VAEEC Members Encouraged to Apply, Suggest Nominees, and Offer Support

March 2016: Virginia’s Board of Housing and Community Development will be filling five seats this spring and summer. VAEEC would like to see a strong number of diverse nominations representing the energy efficiency industry.

Why is this important to VAEEC?

Members of the governor-appointed Housing and Community Development Board guide and vote upon the content of Virginia’s triennial update of building codes – including the energy efficiency code. Currently Virginia lags behind our neighbors to the north and south for requiring some of the advancements in efficiency standards and testing. Advanced energy codes are among the most cost-effective methods of saving energy, lowering the total cost of housing, improving health and comfort in homes, and improving quality throughout the homebuilding industry. Learn more about the importance of strong energy codes from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Responsible Energy Codes Alliance.

What can you do?

Please reach out to me at chelsea@vaeec.org if you’d like to be nominated or can suggest a candidate worthy of support.

The seats will be filled by July 1, but the administration is expected to identify candidates soon.

The open seats are in Virginia’s 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th congressional districts, and nominees have to reside in the district to be eligible:

3rd (Bobby Scott’s district- parts of Richmond, Henrico, parts of Tidewater)

4th (Randy Forbes’s district- being redrawn) South-central to South eastern part of VA (Chesterfield, Amelia, Hopewell, Southampton, etc.)

5th (Robert Hurt’s district) Albemarle, Appomattox, Bedford, Charlottesville, Fauquier, etc)

7th (Dave Brat’s district) Ashland, parts of Richmond, Spotsylvania

9th (Morgan Griffith’s district) Southwest, Southside

Learn more about the Board and the nomination process.

VAEEC is official supporting the following candidates. To show your support for these or other nominees, simply fill out a nomination form online. It is listed as “Housing and Community Development, Board of” under “Commerce and Trade.” 

3rd District: Andrew Grigsby, Executive Director of the Local Energy Alliance Program and Secretary of the VAEEC Governance Board

7th District: Bob Newman, President & CEO of the Virginia Community Development Corporation

7th District: Tim Bernadowski, Senior Energy Engineer, Siemens Building Technologies