Hunter named to Dumfries council
David Hunter was selected Saturday by the Dumfries Town Council to serve out the remaining two years of an open seat on the seven-member board.
The seat became vacant after the May town election when Vice Mayor Melvin “Mel” Bray made his successful bid for mayor.
Bray assumed his new leadership role at the end of June. During a July 2 Town Council meeting, Councilwoman Stephanie M. Bradley was selected as the town’s new vice mayor.
Hunter said he had been asked to apply for an opening on the town’s Planning Commission when he learned about the open Town Council seat.
“If I’m going to devote time to the town, I decided to do it where I could devote the most bang for the buck,” Hunter said. “I’m here to help.”
Bray described Hunter as “very well educated. He is an intelligent man. He brings a lot to the table.”
Hunter has a bachelor of arts and a master of arts in urban studies from the University of Maryland at College Park. He worked as a planner for Fairfax County for 10 years before going into teaching.
Hunter is a teacher at Christ Chapel Academy in Woodbridge and the pastor and founder of Tribe of Judah Church of God in Christ, also in Woodbridge. Additionally, he started his own consulting business working with churches on construction or expansion projects and is a member of the Dumfries Board of Zoning Appeals.
“He can certainly add zoning and planning knowledge to the Town Council,” Bray said.
“I think he is a good choice,” Bray said. “While all the candidates presented themselves well, he was the best of the four.”
The other three people who applied for the open seat were Dumfries residents Charlie Dent, Martha Monticue and Robert Love.
The council interviewed each applicant for about 45 minutes Saturday during an executive session. Following the interviews, the council then discussed its selection.
Those discussions lasted about 21/2 hours, Bray said.
Bray described the feelings among council members about who should be selected as “very, very split.”
The final vote for Hunter was 5-1 with Councilman Clyde Washington casting the dissenting vote.
“I was not voting against Mr. Hunter. His credentials were outstanding,” Washington said. “I was supporting Charlie Dent who I felt more comfortable with.
“I will support Mr. Hunter 100 percent,” Washington added.
In his cover letter to the Town Council that accompanied his resume, Hunter wrote that one of his mottos is “T.E.A.M.” which stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More.”
“Teamwork is vital and necessary for any group or organization to function at its peak performance,” Hunter wrote. “I am a team player and look forward to the opportunity to work with the other council members to make Dumfries a great place to live and work.”
Hunter has been a Dumfries town resident since 1998.