By Taylor Boyd
The belief that he can do a lot of good for the county is what’s driving Rick Swink’s campaign for the Smith River District seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors.
Swink, 40, will face Malcolm Roach Sr. in the November election. Incumbent Doug Perry is not seeking reelection.
Swink said he never set out to become a politician. “People who really want to be politicians aren’t the ones who should be in those positions,” he said. “This really isn’t something I’ve had a strong desire to do for an extended period of time. I didn’t go to school to be a politician. But I think I can do a good job for the people of the county rather than for a political career.”
To prepare, Swink said he’s watched every board meeting since moving to Patrick County and has attended at least one in person. He’s also reviewed recent county financial audits and studied budget trends.
“The audits seem to be pretty decent. We just need to do a little bit better from a financial standpoint. I think there’s a little bit of unnecessary spending that’s out there that can be reduced to try and drive down that debt that people seem to be pretty concerned about,” he said.
Swink said he’s also been meeting with as many residents as possible to learn about their concerns and priorities.
If elected, he said he’ll bring his background in finance and management to the board. “While personal finances are different from public finances, I’ve managed multi-million-dollar budgets back when I was in property management,” he said. “I’m familiar with large budgets and making sure they work.”
Swink said he believes his approachable nature and people skills will help him serve effectively.
While he believes the county’s finances are improving, Swink said fiscal management remains the county’s biggest challenge. “We’ve got a responsibility to the taxpayers to be good stewards of their funds,” he said. “I believe I can help ensure that happens — or at least try. I’m only one vote of five, so there’s only so much I can do.”
If elected, Swink said the first thing he’ll focus on is sitting down and thoroughly looking through the county’s budget. “And voting on things to be as financially efficient as possible,” he added.
Swink said many residents have expressed concerns about utility-scale solar energy projects, but he hasn’t heard anyone say anything positive about them or speak in their favor. “So that’s obviously a concern for folks here,” he said.
While he supports renewable energy “in concept,” Swink said large-scale solar and wind projects aren’t practical. “With wind, the amount of money and materials that goes into those turbines exceeds the benefit over their lifetime,” he said. “Solar is great on a small scale — for backup power at home — but on a utility scale, it’s a Band-Aid. It can’t be the only solution.”
He said smaller issues he’s heard about include the need for more tourism, economic development and attracting businesses to drive job creation.
Swink said he believes the county should continue its focus on attracting industrial and manufacturing jobs. “Many people I know here work in blue-collar jobs,” he said. “That’s where we can grow.”
With the next property reassessment scheduled for 2027, Swink expects assessments will rise — and with them, tax concerns. “The tax rate by default is going to go down because you can only raise taxes but so much each year. My goal would be to minimize that as much as possible. You know, bills still need to get paid, and getting that debt paid off is a priority. You can’t go out and just eliminate the taxes, but reducing the increases as much as possible is important,” he said.
Swink said transparency is another key issue, and he believes transparency means discussing with the public openly anything that legally can be discussed.
While some personnel or negotiation matters must remain private, “anything that can be public should be public. I know there are certain things like personnel discipline-type things and other things, when you’re talking about negotiating things that need to stay kind of hidden…for strategic reasons from the negotiation standpoint. But anything that can be public should be public,” he said.
While he hasn’t attended a closed meeting and isn’t familiar with the closed-door discussions, Swink said the county should minimize the items discussed to increase transparency.
He also believes receiving input from the public is important as a board member as the supervisors are there to serve the county’s voters and taxpayers.
“We’re not there to do our own bidding, and so knowing exactly what the folks of the county are looking for is important. So having that public input just reaching out” is important, he said.
Noting a fear of public speaking might prevent some residents from voicing their opinions, Swink said he’d encourage people to call or email him to talk about things.
“There’s different venues and avenues of getting that public input, and I hope people will take advantage of that,” he said.
As a member of the Smith River Rescue Squad and the Woolwine Volunteer Fire Department, Swink said he understands the challenges facing local emergency agencies, especially with volunteer recruitment and retention.
“I don’t think I have an answer for that,” he said. “It’s something I’ve heard from both squads and at fire and rescue meetings. A lot of people just don’t have the time — if you get a call and have to transport someone to a hospital, that’s three hours out of your day.”
He said reopening the hospital in Stuart will help reduce call times, but more solutions are needed.
Swink also supports investing in a new county radio system to eliminate dead zones. “There’s no radio reception in parts of the gorge area, so if there’s a fire or search-and-rescue situation, someone has to drive to relay messages,” he said. “Adding a repeater or two could really help.”
Swink graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in residential property management. He worked in real estate and property management from 2007 to 2019 before transitioning to working as a financial advisor for Edward Jones.
Swink lives with his American bulldog, Sam, and his chickens. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, camping, riding his motorcycle, and spending time with his girlfriend and daughter.
