Robert J. Traister, Jr. supports Shae Parker for Supervisor in upcoming election

My father was Bob Traister, former councilman and mayor of Front Royal, who died of ALS in 2007. During his illness, Shae and Lisa Parker were regular visitors to his home, and I’ll come back to that in a moment.

Dad knew Shae and Lisa from WZRV/WFTR. A lifelong radio enthusiast, dad worked as a part-time engineer for the station in the early 2000s, maintaining the radio equipment (a hobby he got paid for, he told me). Lisa was the sales and marketing account executive, and Shae was the host of “News at Noon” and “Valley Today.”

On one of their visits in 2007, Shae told dad that he’d given it a lot of thought, and that he wanted to run for town council. He asked dad for his blessing on that, and dad told Shae he’d be a strong addition to the council.

Later that evening, when I was visiting with dad, I asked about the visit. Dad told me Shae had asked him about running for council, and a few moments later he said, “He’s going to have a hard time.” I asked why and he said, “Because he cares more about the community than his own interests.”

Shae was appointed to the council in 2008 – like my father was nearly 40 years earlier – and was an independent voice for the citizens of Front Royal. In 2010, he was reelected to council, and he served until 2014.

When Shae said he was planning to run for the Board of Supervisors, I heard dad’s words in my head: “He’s going to have a hard time.”

Shae is a strong supporter of his community and was a dedicated, non-partisan public servant during his time on the council. As a public servant, Shae is a pit-bull when it comes to doing what is best for the people he represents. He doesn’t care about party affiliations; he cares about what’s best for the people — a brave stance in the current political climate.

I asked Shae why he decided to use “Vote for Warren County” as his campaign slogan, since he’s running in the North River District. He said that once he’s in office, he’ll be working on things that impact all of the citizens of Warren County, and he wanted his campaign to reflect that.

Like my dad said in 2007, Shae Parker cares about his community. He publicly questioned what was going on at the EDA when he was on Council, and subsequently worked to help expose the corruption at the EDA, and, as we’ve seen, throughout the Board of Supervisors.

It’s time to end the self-serving cronyism in Warren County and elect someone who will serve the citizens instead of their own interests, and who will put their duty to the citizens first.

Shae Parker is the best choice for Supervisor, and I encourage the citizens of the North River district to vote for Shae Parker on November 5, 2019.

Robert J. Traister, Jr. 
Front Royal, Virginia