Alexander RitterFor At-Large Chairman
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The Platform

A blueprint for Frederick County. Six pillars, grounded in the numbers.

Each pillar starts with a clear stand and the plain-language takeaways behind it, backed by the county's own data. Follow any pillar to its full policy page for the complete picture, so you can hold me to every one of them.

  1. Fiscal Accountability

    Putting our county budget back on track. If we don't have it, we don't spend it.

    The county is covering everyday costs with its savings, and the reserve has fallen four years straight. A balanced budget should be balanced in reality, not just on paper.

    Hands reviewing financial documents
    • Stop using one-time savings to pay recurring bills, and rebuild the reserve
    • Commission an independent audit and publish it
    • Review every tax abatement and incentive for what it actually returned, and modernize tax relief
    • Publish a five-year forecast so shortfalls are visible before they become emergencies

  2. Transparent Governance

    Ensuring decisions are made for the community, not behind closed doors.

    On civic engagement, Frederick trails its peers by the widest margin of any category on the AARP Livability Index. Residents deserve to see what's coming before it's decided, not after.

    A columned county government building
    • Plain-English summaries of every application before any vote
    • End developer briefings held under non-disclosure agreements
    • Every supervisor's vote searchable in one place
    • Evening meetings so working people can actually attend

  3. Managed Growth

    Growth should never outpace our schools, roads, emergency services, and our ability to pay for it.

    The county has identified $1.6 billion in road needs and almost none of it has been funded, while approving homes at a record pace. Growth should prove it can be served before it's approved.

    An Interstate 81 exit sign for Kernstown in Frederick County, Virginia
    • No rezoning approved without funded capacity in place
    • New development pays for the roads and schools it demands
    • Attack the road backlog and press VDOT on maintenance
    • Sequence growth in the Urban Development Area on purpose, not by accident

  4. Protection of Our Land & Natural Resources

    Defending our farms, our water, green spaces, and the rural character that makes Frederick County what it is.

    We are Virginia's number one fruit county, and once farmland is paved it is gone. Some industries, hyperscale data centers among them, simply do not fit here.

    Apple trees heavy with fruit at a Frederick County orchard
    • A firm stance against hyperscale data centers
    • Permanently protect farmland through development-rights purchases and a land trust
    • Protect private wells and aquifers from large water users
    • Judge rezonings against both the Comprehensive Plan and the established character of the surrounding area, and end one-off spot rezonings

  5. Local Economic Development

    Prioritizing local families, small farms, independent producers, and small businesses, not outside developers and heavy industry.

    Our real opportunity is a diverse local economy, not more heavy industry. The work is to widen what we already do well and keep that wealth here, with the people and businesses that generate it.

    Sign technicians on a lift servicing commercial signs at a Frederick County intersection
    • Develop direct-market and value-added infrastructure to keep farmland in production
    • Invest in tourism promotion and market our orchards, working farms, and food and event venues
    • Encourage local-serving, light commercial and small business development
    • Expand and invest in our already-growing local food economy

  6. Public Safety & Community Resilience

    Protecting the health and safety of every resident, before an emergency and during one.

    Public safety is the fastest-growing cost we carry, and preparation is the part that saves lives before a crisis ever hits. Safety has to reach every corner of the county, rural and urban alike.

    A Gainesboro, Virginia fire engine (Company 16) parked on the street
    • Fund fire and EMS to keep pace with a 38% rise in calls
    • Open cooling centers and post warnings fast in extreme heat
    • Build redundant emergency communications with no single point of failure
    • Neighborhood-level preparedness that includes rural and farm communities

My commitment

How every decision gets made.

Two promises you can hold me to from day one. This is my way of governing.

  1. Judge every project by its full impact on the community.

    The same test I hold data centers to applies to every proposal, whether housing, warehouse, industrial, or commercial: Does it protect our health, safety, and welfare? Does it fit the Comprehensive Plan? Does it respect neighboring properties and existing land uses? Does it deliver real value to Frederick County as a whole? And do its public benefits outweigh its long-term costs? No project gets waved through, and none gets judged on who is behind it.

  2. Listen to residents before the vote, not after.

    I will hold open forums, answer questions on the record, ask difficult questions, and carry residents’ concerns into the room where decisions are made. You should never learn what your county did by reading about it afterward. If it touches your home, your water, your electric bill, or your taxes, you get heard first.