Freeman throws hat into ring for Waynesboro City Council

Retired basketball referee in the running for Ward C seat

Story by Chris Graham
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Waynesboro native Jeff Freeman announced on Friday that he will run for the Ward C seat on Waynesboro City Council in the May 4 city elections.

“It’s a huge leap. I’m excited about it. I’m not a trained politician. You probably could tell that,” Freeman told AugustaFreePress.com after a brief speech in front of 25 people in the Council Chambers at the Charles T. Yancey Municipal Building.

The speech was light on specifics. The closest that the recently retired basketball referee came to sharing his thoughts on city government matters was a brief statement on industrial development. “We need to keep the industry we already have here. I believe we can do that without raising taxes and imposing fees, and that’s my hope and vision,” Freeman said.

Asked later in an interview with AugustaFreePress.com to expound on his thoughts on the challenges facing the city, Freeman sidestepped. “I’m not going to have – we need to talk about those. There’s so many right now. I’m just anxious to get in, and during the campaign and the next few weeks, we’ll talk about some of those issues. I’m looking forward to that,” Freeman answered.

He did talk about what kind of City Council member he thinks he would be. “I will do my job. I will do my homework and listen,” Freeman said. “I don’t know it all, and even if I have an issue that I have an opinion on or view on, you always learn something listening to the other side. Everything has got more than one side. I think it’s important to learn both sides, and then when you make a decision, have a reason why you made the decision.”

Waynesboro Citizens for Responsible Spending president Vicky Ferreira spoke following Freeman’s public remarks to thank those in attendance. The group had said at a Jan. 26 meeting that it was actively recruiting a candidate to run for the Ward C seat, currently held by Nancy Dowdy, who has said that she will not run this spring for a third term on City Council.

Group leaders said at that January meeting that it had not endorsed a candidate in the Ward D race. Incumbent Lorie Smith is running for re-election and is being challenged by retired Virginia State Trooper Mike Harris, who was the featured speaker at the Citizens for Responsible Spending meeting in January.

Freeman is the only announced candidate in the Ward C race.

The deadline for candidates to file for ballot access is March 2.