VACo chief’s retirement will mark ‘end of an era’

Jim Campbell has guided the Virginia Association of Counties through times of scarcity and plenty. His 25 years at VACo’s helm make him the longest-serving ex­ecutive director in the association’s 81-year history.

That will come to an end on June 30, 2016, his recently announced retirement date.

When Campbell was hired in 1990, VACo was awash in red ink for the second year in a row and leasing space in Richmond’s old City Hall.

Today, it’s a thriving organiza­tion with significant reserves and assets, and owns its LEED Gold-certified headquarters building.

“Jim took VACo from a small, sort of parochial organization to a very robust, statewide advocacy organization on behalf of all 95 counties,” said Penny Gross, VA­Co’s immediate past president and a Fairfax County, Va. supervisor.

“I am proud of what we’ve accomplished during my tenure,” Campbell said, “and believe the association is primed to launch to greater heights in the coming years,”

Mid-January will mark the start of his final session of the Virginia General Assembly. His successor has yet to be named.

Over the years, Campbell’s financial acumen has often been credited with securing the associa­tion’s bottom line. Current VACo President Judy Lyttle said Virginia counties have benefited from the association’s “non-dues revenue ventures.” She chairs the Surry County Board of Supervisors.

Lyttle describes Campbell as “a visionary in professional associa­tion matters,” adding that through his leadership, “counties have saved millions of dollars.”

In 2008, recognizing counties’ liabilities to account for Other Post-Employment Benefits, he helped form an OPEB Trust that pools funds to earn a higher rate of return on investments. The OPEB Trust currently comprises almost 50 counties, cities and towns investing nearly $1 billion. It’s believed to be the nation’s largest pool of its kind, according to VACo.

He also helped establish the Virginia Investment Pool (VIP). Local governments use the invest­ment program to enhance their return on reserve funds. Currently, the VIP program has 30 localities participating with more than $300 million invested in the pool.

Campbell has been a bridge-builder, says Gerry Hyland, a Fairfax County supervisor and VACo’s president in 2002–2003. The interests of Northern Virginia’s bustling Washington, D.C. suburbs are a far cry from those of the peaceful Shenandoah Valley or the coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

“Through his efforts, rural counties and large urban-suburban counties have been brought togeth­er to speak with one voice,” Hyland said, “whereas when he started, I think there was a division among the large and the small that was not a situation in the best interests of all counties in Virginia.”

To many, perhaps Campbell’s crowning achievement was over­seeing the purchase and renovation of 1207 East Main Street in Rich­mond for VACo’s headquarters, a stone’s throw from the State Capitol.

Under his leadership, the 1866 building was updated with an eye towards preserving its historical significance while developing an environment-friendly “green” building.

Campbell plans to stay active in retirement, he said, with more time for family and travel with his wife, Christine. New England and the Pacific Northwest might be on their itinerary.

“Certainly I’ll miss the many friends that I’ve made,” he said, “not only in Virginia but across the country — county officials I’ve worked with over the past 25 years and made some great friends. I’ll miss that a lot.”

Gross, who has served on VACo’s board for 20 years, called Campbell’s impending retirement “the end of an era.”

“But Jim has put together a fine young staff that will continue to pursue the goals of VACo just as VACo has always done under Jim’s tutelage,” she said.