Hulbert: There's no finer public servant than Del. David Toscano

On Jan. 6, a large and distinguished group of citizens (present company not so much) stood on a stretch of new roadway on a perfect morning of “Chamber of Commerce weather,” ready to open the new John W. Warner Parkway.

Hoo-rah!

Unfortunately, two key public servants were unable to be among that happy group.

The first was former U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, the distinguished American citizen and statesman and the new parkway’s namesake. Fortunately, former Albemarle supervisor and successful businessman Forrest Marshall, a dear friend of the senator, was able to convey Sen. Warner’s emotional gratitude — for both the parkway and what Mr. Warner said was the “honor” to serve the people of Albemarle County and Charlottesville in the U.S. Senate. We all wished him a speedy recovery while thanking him in absentia for his great leadership.

The second public servant who was unable to be present was Del. David Toscano. He unfortunately could not attend the event due to a prior, and important, scheduling conflict.

For the past 11 years as Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce president, I have had the good fortune to meet, observe and work with David Toscano — first when he was a Charlottesville City Councilor, then as a private citizen and businessperson and finally, for the past several years, as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. I can tell you I have met no finer public servant in my 11 years as a citizen of the commonwealth of Virginia.

Beginning about five years ago, David graciously offered himself as a mediator among the uneasy and often conflicting parties of Charlottesville, Albemarle and the commonwealth — to closure and completion of the Meadow Creek Parkway, McIntire Road Extended, U.S. 250-McIntire Road Interchange projects and, more recently, the Hillsdale Drive Extended and the U.S. 29-U.S. 250 increased access projects. (The latter project is often called the Best Buy additional lane and ramp project.)

Over the course of these five projects’ checkered histories, I have watched David’s quiet leadership at several junctures with disparate individuals and jurisdictions. He is respectful and attentive to all points of view. When a player is out of line, David remains unflappable. He has never once raised his voice or soured his tone (something very hard for me and many people to do). David always looks for, and seeks, common ground. He keeps his eye and the energies of all the parties focused on a positive outcome. When someone is off target, David gently and courteously brings him and the group back into focus. David looks for success.

When the Jan. 6 group of celebrants applauded the warm, sun-soaked opening of the parkway, it was unfortunate that David could not be there and that no speaker thought to acknowledge David Toscano’s enormous contributions and quiet leadership in bringing the project to fulfillment.

David Toscano has tried to bring together other conflicting components of our community, some successfully (the Transit Center) and some not so successfully (most notably the continuing conflict between Albemarle County and Charlottesville over school funding).

Few others in our community have offered their time, experience and special talents to bring people together, often out of the limelight for the benefit of our community, as has David Toscano. We all should applaud David for his efforts and wish him the best success in future initiatives.