Kevin Onizuk
With the start of 2014 begins Kevin Onizuk’s first four-year term as a representative of the Jamestown district of James City County as a member of the Board of Supervisors.
When Onizuk announced his run in April, he said he decided to run for the board after Williamsburg-James City County School Board member Heather Cordasco pushed him to toss his hat in the ring against opponent Jim Icenhour. Onizuk won the seat in the November election by a small margin, prompting Icenhour to request a recount. Through the recount, each candidate gained two votes, and Onizuk maintained a 30-vote lead to win the seat.
“I’m not going to be a politician … I’m going to be who I am and do what I think is right, and I think the citizens will appreciate that,” Onizuk said in the days leading up to the beginning of his term, which begins today.
He said he was looking forward to serving the citizens of the county.
James City County is the first place Onizuk and his family — wife Heather, daughters Raegan, Mackenzie and son Chase — have lived by choice. He grew up in Delaware and moved to Baltimore, Md., Chesapeake, Frederick, Md., Greenville, S.C., and Virginia Beach before moving to James City County about seven years ago. Onizuk graduated from the University of Delaware in 1993 and served in the Delaware Army National Guard; he completed his training in 1994.
“I actually never got to see anything, but I served and that is what was important to me,” Onizuk said.
Onizuk has worked in lending and mortgages since 1994. He currently works for WestStar Mortgage Inc.
When Onizuk was given the freedom to choose a home, as he was about seven years ago, he chose James City County because it provided a good place to raise a family. One of the main drivers was the school system.
“It’s important to me to have premier school system,” Onizuk said, explaining it’s an economic driver.
After providing a good education, retaining students is a problem the county faces, Onizuk said. The county needs to develop an economic development plan that includes creating jobs to keep students here after graduation, Onizuk said.
The WJCC school system is facing a need for a fourth middle school by 2017, something that would require funding — and likely debt — from James City County. Whether the county will take on a new debt to fund the school is something county staff has been questioning, but Onizuk believes some debt is acceptable.
“I do not say no debt. Not all debt is bad,” Onizuk said, explaining he is a “mortgage guy” by trade and gives people debt for a living. “… It is very likely we will need a middle school in the near future. … It would require debt.”
While it’s important to Onizuk not to overspend taxpayer money, he said it is necessary to build a good school that meets the current needs and culture of education.
“If we spend a dollar, we need to know why and we need to manage our debt responsibly,” Onizuk said.
Schools leads to another problem Onizuk says the county needs to face: a struggling community that needs to attract new businesses that fit into the county.
“We need to remember, truly, who we are,” Onizuk said. “To keep our culture, we need to focus on tourism, number one.”
On the tourism front, Onizuk supports James City County continuing to pay to support the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance, at least in the short-term. He said he hopes the Alliance will develop a better focus and work to improve its efforts to draw people to the area. Onizuk said he has heard people think James City County is not being adequately represented and that is something he wants to see changed.
“I am very hopeful for the future of the Alliance,” Onizuk said. The Alliance will be run by a new president and CEO beginning early next year.
Outside of tourism, Onizuk said the county should focus on other economic development opportunities to attract businesses to the area, but “we don’t need development just for development’s sake.”
One of the earliest goals Onizuk has for the Board of Supervisors is to hire a new county administrator. He wants to see someone who is hands-on and will be a leader for the county’s staff — someone who will set an example. The board needs to be positive and productive, despite different personalities, and needs to define a future for James City County, Onizuk said, and the county administrator needs to communicate the board’s vision to the county’s staff and citizens.
In the mean time, Onizuk said Assistant County Administrator Doug Powell can keep the lights on and do the day-to-day work, but someone needs to be appointed as the interim county administrator to assist in a search for a full-time replacement through a national search. A good candidate, whether they are from James City County or beyond, would understand tourism and working in a retirement community, Onizuk said.
“While I’m not a sitting supervisor, I’m doing due diligence,” Onizuk said.
In an effort to assist the board in finding an interim administrator, Onizuk said he has considered six candidates and has spoken with four; some of them are interested. To protect their privacy, Onizuk would not disclose any names.
Onizuk said he is looking forward to a “true” collaborative effort with each one of his fellow supervisors.
“It’s important to me that folks know I am who I said I am in my campaign,” he said.
Onizuk has been assigned a county email address and phone number and invites citizens to contact him at kevin.onizuk@jamescitycountyva.gov or at 757-608-8414.