David Karaffa (photo by Lynn R. Mitchell)
By Lynn R. Mitchell
Beverley Manor District Supervisor David Karaffa submitted his resignation to Augusta County at Wednesday night’s meeting, citing relocation out of state with family due to family issues.
David, who was the youngest member of the board at 30 and was completing his first term with an eye to reelection in November, had been instrumental in bringing change to the board. That included staggered terms to bring the board in line with surrounding localities, funding fire and rescue, and working with fellow supervisors on the Courthouse issue.
He served as chairman of the Augusta County Service Authority and sat on Augusta County Ordinance Committee, Property Committee, and Reassessment Committee. He also was a member of the Blue Ridge Criminal Justice Board and its Mental Health sub-committee, and was previously on the CAPSAW Board, Valley Program for Aging Services Board, and the Staunton Senior Center Advisory Board.
A registered nurse, David also served as Director of Nursing at Stuarts Draft Retirement Community. He is also a contributor to LynnRMitchell.com, and a friend who has been much like a son. He and my son even had a college class together.
David has a love of learning and a sponge for a brain. Early on when he was interested in public service, we would talk for hours and he would pick my brain about the political system and how it worked.
In 2011, when David won his supervisor seat, I wrote a post about him (see Supervisor elect David Karaffa … a rising conservative star):
It was a long journey for 28-year-old David Karaffa to his victory Tuesday night for the Beverley Manor District supervisor position in Augusta County.
Fourteen months earlier he had decided to run for the job. He spent months learning the business of local government as he visited with workers in the Government Center, soaking in the new-found knowledge about water pipes and fire services and infrastructure and the budget process.
Surrounded by family and friends as they watched election returns at a Verona restaurant last night, the conservative Independent candidate was upbeat and optimistic about the day’s results. When the final votes were tallied, he had won by 46 votes over incumbent Jeremy Shifflett, the board’s chairman.
As one of the four Independents who ran for the board, David will offer a fresh, thoughtful, youthful voice in a county that many feel needs to be brought into the 21st century. Fire and rescue concerns as well as jobs for the area are big issues that need to be addressed.
David and I have grown close since Augusta County Republican Committee Chairman Bill Shirley illegally kicked 56 hard-working volunteers off the committee three years ago. This young man, who had been a magisterial district chairman and is the age of my son, had a million questions about how everything worked in politics … and I answered them or sent him researching to find the answers. He was so inquisitive and willing to learn that I began calling him “Grasshopper” after the David Carradine character in the Kung Fu television show from the 1970s.
David Karaffa in front of the Virginia State Capitol in 2011.
Many thanks to David who put 150 percent into everything he did. He will be missed very much by many including me. Best wishes to him and his family for the journey ahead….
Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
LynnRMitchell.com 