Ike is a business owner, conservationist, husband, and father of three. He has been living and working in Fauquier County for 27 years, raising children, chickens, and goats in an 18th century farm house on Old Bust Head Road.

Ike cares deeply about land use issues and has helped to craft smart, environmentally friendly policies across the county through his roles as Vice Chair of the Fauquier Purchase of Development Rights Program and Chairman of the Vint Hill Economic Development Authority. As co-owner of Old Bust Head, a local craft brewery, with his wife Julie, Ike knows that the right kinds of development in the right places can bring life and energy to the community without sacrificing the rural character that makes Fauquier unique.

Ike’s Vint Hill Story

In 2007, Ike was appointed to the Board of Vint Hill Economic Development Authority (the EDA), the organization charged by the Governor to convert the former Army Base a mile south of Rt 29 into an economic engine for Fauquier County. As Chair and Director of the EDA, Ike advocated for a plan to preserve the old buildings and to leverage the history that made Vint Hill special.

In just five years under Ike’s leadership, during a severe real estate recession, the EDA was able to renovate several buildings, attract several new businesses and invest in new infrastructure including: new roads and trails, water & sewer lines, fiber optic cable, broadband, and cell towers, all while reducing operating expenses by more than 30% from when Ike arrived. After selling the remaining land at a profit, the EDA was able to create a fund with over half a million dollars for future economic development projects.

The following year, Ike and Julie purchased several of the oldest and most run-down buildings in Vint Hill, launching their new brewery, Old Bust Head Brewing Company, at the center. They began renovating those buildings using state-of-the art sustainable infrastructure like geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting, and a massive 100kW PV solar electric rooftop installation, the largest for miles around.

Their efforts have attracted 30 businesses including ballet, yoga, gymnastics, and CrossFit studios, a church, a school, several defense contractors, a food distribution center, a winery, a hair salon, two cafés, a catering company, a museum, a retail gift shop, a veterinarian, a global land-conservation non-profit, and a dozen other small businesses, housed in over 200,000 square feet of commercial space, and employing hundreds of people who no longer have to commute to Northern Virginia every day.

In the process, Ike has developed a reputation with local residents, County government, local business owners, and conservation organizations as an honest, hard-working problem solver who devotes his time and resources to preserving the scenic beauty of Fauquier and creating jobs and amenities that build a vibrant and healthy community.

Vision

Fauquier is certainly the most beautiful county in Northern Virginia, and arguably in the entire Commonwealth. It’s also a great place to live and a great place to farm. That’s not by mistake. For the last 50 years our elected leaders have developed thoughtful policy and, with the help of hundreds of volunteer citizens, worked tirelessly to implement and defend that policy against the continual pressure to develop our rural landscape. Our threats today are as great as they’ve ever been. The demand to convert farmland and forest into suburban sprawl is constant. The pressure to convert pristine views into easy tax revenue is intense. Fauquier’s track records of channeling that demand into its service districts and protecting its farmland, forests, and viewsheds is what makes us different.

I’m running as an independent because I think it is what we need as a community. My career as a real estate broker taught me how to find common ground between natural adversaries and to get everyone to the settlement table with a smile!

If elected, I will use my 40 years of business experience to help Fauquier anticipate its threats and build strong defenses against them. If we plan strategically, we can simultaneously attract creative opportunities for economic growth and preserve the history and the natural beauty that surrounds us so it may be enjoyed for generations to come. As your Supervisor, my priorities will be:
  1. Protecting our farms, forests, and view sheds from intrusive development.
  2. Preventing power lines from bisecting our communities and destroying property values.
  3. Having the infrastructure and zoning that encourages businesses to launch and flourish in our service districts so that residents will have: amenities closer to home, job opportunities that greatly shorten their commutes, and tax revenue from businesses that reduce homeowner’s tax burdens.
  4. Building out broadband throughout all areas of the County.
  5. Offering competitive salaries and benefits to all county employees and investing in the facilities and equipment they need to provide the services we expect.
  6. Keeping taxes low by avoiding wasteful spending and by not allowing services to expand unnecessarily.
–– Ike

Other Experience

Over the years Ike has worn many hats, but his interest in land use and the community has been constant. He has launched and grown several successful companies and managed the finances of non-profit and governmental organizations. He also has deep experience developing long-range strategic plans, negotiating contracts, overseeing complex projects, and managing large budgets. Some highlights from Ike’s career:

Endorsements

Ike has been endorsed by Holder Trumbo, Mary Leigh McDaniel, Bill Downey, and Peter Schwartz, all current or former Fauquier County Supervisors from Marshall and Scott Districts. He has worked closely with all four of them on important issues for more than 20 years and is happy he can count on their wise counsel and support for many years to come.

Community Advocacy

Ike has fought on the front lines with other community leaders to support or block initiatives that could have a big impact our community. A few examples:

Protecting Route 29 – Ike served on five citizen committees over 15 years to provide VDOT input and feedback. We successfully prevented VDOT from widening Rt 29, creating a grade-separated interchange at Vint Hill Road, and building “Michigan U Turns” in three locations in New Baltimore, and eventually persuaded VDOT to proceed with the project that became known as “Cut the hills and fill the dips”, which today is recognized as one of VDOT’s most successful projects, preserving the rural character of this historic road while making it safer and reducing delays, all for a fraction of the cost VDOT had expected to pay.

Stopping the Power Towers – Ike worked with other community leaders and citizen groups to fight a Dominion proposal to add high-voltage transmission lines, which could have cut through residential areas and farmland in and around New Baltimore. Ultimately, Dominion agreed that the lines were not necessary immediately, though they have warned us that the issue will need to be addressed soon.

Saving the Vint Hill Barracks – After convincing the EDA to reverse their earlier decision to demolish the historic barracks in Vint Hill, Ike worked with the new owners and county staff to develop a sensible change to the zoning ordinance permitting residential use in historic structures. The Barracks restoration plan gained approval with wide-spread community support, paving the way for affordable loft apartments that will become an integral part of Vint Hill’s economic revitalization.

Support & Contact

Get in touch at ikebroaddus@gmail.com or call 540-428-5355 to learn more about our campaign and how you can get involved. Here are some ways you can help!


Friends of Ike Broaddus
6437 Old Bust Head Rd
Broad Run, VA 20137


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Committed to keeping Fauquier beautiful. Photos by Callie Broaddus.