Virginia Roseman, who served on town council this past term, is up for reelection this upcoming Election Day on Nov. 4. Roseman has lived in Boone for over a decade and raised her three children here.
“After looking at five towns, we chose Boone because of App State and because of its central location within the Town of Boone,” Roseman said.
Roseman said she has always been active in the community. She works at the local Publix and lives in a neighborhood close to the center of town. Former mayor and personal friend Loretta Clawson said Roseman is accessible to the community and people feel comfortable coming to her with issues about the town.
“She brings the ability to listen to people that have concerns and she’s always available,” Clawson said. “If you want to talk to Virginia about issues, you certainly can go to her.”
During her previous term, Roseman worked on many Town of Boone projects. One of the most notable projects was affordable housing for Boone residents.
In the last few years, the Town of Boone raised taxes to help pay the employees of the town. Roseman said she fought for a penny of each dollar of taxes to go towards affordable housing. Though there was pushback from other members of the board, she was able to make it happen and the account the money is put into is at almost $1 million, she said.
“I’m tired of us not putting our money where our mouth is,” Roseman said. “We say we consider this important, but no council before has ever marked it. It took a little bit of discussion, but I stood my ground.”
With this money, the Town of Boone was able to buy a house that would have otherwise been flipped and sold for almost double the starting price. Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church helped in remodeling and making the home livable.
The house was sold to a person in need of affordable housing who has lived in Watauga County their whole life. The money has also recently bought an old school house. Roseman explained they aren’t sure what the town is going to turn it into yet, but that it will benefit the community.
Besides housing, Roseman has helped the community in other ways. After Hurricane Helene, she said she had people come to her with concerns about a bridge near Huntington Hill in Boone with significant erosion issues.
“That was an immediate reaction. They sent me the pictures, they told me what was happening,” Roseman said. “I sent it to the town manager, sent it to public works, and within 30 minutes somebody was up there inspecting that road.”
Besides everyday issues, Roseman said she wants to help build a stronger community in Boone if reelected this upcoming term. She said the Boone Next program was just passed, which is designed to help grow Boone’s economy, transportation and further help with affordable housing. Roseman hopes to help this program grow in the community.
If reelected, Roseman also hopes to help connect App State and the town of Boone more, rather than them staying as two separate entities, and she wants to propose events to help connect the two.
Clawson said she’s watched Roseman grow into a very active figure in the community. She explained she has a lot of connections because of how active she is in the town, and how willing she is to take anyone’s concern into consideration.
“She’s really compassionate about things and she’s brought a lot of really good things to her position. She’s a people person,” Clawson said.
Roseman said she is excited to be running again and hopes to serve the community further in another term on the town council.
“I’m proud to be a Boone resident and it has been an honor to be able to help preserve Boone for the next family like mine or the next generation that’s coming up so they can have a community to be proud of,” Roseman said.
Early voting for the Town of Boone municipal election is in progress. The early voting period lasts until Nov. 1 and Election Day is on Nov. 4.