Platts ‘fed up’ with council, urges change

Allison Brophy Champion / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: January 30, 2008

William Platts thought about running for local office for years. But it was the current makeup of Town Council that finally led him to take the plunge in '08 - that and illegal immigration.

"Basically, I'm fed up with the current council," he said of his main reason for seeking one of four at-large seats in the May 6 election. "It's their lack of action on key issues. The fact that they seem to have a personal agenda rather than considering the will of the people and what is best for the town and the county."

The local implication of illegal immigration, however, was the "the straw that broke the camel's back," said Platts, who works as a welding inspector for a Manassas-based bridge company.
"It's gotten to the point where, things just came to a head and when I heard Help Protect Culpeper was looking for candidates, I mulled over the idea and said, why not give it a try-"

A 35-year resident of Culpeper, Platts, 43, announced his candidacy for council last week at a get-together hosted at the home of fellow candidate Jerry Beckett, president and co-founder of Help Protect Culpeper, an activist group focused on deterring illegal immigration at the local level.

Platts said he's an HPC member, but had not yet attended a meeting. That doesn't mean he doesn't have opinions on the topic. Asked how he has been affected personally by illegal immigration, Platts mentioned the daily gathering of day laborers - mostly Hispanic men - along Bus. 29.

"The biggest problem I have is, you know, I pulled into the Culpeper Town Square one morning, hoping to stop by Food Lion. I was driving a pickup truck. I slow down to make the corner, and I have about three of them (day laborers) try to pile in the back of the pickup truck," said Platts, who served four years in the U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War.

"I'm driving about 15 miles an hour and I'm like, somebody's going to get killed."

Since a private security firm dispersed the men from the Town Square parking lot late last year, "They've gotten very aggressive," he said, "and nobody wants to address that issue."

He would address it
If elected, Platts said he would push to find solutions to the situation, including the enforcement of loitering laws.

"You can't prohibit travel along the side of the road nor would I want to, but there is a difference between traveling and standing," he said of the day laborers' new gathering spot alongside the highway. "And we could use the same approach to control some of the MS-13 gang members in our community.

"They loiter in areas and frankly people in those areas sometimes get a little concerned."

Platts, who graduated in 1983 from Culpeper County High School, said he also would support federal immigration training for local police officers and enforcement measures beyond that.

"I'd like to see us possibly implement a policy whereas anybody's who arrested in town has their citizenship or legal residency verified. And if we find an illegal alien - federal prosecution," he said.

Platts said he did not see "any legal impediments" to his proposals, but that he would first seek opinions from the commonwealth's attorney and, ultimately, the courts.

Still, he said, he has his own opinions "on what the law says."

Other issues
The council candidate's next major issue was the planned police station project. At $11 million or more, Platts thought it too expensive.

"I think they need a larger facility, but I'm not sure the town can afford the facility that's currently being planned - $11 million is a lot of money," he said. "With the budget crunch we're in and the economic downturn, it may be time to tighten our belts. We may not be able to have the greatest building in the world. We may need to build something a little less."

Platts suggested changing the design or perhaps building a smaller satellite office to compliment the existing station on West Cameron Street.

In addition, he has an interest in "the current tax-and-spend policy" that he says Town Council is perpetuating.

"Every time you turn around, they seem to want to solve their fiscal problems by raising taxes instead of taking the bull by the horns and saying, we've got this much money to spend and we've got to figure out the best way to spend it," Platts said.

He said Town Council should take a close look at the services the town provides to determine which are necessities and which are luxuries in an effort to cut spending.

One government-

Platts was open to the possibilities of a consolidated government - "a big issue," he said -even if it meant no more Town Council.

"It could potentially have a lot of benefits, but I can also see where there may be some traps. I will have to wait and see what happens with the plan," he said of the one-government proposal the town and county governments are charged with creating. "It certainly would solve the feuding between them because you'd have a single government. But as the saying goes, the devil's in the details."

As for why should voters should chose him come Election Day, Platts said, he thinks independently.

"I have no personal, fiscal interest as far as I do not run a business in the town of Culpeper so I am free to do what's best for the people rather than how is that going to impact my business. There is quite a bit of that going on now," he said.

"I firmly believe that the Town Council is there to serve the best interests of the people, not themselves, not their business and if that means eliminating the Town Council so be it."

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

Meet the candidate

Name: William Platts

Age: 43

Family:
Engaged

Career: Welding inspector, Williams Bridge Co. of Manassas

Issues: Illegal immigration, town police station, consolidation, taxes