Malcolm Roach plans to seek the Smith River District seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors in the upcoming November election.
Malcolm Roach plans to seek the Smith River District seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors in the November election.
Incumbent Doug Perry does not plan to seek reelection.
Roach, 70, said he decided to run because he feels the county’s spending is out of control.
“Patrick County is a county of low-income people. Most people here are on fixed income where they just” have their “Social Security, and with this tax hike that they’re proposing they’re going to tax people right out of their homes,” he said.
Roach said he assists and counsels about 15 local elderly couples with their monthly budgets. After paying bills and buying necessities, he said some of them are left with only $8 at the end of the month.
“This tax increase is going to put them in the spot where either they buy food and pay for their prescriptions or don’t buy food. It’s just going to hurt them, and I just don’t understand it,” he said.
Roach noted the county is about $36 million in debt and believes county leadership is worsening the situation.
If he moved to Henry County, just a few miles away, Roach said he could enjoy similar land, water, and natural features while paying $0.17 less per $100 in real estate taxes.
As a man of faith, Roach said he also takes issue with what he sees as the moral implications of passing debt on to future generations.
“What gives us the right to spend their money? Some of them aren’t even born yet, some of them haven’t even taken a breath yet and we already have them millions of dollars in debt. If I was them, I’d leave when I got older too,” he said.
If elected, Roach said he also wants to prioritize improvements in broadband access and supports the creation of a local trade school.
“What industry wants to move in with the kind of internet and telephone service that we have? I mean where I live, I don’t have cellular service at all. None, so that hurts us,” he said.
Roach said he has spoken with both the board and Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) about establishing a trade school, noting the lack of tradespeople in the area.
“If you want to hire a carpenter, an electrician, concrete guy—there’s no one. Nobody wants to come” here to do the work. “If our kids could graduate from a trade school they could come out of school, start a business, and within a month they’d have more work than they could handle,” he said.
Now retired, Roach said he has the time to fully commit to serving the county.
He currently volunteers on the Patrick County Electoral Board.
“I don’t take a pay. So, what I’d like to do is volunteer my time on the board of supervisors as long as they would put my pay directly toward the deficit,” he said.
While he has not yet submitted the official paperwork, Roach said he has gathered more than 100 of the required signatures from Smith River residents.
“So, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue by June,” he said.
Originally from Philadelphia, Roach moved to Patrick County more than a decade ago. He earned a B.A. in business administration from Peirce College and a degree in theology from the Philadelphia College of Bible.
He previously worked as a self-employed contractor specializing in historical church restorations.
