For several years, JMU football suffered a drought in winning games until 2015 when they won the CAA championship.
Because he drove the team to every away game that season, Blake Shepherd also received a championship ring.
“Students are really what drives me,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd is running for one of four open seats on Staunton City Council.
He is about teamwork and collaboration.
“It’s not about me, it’s about them. That’s why I want to run for City Council.”
Since 2011, Shepherd has been employed at JMU in the School of Media Art & Design. He handles advertising and marketing for The Breeze, JMU’s student newspaper.
“I bring in revenue for student journalism,” he said.
He said he believes in print journalism and once worked for the Staunton News Leader. He subscribes to four newspapers.
“What is special about print is the collaborative process with the students.”
Shepherd enjoys the team work necessary to pull together a print newspaper and he enjoys working with the students at JMU.
“And getting it right [every week].”
Shepherd came to Staunton in 1990 from Illinois. His longtime residency in the city provides him with a wealth of knowledge about the city’s history, residents and businesses.
He and his wife, Carol, have a 24-year-old daughter, who graduated Staunton High School and JMU, and is pursuing a master’s in architecture at Rhode Island School of Art & Design.
Shepherd believes in the importance of education, especially with Staunton’s biggest employers being Mary Baldwin University, the Virginia School for the Deaf & Blind and Staunton Schools.
“Education is economy, economy is education.”
If elected, Shepherd said he would make sure state elected officials continue to support state-funding for local schools and programs.
“Education is pretty important to this community, and we need to support it in every way we possibly can. And, certainly, our public school system is the largest part of our city budget and we do that but we need to continue to do that,” Shepherd said.
Economic development is also important for Staunton, including tourism. According to Shepherd, the city’s median household income is $59,000, which is $33,000 per individual.
“We need to find ways to increase that, because we can’t continue to raise taxes on residents which pay the lion’s share of property tax revenue,” he said.
Staunton Crossing and its 300 acres are “a huge component of our future economic development.”
Shepherd said he would work with local businesses, residents and leaders to expand Staunton’s arts and music scene and attract more visitors by showcasing the city’s vibrant culture.
Housing is also a concern to Shepherd, specifically the Airbnb business, which he says has more beds within the city’s limits than hotel rooms.
“Tourism is great for the Staunton economy and is huge.”
The city brought in $20 million in overall tourism revenue in 2023 and Shepherd said a higher occupancy tax would be reasonable, but not a meals tax increase. Airbnb users tax the city’s water and other resources.
“It’s not going to solve all our problems, but it is some additional revenue,” he said.
Shepherd said that as the Airbnb industry has grown in the city, houses have been purchased to serve as Airbnbs and taken away opportunities for local residents to live in apartments or become homeowners.
“So, you have less housing available,” he said.
In his more than 30 years of living in Staunton, he has seen the city change and grow.
“And that’s what Staunton needs to do: it needs to grow from within in organic ways,” Shepherd said.
Development of affordable housing “is critical” for the city’s future, including one-story homes and retirement communities.
“We have some tough decisions to make on what we want to see Staunton‘s future look like,” Shepherd said.
He said “good things can continue to happen. I’m a little concerned that we’re neglecting some things and I’m worried about the growth of Staunton and how we’re growing.”
Updating and investing in infrastructure, including fire and police, clean water and roadways, is essential to keeping Staunton strong as it grows.
“The two basic functions of local government, essentially, are public safety and services,” he said. “And, we really need to stay true to that and make sure those things are adequately funded so that they can be successful and serve the citizens’ needs.”
Acquiring more grant funding for the city would be a priority for Shepherd, he said. At a candidates forum last week, candidates were asked what they would do if given $1 million for the city. Shepherd said his answer is to put the funding in an emergency capital fund and use the interest income to start a grant office in the city. The grant office could be funded by raising the occupancy tax from 6.7 percent to 9 percent.
“I just think that could be hugely beneficial,” he said.
Shepherd will participate in candidates forums sponsored by the Staunton branch of the NAACP on October 7 at the American Shakespeare Center and sponsored by the West End Business Alliance on October 15 at Marquee Memorial Church, 1614 W. Beverley Street.
Early voting began Friday in Virginia. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Related stories:
Staunton: Dan Gunnells one of five candidates for City Council (augustafreepress.com)
Staunton: Adam Campbell seeks re-election to City Council (augustafreepress.com)
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Rebecca Barnabi
