Welcome to a source on local government in Virginia’s Fifth District!
On December 29, 2021, the Virginia Supreme Court adopted new legislative maps for the Commonwealth that were drawn by two special masters. The shape of the Fifth District changed from an abstract work of art to a cohesive set of boundaries that contains 24 localities, with the vast majority of them entirely within one Congressional district.
I’m Sean Tubbs, and I grew up in Campbell County and graduated from Brookville High School. I have never worked as a journalist in my hometown, but my work has been heard on WVTF public radio, printed in the Charlottesville Daily Progress, and published online in Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Now I am an independent journalist funded through contributions from listeners and readers through Town Crier Productions. Since July 2020, I’ve published the newsletter and podcast Charlottesville Community Engagement on Substack. The new map has inspired me to explore my interest in how other local governments in Virginia works. The result is this newsletter, which is in its early days but beginning to hit its stride.
Right now, this is a weekly publication that provides a preview of what’s coming up at meetings of Boards of Supervisors and City Councils from Amelia County to Prince Edward County, and from Powhatan to Albemarle. I am still learning how those places work, and at two months in I am enjoying the experience.
In the weeks to come, I will add a paid subscription for new content. The weekly newsletter will contain some duplicate material from its companion on Charlottesville Community Engagement. What will this new content be? Stay tuned and you’ll get a preview as everything comes together!
Why subscribe?
The new Fifth District is a contiguous map that wholly contains 21 out of 24 localities in Central and Southside Virginia. The new boundaries will be in place until after the next Census. What will change between now and then?
This newsletter aims to find out, one edition at a time.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.
For now, there is no paid subscription but that will change over time.
Stay up-to-date
You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox. There’s also a Twitter account which links to coverage of what’s happening across this district. It’s likely the second piece of content will be a weekly edition that provides link. The entire point of this is to grow community awareness of the policy issues of our times in a 21st century that presents many challenges.
Town Crier Productions
I created Town Crier Productions in 2020 to help get me back to a profession that suits me. Rather than go through all of that here again, visit this page on Information Charlottesville. I’m still sorting out the best way to explain all that I’m up to these days. There’s a lot1
To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com. I’ve been with them now for over two years and recommend you check this out if you have something you’d like to share with the world.
