does not move as fast as your business work does. You have to follow procurement plans, and you just have to be patient and work with the people, which I feel like I did work with the people,” she said.
Harris said she answered residents’ questions during her previous terms and, when she did not know an answer, would find someone who did and conduct her own research.
In addition to her experience on the board, Harris said she brings common sense to the position.
“I do feel like my common sense with what the people in Patrick County wants and I’ve always been open to anything. I’ve worked with people who had issues with their roads, because we’re at the grace of VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation),” she said.
During her tenure on the board, Harris said the Enterprise Zone was created to provide incentives to businesses in each district.
“When I came on board there weren’t any, and we worked as a team and each district got the Enterprise Zone, one after the other. I think it benefited the people. I worked with the economic development board to try and keep what we have, and I think that’s an important thing to keep the people that are here – the employers – to keep them here in Patrick County as much as we can,” she said.
Harris said she also believes the county should use its existing resources to recruit businesses to the area.
“We’re not going to get large companies because they moved overseas. We need to keep what we got, that is important to Patrick County, the workforce. We got great workforce here,” she said.
If elected, Harris said she would work to retain existing employers and recruit more small businesses to Patrick County.
“Patrick County is wide open for tourism. If we promote more tourism and get more people coming through, they may want to bring their business here. I have worked with other businesses to try and get them in. Even now, even though I’m not on the board, I still keep an open eye for anyone I think would be great for this county. We need to keep our beauty,” Harris said.
Harris also believes the U.S. 58 expansion project will benefit county residents.
She does not support data centers being built in Patrick County.
“The research that I have done, I don’t think it would be a good fit for Patrick County or any part of the area,” she said.
Harris has served with the Smith River Rescue Squad for almost 40 years.
Caption:
Crystal Harris is seeking the Smith River District seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors in the November election.
