Hap Connors (right) hugs Jackie Burden as he and other supporters celebrate his re-election to the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors at Liberty Lanes bowling alley in Massaponax. smc View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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New faces win Spotsylvania

Onorato, Yakabouski use support from slow-growth groups to defeat veterans in Board of Supervisors races.

By BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER

Date published: 11/5/2003

An era in Spotsylvania County politics ended last night with the ouster of Lee Hill District Supervisor Mary Lee Carter.

Carter, first appointed to the seat 14 years ago, had won election three times. But yesterday, Vince Onorato, a political newcomer, swept all three Lee Hill precincts and captured 56 percent of the vote.

Onorato had the backing of two slow-growth groups in an election year where growth was the biggest issue.

Onorato basked in his victory at a slow-growth celebration at Liberty Lanes bowling alley in the Massaponax area.

"It's a wonderful day for the people who supported me and for the county," he said. "The county is going to move forward. Everyone's quality of life will improve."

Carter, 66, could not be reached for comment last night.

In the Battlefield District, Republican Chris Yakabouski upset two-term Supervisor Benjamin Pitts.

"I'm humbled and pleased," the 29-year-old Yakabouski said.

The Spotsylvania chapter of Voters to Stop Sprawl and the Committee of 500, two nonpartisan political action committees, celebrated Onorato's win and the victories of four other candidates they backed.

C500 Chairman Merl Witt was thrilled with the groups' overall success. "We did well," he said. "Lee Hill was definitely ready for a change. We won because we had individuals out ringing doorbells for Vince."

He said voters were also rejecting Carter. "People no longer accepted her message," Witt said.

Yakabouski said the GOP label and his endorsement by Voters to Stop Sprawl helped him. Yakabouski was endorsed by VSS, but not by C500.

Door-to-door campaigning also paid off, he said, with many voters telling him they remembered his visit.

"That personal touch, you can't put a price tag on," Yakabouski said.

Pitts, 46, could not be reached for comment last night. But earlier at the polls, he said a number of voters had asked him what political party he was in, an indication that his independent status might hurt him.

Hap Connors, appointed to the Chancellor District seat in January, won his first run at office with 60 percent of the vote over Republican Claude Dunn.

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Date published: 11/5/2003