After serving Hanover County for 20 years, former Chickahominy District supervisor Robert R. Setliff decided it was time for a change.

“I was on the Planning Commission for 12 years and the Board of Supervisors representing the Chickahominy District for eight,” he said. “When it came time to decide whether or not to run again, I decided it was time for a change.”

Setliff said he thinks the new Board of Supervisors — with three incumbents and four new members — is a good mix. One of those new members is Angela Kelly-Wiecek, who now represents the Chickahominy District.

“You need people with experience to guide the new members,” he said. “The board has a lot of challenges ahead, and it’s good that the newcomers have experienced incumbents to guide them. Otherwise, they might jump into something they aren’t ready for and become discouraged.”

As for Setliff’s experience, he said he is ready to share it.

“I’m not going to board meetings and try to impose my thoughts on any of them. If the phone rings and someone has a question and asks for help, I’ll do what I can.”

Setliff represented Hanover County on several committees and said they kept him busy.

“I attended about 60 committee meetings a year,” he said. “It averaged out to just over two a week and then I had all of the Board of Supervisor meetings and functions. Between board meetings and committee meetings, I stayed busy.”

“I’m proud of what I did and what was accomplished while I was on the board and Planning Commission. I believe we did some good things for Hanover County,” he added.

In his two campaigns for the supervisor’s seat, Setliff said he made only one promise.

“The first time I ran, I told the people that lived in Atlee Manor that I would work to get them sewer service if elected,” he said. “It took several years, but it was done without any cost to the county. The money for the project came from a federal grant, with matching funds from the residents in Atlee Manor.”

As for the county’s Comprehensive Plan, Setliff said, “I think the key to it is the way Hanover officials want to develop the county. They have identified 30 percent of the land in Hanover for economic development and that’s where 80 percent of economic development and growth will occur. The remaining 70 percent of the land will retain the rural characteristics that make Hanover County special.”

Setliff said the last revision to the Comprehensive Plan was in 2007, about a year ahead of schedule.

“The county basically ran out of land for economic development and had to designate more,” he said. “A lot of the land designated then for economic development was south of Doswell along Interstate 95.”

Setliff said the county’s AAA bond rating and education system are areas for residents and government to be proud.

“Hanover County is one of only a handful of counties in the country with a AAA bond rating, and our education system is considered one of the best in the country. We need to remember that times are tough, and we have to work hard to maintain those standards.”

As for his newfound free time, he has at least one idea.

“We [Setliff and his wife Connie] like to spend time at the Outer Banks,” he said. “Maybe now instead of just a regular two-day weekend, we can spend some long weekends there.”