Brookland’s Schmitt, Fairfield’s Cooper to lead Board of Supervisors in 2025

Members serve with ‘overwhelming desire to put people first,’ Schmitt says

Bos Chair Schmitt 2025
2025 Board Chair Dan Schmitt, Brookland
Bos Vice Chair Cooper 2025
2025 Board Vice Chair Roscoe Cooper, Fairfield

Supervisors Dan J. Schmitt, of the Brookland District, and Roscoe D. Cooper III, of the Fairfield District, will lead the Henrico County Board of Supervisors in 2025 as its chair and vice chair, respectively.

The supervisors were elected by unanimous votes during the board’s organizational meeting Tuesday. In remarks, Schmitt lauded the service of outgoing Chair Tyrone E. Nelson, of the Varina District, particularly during last week’s water outages that impacted more than 24,000 customers in central and eastern Henrico. Schmitt also thanked his colleagues for entrusting him to lead over the next 12 months and said they have served together “with collaboration, open communication, mutual trust and respect, and an overwhelming desire to put people first.”

“This is the kind of governance our residents expect and deserve,” he said, “and it’s precisely what I will strive for us to continue delivering together in 2025.”

Schmitt said he also expects a continuation of the county’s longstanding priorities – providing strong, conservative fiscal management, strengthening public safety and education, enhancing quality of life through parks and recreational programs, and reinvesting in roads, sidewalks, pedestrian-safety accommodations and other infrastructure.

“As promised, we will conduct an extensive review of our county and region’s water system infrastructure to avoid a repeat of last week’s outages,” he added.

At the meeting, County Manager John A. Vithoulkas announced the hiring of firms Whitman Requardt & Associates and AquaLaw to review and prepare reports on the incident, with an evaluation of the county’s utilities infrastructure and recommendations for making the system more resilient, particularly in eastern Henrico. In addition, the board voted to confirm a Jan. 7 declaration of a state of local emergency to aid the county’s response.

Schmitt is wielding the chair’s gavel for the second time, having previously served in 2021. He has represented Brookland as supervisor since winning a special election in November 2018 and is serving his second full term.

He also serves on various regional boards and commissions, including Richmond Region Tourism, Sports Backers, Sportable and the Greater Richmond Transit Company. He previously served on the board of directors of the Glen Allen Youth Athletic Association, including as president. He is the owner of RMC Events and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Richmond.

Elected vice chair for the first time, Cooper is serving his first term as Fairfield supervisor, having taken office last January. He previously represented Fairfield on the Henrico School Board, from 2016 to 2023.

He is pastor of Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church and a former president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Richmond & Vicinity. He also has served as chair of the board of directors for the Capital Area Health Network and as a member of the Religious Advisory Committee for U.S. Sen. Mark Warner.

A graduate of Henrico High School, Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Union University and received a Master of Divinity from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union. He earned a Doctor of Divinity from Richmond Virginia Seminary. 

The Board of Supervisors will hold its regular meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, except in July, November and December. Meetings will begin at 6 p.m. in the Board Room at the Henrico County Government Center, 4301 E. Parham Road. A livestream, meeting agendas and more are available on the Board of Supervisors webpage.

Board At Dias Jan 14 2025
 
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