_Flat Hat News Editor Mike Crump contributed to this report_
When Williamsburg goes to the polls in May to elect two new city council members, College of William and
Mary student Scott Foster ’10 will be on the ballot.
Foster, who officially declared his candidacy Thursday, is the first candidate to throw his hat into the ring.
He began filing the necessary petitions and paperwork with the voter registrar’s office in November.
“I chose to run in order to better connect Williamsburg issues with the wealth of knowledge existing in our community, both from the College and the residents at large,” Foster said in an e-mail. “Above all, I enjoy living in Williamsburg, and I am eager to contribute my talent and leadership to the City Council.”
Foster currently serves as the co-chair of the College’s undergraduate Student Conduct Council. He is a government major, and will be graduating from the College in May. He plans on applying to the Marshall-Wythe School of Law for enrollment in 2011.
According to a campaign press release, Foster has the support of several student groups, as well as long-time residents.
“To be elected, I will truly appeal to both students and residents. My campaign alone will have a positive impact on Williamsburg by facilitating campus and community connection,” he said.
Scott Foster for Williamsburg Communications Director and Student Assembly Sen. Erik Houser ’10 has reported that the campaign has raised $6,445 from about 40 donors to date.
In the coming weeks, Foster is expecting to hold fundraisers to build on his early campaign momentum. An event with College alumni in Washington, D.C. has already been scheduled.
Although several SA leaders have become involved in the campaign, the organization has not formally declared its support for Foster, instead focusing its efforts on voter registration and education.
“The SA cannot officially support one candidate over another,” SA President Sarah Rojas ’10 said. “On a personal level … I think [Foster] would do a great job if he was elected.”
Mayor Jeanne Zeidler M.A. ’76 has already announced that she will not be seeking reelection on May 4.
Council member Bobby Braxton has not announced whether or not he will run again.
“I stand by my statement in The Virginia Gazette,” Braxton said. “I have to get a lot of things in order first.
The petition is the least of all my worries right now.”
According to the city’s voter registrar’s office, Foster and David Defashy, a physician at the William and Mary
Student Health Center, are the only candidates who have announced their intentions to run.
“I haven’t really flushed out my platform,” Defashy said. “Rather than pushing an agenda, there has to be a way to compromise.”
Defashy is currently working on obtaining the 125 required signatures to get onto the upcoming ballot, adding that he would be able to consolidate the perspectives of long-term city residents with issues affecting the College.
The last student to run for city council was former Student Assembly Sen. Matt Beato ’08, who received 15.6 percent of the vote in 2009 but lost to Vice Mayor Clyde Haulman and council members Judy Knudson and Paul Freiling ’83.