Conservatism Should Start at Home—With Local Needs, Not Party Lines

Regarding Mr. Ranieri’s letter against Hugh Henry, I would like to offer a few counterpoints.

First, if we are to fear rootlessness, Mr. Henry is anything but rootless, being a lifelong member of this community. Even if Mr. Henry may have political differences with Mr. Ranieri, perhaps he has some wisdom to offer from a lifetime of living in this place. Conservatives are, after all, first and foremost localists. In going all in on the Trump presidency, many conservatives seem to have forgotten this point. Local politics will, by nature of the diversity of communities, geographies, and ethnicities in our vast nation, look different than Washington politics.

Secondly, I believe Mr. Ranieri’s wife serves on the new library board. I may be mistaken about the connection, but regardless, it should still be pointed out that this board, created by the current BOS, is actively trying to bring in a corporate monopoly to run a locally run library. That singular move, more than anything else, signals a desire for a “rootless Godless corporate reservation.”

Third, Mr. Ranieri appears to be conflating broader problems with our economy (urban sprawl, unsustainable agricultural practices, rising data usage with the advent of AI requiring data centers) with Mr. Henry himself. Running a campaign about what you are against is an easy card to play. A better strategy is to look at what a candidate is for.

In comments offered before the BOS recently, Mr. Henry mentioned infrastructure needs in response to parking issues at our hiking trails. This was THE FIRST TIME I have heard anyone running for an elected office mention this outstanding public need. It is probably THE MOST important issue we have to tackle, and the current BOS has wasted years bogging us down in a counterproductive attack on our local library (see point number one). If anything, Mr. Henry appears to have a much more intuitive grasp of what is needed in Warren County than anyone I have yet heard who is running for office.

I do agree with Mr. Ranieri that we need better planning. This is why I am nervous about Supervisor Jamieson’s plans for a sports complex when we already have a strapped infrastructure. How are people going to get to and from this sports complex? Where are the pedestrian paths, public transit, and bike trails this county desperately needs to connect our nodes of commerce, housing, hiking trails, and public goods and services? Mr. Ranieri seems to fear low-income housing, but mixed usage, higher-density zoned- low-income housing with affordable public transit and pedestrian infrastructure could be a boon to young families in our area and our economy. Unless we solve the infrastructure problem, we are doomed to the current traffic nightmare even without Mr. Ranieri’s feared new arrivals.

Data centers seem to be popular with practically nobody, and I have far more trust in Mr. Henry, who at least seems to listen to his future constituents. This stands in outright contrast to the current supervisors (minus Cheryll Cullers), who appear to listen only to political strategies to control a small minority of cronies within their community.

As the election draws near, let’s remember what it means to be a conservative. Let’s look at both what people say and how they act….….and not what they are simply against.

Anna M. Hatke
Christendom College ‘03
North River District
Warren County, VA

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