Vinton District GOP Primary For County Supervisor: Tim Greenway Candidate Q & A

Mr. Greenway: I don’t think people realize how your family is affected when going through the process of a campaign.  I never knew until now.  My family is the most important thing in my life! Sometimes it may not seem like it to them but trust me they are!  I have a beautiful wife (Paula) whom I’ve been married to for almost 40 years.  She hears the good, the bad and the ugly all the time and she puts up with me still.  I tell people if I were half as smart as she is I would be happy. I have three kids (adults, but still my kids Maia, Brad, and Chelsea) which mean the world to me. They are bright, funny, articulate (which I am not), and have hearts of gold.  There will always be four things I’ve done in my life correctly….my wife and three kids.  Then there are the five grandchildren, which I think walk on water.  They are the best of their parents and never do anything wrong.  Do grandkids ever do anything wrong?!  And last, I have extremely supportive parents (Janett Leffell and Jim Greenway), as well as a very protective sister (Kim Riley).  I couldn’t do life without my family!  

The Roanoke Star: Who is your current employer and what is your current title/position there?

Mr. Greenway: I’ve been fully self-employed now for almost 25 years.  In those 25 years, I’ve owned and operated a few businesses including Greenway Construction, Inc., Process Servers of VA, Inc. and now my primary focus is as principal Broker of Mountain View Real Estate, LLC.  We have 23 agents and we offer a full range of services related to residential and business real estate sales.

The Roanoke Star: What is your favorite book?

Mr. Greenway: My favorite book is the Bible.  I’m sure that isn’t quite the answer you were looking for, but I think in today’s world we need the Bible more than any other book in any library.  I feel like our family structure, our family values, and the Golden Rule are starting to erode like never before.  I’m not by any stretch of the imagination using this as a tool to get votes.  I want to make that perfectly clear, but in every facet of our daily lives, I think we are getting further away from loving thy neighbor.  Me included also.  The internet, the cell phones and social media are driving us away from each other more and more.  I think if we focused more on the Bible we would remember why we are here and what our purpose in life is all about.  One last disclosure, I don’t want people to think this means I’m trying to say I have all the answers or I’m perfect because I’m far from perfect.  Ask my friends or family, they will set you straight quickly.  I have the same flaws, the same problems and sins just like anyone else…I simply think the Bible grounds us to reality and thus this is my favorite book.

The Roanoke Star: What is your primary motivation to run for this office, especially since it’s only for a one year term?

Mr. Greenway: Because I want to make a difference for the people that have enriched my life so greatly.  You’ve heard the old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child”?  I’m that child!  As a kid, neighbors took me to practices and ballgames, they kept me after school until my parents got off from work, they fed me, they looked after me when my parents were away, and most importantly they shared with me the values of loving thy neighbor.  Vinton has raised me, supported me and essentially made me the person I am today.  I owe everything to this community!  I want to give back to the community that has given me so much!

The Roanoke Star: What special abilities or background do you think would make you the best person for this job going forward?

Mr. Greenway: My experience in getting things done on the School Board and my civic/community involvement from the last 25 years.  I’m not just now deciding to get involved.  I’m not just now deciding to join the Chamber of Commerce.  I’m not just now sponsoring the Dogwood Festival.  I’ve been a part of these organizations and many more from Vinton for many years.  Starting now is too late!

 My background in accounting, my management experience, my small business experience over the years, and my knowledge of how government regulations need to be removed so small businesses can thrive all are examples of my skills which will help the Vinton District to be well represented.

The Roanoke Star:  A source has alleged the renovation blueprints for Roanoke County’s W. E. Cundiff Elementary School on Hardy Road in Vinton call for the new bathrooms to have unisex toilet stalls, and the school will no longer have designated, separate boys’ and girls’ bathrooms.

Is that claim true or false?  Moreover, what is your position on protecting privacy and safe spaces for girls in County schools and other County-owned properties?

Mr. Greenway: Please share your source.  I would love to hear how they received this information.  My guess is there is no source with credible information.  If anyone has listened to my comments on this subject from school board discussions, you would know my position.  I have a granddaughter attending our public schools and another granddaughter coming in the next few years.  I will never vote for unisex group bathrooms.  Single stall bathrooms are fine with me because they can only be used by one person at a time.  Protecting our female students is of utmost importance to our school board.  Consequently, I would never vote for unisex group bathrooms in other County owned properties.  This is an open and shut issue with me.  No way!!

The Roanoke Star: As explained here, soaring tax assessments are driving up real estate taxes.

Unlike many surrounding localities, at least Roanoke County has dropped its real estate tax rate: from $1.09 to $1.06 in April 2023, and then to $1.04 in April 2024. However, that recent two-cent cut is only a 1.89% reduction, and rising assessments are driving up tax bills. And as both you and your opponent pointed out, that has given the County an approximately $9.5 million windfall.

If elected, will you follow the example of Governor Youngkin and issue rebate checks to all County taxpayers, to return part or all of that surplus to the taxpayers?

If so, approximately how much would that amount be?

Moreover, would you work to reduce the rate lower than the current $1.04, and if so, how low?

Mr. Greenway: What I won’t do is tell you how I will give the money back to our citizens without researching all possible taxes and avenues for getting the money back to our citizens.  What I will tell you is that I would given much more than a modest two-cent reduction to the real estate taxes back to our citizens.  We increased revenue by approximately $12 million and we gave back approximately $2.2 million.  I think we could have conservatively given half of this money back to our citizens instead of growing government by over approximately $9.8 million. We could start by removing some of the costs to our small businesses who create the majority of jobs in the market (Business license tax/PP tax/fees to operate/permit costs, etc.).  Lots of ways to get these funds back to the people who deserve the funds.  I believe the people know better than government how to spend their money.  Safety and education should be our primary focus!

The Roanoke Star: The Vinton War Memorial was opened in 1948, to celebrate the Allied victory in World War II, which had ended in 1945. As explained in theroanoker.com, “In 2011, the community unveiled the Vinton/Roanoke County Veterans Monument, called High Ground, an octagonal outdoor structure that features a bronze American flag in its center. It honors members of the military who were killed in action, as well as those currently serving, with names carved in granite.”

There is a growing movement across America to maintain the honor, dignity and original purpose of war memorials, to display only official US, state, or military flags on such properties. If elected, would you work to maintain the dignity and decorum of the Vinton War Memorial in this way?

Mr. Greenway: There are no finer people in this world than those that serve in the United States military or have served in the military to protect our freedoms!  That is not a position I will ever waver on!  As a lifelong resident of the Vinton District I’ve grown up playing sports, going to community functions, and family gatherings at the War Memorial.  It is rare occasion when it doesn’t cross my mind as to what the War Memorial stands for in our community.  I often think about the men and women that started/built the War Memorial.  They made sacrifices to make this memorial possible, the committee for the Veterans monument were just recognized for their contributions to having this beautiful tribute added to the grounds at the War Memorial by town council.  We can never forget the sacrifices of our men and women, who served and on a smaller scale the sacrifices of the men/women that made these memorials possible as well.  The sanctity and dignity we owe all of these individuals is a debt we can never repay.  As long as I have a say, as long as I have a vote, the War Memorial and Veterans Monument will remain a shining example of Vinton’s appreciation to the men and women who served.  Defacing or vandalizing will not be tolerated in any form.

Let me further say, I had a friend, Terry Plunk, who died in service.  I’m sure many of your readers have had friends or family who died, were injured, or mentally disabled from serving.  These people are true American heroes and they will forever remain in our hearts as such.

The Roanoke Star: What do you think are the 3 biggest crises/challenges facing Roanoke County today, and are there any specific steps as the Vinton District representative on the Board of Supervisors you would take to address them?

Mr. Greenway: First would be jobs and economic development.  We have not brought in a company with over 100 jobs at one time in the last decade.  This will not sustain growth. In fact, to the contrary, this has stymied growth.  How do I know, because we’ve lost over 1,000 kids in our classrooms over the last decade.  This tells me people are not coming here with kids.  As one current board member told me, we are more of a retirement community now.  I realize retirement can be our golden years, but I also realize, as in life, as we get older and older, unfortunately the end of life comes.  Same with our economy, if we are now a retirement community, we are starting a decline I’m not wanting to participate in.  I want to bring jobs, bring youth back and make Roanoke the absolute best place to live in America!!  We can do it!  We just have to have a strong approach and be competitive to bringing higher paying, long lasting jobs to the Roanoke Valley and Roanoke County in particular.  I can go on and on on this topic but just know it’s jobs and economic growth are my number one priority!

 Secondly, I think we have to work harder with our partners to make air travel easier and more accessible here in the Valley.  Just like being close to the interstate can help with locations for companies, access to air travel is important also.  We need longer runways and more flights to key cities in the United States.  Again, we can do this but it’s not going to be easy.  We need to realize this will be an investment with a return in the future.  If we don’t start now we will never get there.

 Last, as you can see from our rankings in Niche (11^th best school district in Virgin1a out of 131), we have our main economic driver in Roanoke County.  It’s our schools! We are proud of this ranking and we need to keep this high ranking.  We can only do this by properly funding education!  Our staff, our facilities, and our community involvement by parents are key to the success of Roanoke County Public Schools.  I’m proud of where we are and what we’ve accomplished in the last decade I’ve been associated with the School Board but we can’t let our foot off the gas now.  We are building a new Career and Technology school and two new elementary schools which will continue to elevate our communities for families moving here.  Education is the foundation of who we are as Americans and if we allow our public schools to faulter I’m afraid we will start descending like many of our cities are descending.  A strong public school system gives every child an opportunity for success!  And my belief is a strong public school system keeps our children engaged and striving for learning which in turn reduces crime and chaos in our communities.

The Roanoke Star: You and your opponent are both lifelong Vinton residents with wide name recognition. Why do you think Vinton District voters should vote for you instead of your opponent?

Mr. Greenway: Your past performance of civic duty, civic volunteerism, and community involvement is indicative of what your future involvement in your community will be like!  It’s easy to see the groups I’ve been involved with for 25 plus years.  The Lions Club (past president), the Chamber of Commerce (board member), Vinton Baptist church member (past deacon, finance committee, property committee, and HR committee), I volunteered for many years on the Dogwood Festival Committee and 9 years on the Roanoke Co. School Board.  I’m proud of my community and it shows. 

 And last, it will not be a major goal of mine to get Hidden Valley a new football stadium! Ask my opponent.

The Roanoke Star: What is one positive comment about your opponent in this race that you appreciate and respect.

Mr. Greenway: Tammy has built a nice business.