[Legislative Update] Bert Dodson Jr. Announces State Senate Run

Editor's Note: Bert Dodson Jr., CEO of Dodson Pest Control, Lynchburg, Va., in June announced he is running for a new, open State Senate seat in Virginia's 22nd District. Dodson, a Democrat, previously served for 12 years on the Lynchburg City Council. PCT Managing Editor and Internet Editor Brad Harbison recently sat down with Dodson for a PCT Podcast to learn more about his state senate run. Here is an excerpt of that conversation.

Q: How did you get involved in politics?

A: My father had served in local government many years ago and he ran for the State Senate, and I have a deep appreciation of public service. I served for 12 years on Lynchburg City Council — as vice mayor for six years — and I really enjoyed the public service part. When the opportunity came available to run for the State Senate — an open seat with no incumbent — I thought we needed more business people in our State Senate and General Assembly in relation to issues that affect business owners, and I took the opportunity and made my announcement.
 

Q: Can you talk a little about your service on the Lynchburg City Council?

A: Our city is around 75,000 people. We have a strong city management form of government. In Virginia cities are separate from counties. We have around 1,200 city employees and a $353 million combined budget, so you affect a lot of public safety, public education, economic development, public services. I've really enjoyed doing that for 12 years. I've spent around 80 to 100 hours a month on average over those 12 years and I really like giving back to the community and meeting people and helping them with their issues.
 

Q: Why was now a good time both personally and professionally for you to run for the open Senate position?

A: To the best of my knowledge I've been told there's never been a pest control operator that served in the state legislature in Virginia. There are issues that have come up recently that affected our industry and I felt, again, it's good to have business people who can make or have a budget, make a payroll, pay taxes, pay expenses, to be in the state legislature, whereby some people from a legal background, education background, don't know how to run a business, and obviously state government is a business that needs to be held accountable.
 

Q: Your platform is very pro-business. As a business owner what are some of the challenges you face and how do you think government can be part of the solution?

A: In the state level I've been involved in business issues for quite some time. In 2006 I was the National Federation Businessperson for the Year. I won a Sam Walton Business Leader Award in 1999. Our family has been a part of the Chamber of Commerce in our area since 1953. Obviously small business creates jobs in the community and in the state, and by bringing a business-minded approach to state government, I believe we give better services to our citizens.
 

Q: How do you think your experience on Lynchburg City Council benefits you as a candidate for State Senate?

A: When you come from a business background you want to get things done immediately, but in public service, public government, it takes a period of time. I served three four-year terms from 1998 to 2010. I did not run for a fourth term because I wanted to spend more time in our business. But what occurs is that we as business owners and particularly pest control operators, we must give back to the community. We've had decades of giving service to our community, and I know a lot of pest control operators who do the same thing throughout the country. I was really inspired when Congressman (Bob) Dold ran from Illinois and grabbed that seat, and it's wonderful to have a pest control operator in the national Congress to represent our issues as pest control operators.
 

Q: Can you talk about Virginia's 22nd Senate District and why you think your message will resonate with constituents?

A: In Virginia we have 40 senators and there's an eight million population. Virginia and New Jersey are the only two states that have elections in the odd years. When they redid the census and re-aligned the district, it gave me an opportunity to run for the office here. This is an area with a lot of rural counties, a lot of farmers, a lot of hard-working people. People depend on public education, public safety. By representing the citizens of the 22nd Senate District, we can take business practices to a general assembly in Richmond.
 

Q: What's next and how can people learn more about the campaign?

A: The website is dodsonforsenate.com and we're on Facebook. We have a really energetic campaign. The election is on November 8th of this year and we need as much help as we can, not just from our pest control operators in Virginia but it's great to have support throughout the country.