Freeman a fresh face

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: August 24, 2008

Wise County native Vanessa Freeman is the new face of the Piedmont for Congressman Eric Cantor, R-Richmond.

The 36-year-old Charlottesville resident took over as Cantor’s area full-time “outreach coordinator” earlier this month.

Freeman replaces Barbara Taylor of Culpeper — a.k.a. “B.T.” — who stepped down in May after nearly six years as a Cantor staffer.

Freeman, like B.T. was, is based out of the congressman’s Madison Road office in Culpeper.

As outreach coordinator, Freeman has been attending community meetings and events, including the recent Board of Supervisors meeting in Culpeper and a trip to meet with officials in Rappahannock County.

She’s also available to meet with constituents in the Culpeper office on Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In addition, Freeman will promote opportunities available though Cantor’s office such as tours, Congressional Veterans Commendation and Congressional Awards, according to a news release.

Freeman left a job as associate director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville to join Cantor’s team.

“I really wanted to work with the community,” she said of the career shift. “And I had heard great things about this area.”

Freeman said the people of Culpeper have been extremely friendly, and that she hopes to relocate to the area soon.

“They really remind me of the people in southwest Virginia — friendly and sincere,” she said of her roots in Wise, where most of her family still lives.

Freeman expected she would enjoy getting out there working with constituents and being an advocate for Cantor. She had met the congressman and other politicians in her former job and when the new opportunity came up she moved on it.

“The cards just fell into place.”

Freeman has also worked as a grant writer for U.Va’s College at Wise and an information manager for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

She holds a bachelors degree in history from U.Va. at Wise and a bachelors in English from Samford University, a Southern Baptist school in Alabama.

“I am pleased to welcome Vanessa to our team,” said Cantor in a release.

“She brings with her a wide range of experience and knowledge and I know she will be an asset to both our staff and residents of the Seventh District.”

Cantor, 45, has represented Virginia’s Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2000. He is up for re-election to a fifth term in November. Democratic candidate Anita Hartke, a realtor from Culpeper, is challenging him.

In other news of Cantor’s local staffers, Stacey Johnson, a community liaison in his D.C. office, is taking a leave of absence to work on another congressional campaign — that of Minnesota State Senator Erik Paulsen, a Republican in the race against Democrat Ashwin Madia for the state’s third district seat.

Johnson said she would return to Cantor’s office in November.

The Richmond Times Dispatch reported Thursday that Cantor would soon be on the road as well. He is one a handful of Republicans going to Denver next week “to try to steal some thunder from the four-day Democratic convention being held there,” reporter Neil Simon wrote.

Wednesday, Cantor spoke at a Republican women’s club gathering at Lake of the Woods in Orange County.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or

Have a question?
Have a question or a concern for Congressman Eric Cantor? Contact Vanessa Freeman in his Culpeper office at 825-8960. The office is located at 763 Madison Road, suite 207.