When she announced that she had decided to run for a third term as the District 3 representative for the Bedford County Board of Supervisors, Charla Bansley mentioned several of the past and present conservative-leaning organizations she had worked with over the years, including the late Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority political organization in the 1980s, the Liberty Counsel and Concerned Women for America.
“Over the last nearly eight years, I’ve taken all of that experience to work for families in Bedford County,” she said. “I still feel that calling — to work for you.”
She also notes on her campaign website that she believes “there is still much to do,” and that is why she is seeking reelection.
“I remain passionate about keeping your taxes low, attracting more jobs and businesses to our county, and supporting law enforcement who keep our families and community safe,” she said.
Bansley will find out if voters in District 3 want her to continue, following the conclusion of the June 17 Republican primary, where she is being challenged by Brent Epperson.
This will be the second time Bansley is involved in a primary race. In 2017, she won a close race to unseat incumbent Steve Wilkerson. She won a second term in 2021 after running unopposed in both the primary and general elections.
Epperson is running for political office for the first time and said he was a reluctant candidate at first.
What’s on the Bedford County primary ballot
The only Republican primary in Bedford is in District 3 for the board of supervisors seat. You can see where Brent Epperson stands on the Bedford County page on our Voter Guide; Charla Bansley did not respond to multiple invites to answer our questionnaire.
Statewide, Democrats are holding primaries to pick their nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general. You can see how they answered our questionnaire on the main page of our Voter Guide.
Voters in District 3 will need to state which ballot they want, the Republican primary or the Democratic primary. You can’t vote in both.
That changed, he said, when his concern about his No. 1 issue, high-density housing, became so prevalent in his mind that he had to throw his hat into the race.
“I wish I could have stayed on the porch and let somebody else handle this,” he said. “But I’m just simply not going to sit idly by and have my friends and neighbors in this community destroyed by high-density housing.”
Epperson said he supports much of what Bansley has worked for, including avoiding tax increases, but he believes she has not worked to prevent housing projects that provide more dwellings in places where the county’s infrastructure can handle.
“The developers come in and get a small piece of land, get a special use permit and then the tight-squeeze buildings go up. … Bedford County’s peace, beauty, tranquility and dignity are at stake.”
Epperson, who owns several media outlets in Central Virginia, said the concern for him comes with everything else that comes with rapid growth due to this type of housing.
“It overcrowds the roads, the schools and the classrooms,” he said. “In addition, when you have those events happen, you end up needing more school buses, school bus drivers.
Epperson went on to add that the projects lead to a need for more teachers, schools, recreation facilities and first responders.
To pay for that and the new schools, “we’ll be calling on the taxpayers to do it,” Epperson said. “This is the systematic way that high-density housing will raise your taxes.”
Epperson concedes that growth is inevitable, but his preference is for Bedford County to focus on sensible, affordable housing, which he doesn’t believe is being made available right now.
In her campaign material, Bansley lists what she believes to be the accomplishments during her time as a supervisor, which include what she calls fighting “against urban sprawl by following the Bedford County Comprehensive Plan that restricts development in the areas where the County has water and sewer infrastructure.”
Other accomplishments that she highlighted included:
- The addition of multiple deputies and school resource officers to the county’s payroll, as well as increased funding for first responders.
- The expansion of broadband access for residents in District 3.
- Opposition to corporate-sponsored solar farms.
- Attracting businesses and promoting job creation while maintaining Bedford’s agricultural values.
- Supporting homeschooling and other family-oriented legislation.
- She also endorsed Bedford County’s movement to be designated as a Second Amendment sanctuary.
Epperson said he appreciates much of what Bansley has accomplished during her two terms.
“We agree on so much, except there’s some issues that we don’t agree on at all,” he said. “I will never vote for high-density housing, and she always supports it.”
Bansley did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
