About Pete

Running for office wasn’t part of my plan, but after engaging in the debate surrounding the 801 North Main St construction project’s approval, I kept hearing the same thing: folks don’t feel like their feedback matters. That’s what pushed me to step up.

I’m running for mayor of Blacksburg because I believe our community deserves leadership that listens to our citizens, responds to their concerns, and plans for a better future.

I’m committed to making Blacksburg a welcoming home for all, no matter if you’ve lived here for 4 months or 40 years.

I’ve lived in this town for over 30 years—first as a student, later as a Virginia Tech employee, and now as a business owner. I understand the importance of supporting small businesses and investing in the things that make Blacksburg unique. Through it all, I’ve learned how to listen, collaborate, and work toward shared goals. I’m ready to help bring a fresh perspective to town decision-making. Together, we can build the future Blacksburg deserves.

Pete’s Platform

Transparent, Informed Decision-Making

• Pete believes decision-making should include feedback from neighbors and impacted members of our community, not just engineers and planners.

• Pete believes the town should provide the public with explanations for decisions made in a clear, accessible format. He supports publishing easy-to-read summaries of council meetings, making town data more available, and providing multiple ways for people to give feedback. Residents should feel informed and empowered, not left in the dark.

• Pete knows that all too often, development decisions rely on data provided by those who benefit financially. He advocates for targeted data collection and better tools to assess long-term impact before approving large-scale projects. 

Incremental and Sustainable Growth

• Growth should meet a range of needs—for students, working families, and seniors. Pete supports development that fits within Blacksburg's scale, infrastructure, and values, not just developers' demands and profit margins.

• Pete supports establishing unbiased benchmarks to better articulate and define the multifaceted housing and infrastructure issues faced by the town. Housing isn’t just one problem, and it doesn’t have just one solution.

• Before determining what new developments we want to bring to town, Pete believes in setting thresholds for acceptable zoning variations, such as height, density, and parking—and sticking to them. These decisions change the very landscape of our town and can have long-term downstream effects. 

Proactive Community Engagement

• Pete believes in creating spaces, events, and policies that encourage positive interactions within our community. He supports the creation of more town events during the academic year that would allow students and year-round residents to truly see each other as neighbors.

• Pete supports community organizations working to uplift vulnerable residents and believes in using his platform to amplify their work.

• As the town identifies areas of concern or opportunity, Pete supports soliciting proposals from the local community for potential solutions, prioritizing collaborations with community and university expertise, and reducing reliance on outside consultants.

True Small Business Support

• Pete believes that local businesses are the backbone of our community’s character and should be treated as partners in the town’s future. The Blacksburg Business Relations Committee should be reincorporated to demonstrate the town’s commitment to this vital part of our community.

• Small business incubation efforts in the town should be complemented with long-term business support.

• The impact on businesses should be strongly considered when approaching town zoning and infrastructure changes. Development projects should consider proffers that would support changes that businesses need to make in order to adjust to new environments.