Robert “JJ” Orth, 75, has announced his reelection campaign as an independent candidate for the Abingdon District seat on the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors.
Orth won election for this seat in 2011, 2015 and 2019. Orth has served as chair three of those years, and represents the board on the Economic Development Authority, Utilities, Library, and Clean and Green committees. He spearheaded a Business Focus Group when first elected and has been an advocate for small businesses since then by working with the board to eliminate or reduce onerous regulations.
He has supported programs and policies to protect the environment, especially Chesapeake Bay and our local waters. He worked with the planning commission and supervisors to adopt an ordinance that provided guidance for the building of solar facilities in Gloucester County.
If reelected, Orth said he will continue to support and work to, attract small businesses in the county. He will continue to advocate for a balance between smart growth and maintaining the rural atmosphere of the county, an environment many of our current and future residents see as an important part of “Land of Life Worth Living.” He added he will advocate for a balanced budget and a tax rate that supports essential services to run the county effectively and efficiently, and serve the citizens of Gloucester in a fair and equitable manner.
Orth received a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University in 1969, Master of Science in Marine Science from the University of Virginia in 1971, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Maryland in 1975.
He worked at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), part of the College of William and Mary, since 1973, where he oversaw the program to monitor, protect, restore, and conserve underwater grasses. He retired in 2021 as a full professor.
Orth is married to Nancy, who taught in Gloucester County Public Schools for 27 years. They are parents of two daughters, both of whom graduated from Gloucester High School, and grandparents of three boys and one girl.
Orth has been active in many volunteer community activities since settling in Gloucester. He was a member of the Abingdon Volunteer Rescue Squad, serving as treasurer, president, member of the board of directors and fund drive chair. He helped coach in the Parks and Recreation Program activities, notably T-ball, softball, and basketball. He was president of the Gloucester High School Athletic Boosters Club and was instrumental in the building of the sports complex. He was honored for these activities by being inducted into the Gloucester High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Orth is a member of Bethany United Methodist Church at Gloucester Point.
Professionally, Orth was chair of the Biology Department at VIMS for over 15 years. He was treasurer and president of the International Coastal and Estuarine Federation. He and a close colleague received and shared the highest award of this organization, the Odum award for Lifetime Achievement, for their significant contributions to the field of seagrass ecology.
Orth is opposed in the general election by independent candidate John C. Meyer Jr.