New candidates emerge in Fluvanna, Hanover, Nelson, Goochland Supervisor races; Several Constitutional officers file for re-election
A routine look at things happening in local governments and local elections in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District
It’s been a busy week. I’ve been spending more time in Campbell County. My parents are moving to a new home in the Wyndhurst community in Lynchburg. I’ll be going back and forth a lot more this year, and since doing this newsletter I look at everything with a new light. I’ve been driving up and down U.S. 29 for decades. But after nine months doing this, I am beginning to have a new understanding. I’m really excited about continuing to do this work.
I’ve not been keeping up to date on the statements of organization filed with the Virginia Department of Elections for candidates for this year’s election. So, before I get to the meetings for this week, I thought I’d devote this edition to who has filed so far for local offices in the Fifth District.
The next installment will feature previews of meetings in Buckingham County, Charlotte County, Cumberland County, and Mecklenburg County. The hope is to have that out tomorrow evening. But, there’s an event happening that may cause me to not quite meet that deadline.
Apparently some of you are seeing ways to pledge to turn this into a paid newsletter. I can’t seem to find where those are coming from, but I’m honored. Two of you have done that so far, and if more of you do, I will certainly explore it. I am very interested in continuing this newsletter and deepening my coverage.
In the meantime, here’s the latest information I have. The data comes from the Virginia Department of Elections. They post a list of filed Statements of Organization. I then use the historic elections database to look up and see who holds the position now. If the candidate has a website, I’ll link it.
Supervisor races
Robert M. Tucker Jr. has filed to run for re-election for the Banister District seat on the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. Tucker was appointed to the seat last year by the Circuit County after the Board of Supervisors could not agree on a replacement for Jesse Barksdale after his resignation last fall.
Democrat Elisha Kiser has filed paperwork to run for the District 1 seat on the Goochland County Board of Supervisors. The seat is currently held by Republican Susan Fouche Lascolette who was first elected in 2011.
Republican Douglas Alan Schuhle has filed to run for the Beaverdam District Seat on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. The seat is currently held by Republican Joseph Robert Monolo who won a special election in 2022 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Aubrey Stanley in late 2021. A second Republican, Jeffrey Scott Stoneman, filed paperwork in January.
A third candidate has filed for the South District seat on the Nelson County Board of Supervisors. Mary Kathryn Allen is running as an independent. Republicans James C. Bibb and Philip Purvis have both filed to run for the seat. The incumbent is Robert Barton. (read story on Information Charlottesville)
David Michael Goad is running for the Fork Union seat on the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors. He filed as an independent. The seat is currently held by Mozell H. Booker, who was first elected in 2007.
Alvester L. Edmonds will seek another term as Supervisor in District 6. He was first elected in 2003 and has only faced opposition once in 2011.
Joe Chambers has filed to run for another term as District 6 representative on the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors. Chambers has been on the Board of Supervisors since at least 2003. The Department of Elections online records for local races only go back to 2000. Chambers ran unopposed in 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2019. In 2011 he ran as a Democrat and won against a write-in candidate who got 29.1 percent of the 581 votes cast.
School Board races
Daniel Reed has filed to run for the Fork Union Seat on the Fluvanna County School Board. The seat is currently held by Perrie Johnson who was first elected in 2015 with 54.5 percent of the 974 votes cast.
Holly Comer is running for the District 7 seat on the Halifax County School Board. The seat is currently held by Keith A. McDowell who won a close race in 2019 with 50.6 percent of the vote. Comer’s paperwork indicates she is a Republican. The Virginia Department of Elections’ database of past elections indicates McDowell ran as an independent.
Stephen C. Harris will seek a fifth term representing the Cuckoo District on the Louisa County School Board. He was first elected in 2007 and has never faced opposition.
Melanie B. Currin will seek another term as District 4 on the Lunenburg School Board. She won election to her first term in 2019 with 77.4 percent of the 518 votes cast.
Ruby Baker Ingram has filed for reelection in District 5 for the Lunenburg School Board. Ingram was first elected in 2019 when she received 75 percent of the 605 votes cast.
Constitutional officers
Brenda Powell has filed for re-election as the Commissioner of the Revenue in Halifax County. Powell was first elected to the position in 2007 when she faced no opposition.
Republican Frank Hargrove Jr. has filed paperwork to run for reelection as the Clerk of the Hanover County Circuit Court. That is an eight-year term. Election records show that Hargrove was elected in 2007 and 2015 in uncontested races.
Pamela Ellen Duncan has filed for re-election as Treasurer in Goochland County. She first won office in 2019 when she ran in an uncontested race and received 99 percent of the 9,508 votes cast.
Lisa Carlton Wagstaff has filed to run for the Commissioner of Revenue in Mecklenburg County. The seat is currently held by Joseph Edward Taylor who was first elected in 2007 in a six-way race, garnering 23.7 percent of the 7,913 votes cast. He did not face any opponents in 2011, 2015, or 2019.
Patty Coleman Madison will seek another term as Clerk of Court in Louisa County. Madison was elected to the position in 2017 after the retirement of Susan Richardson Hopkins.
Democrat Angela Fortune Hicks has filed to run as re-election as Treasurer in Nelson County. She was first elected in 2011 when she secured 73.7 percent of the 5,418 votes cast that year. Hicks won with 81.4 percent of the vote in 2015 and was unopposed in 2019.
Stacey Coleman Fletcher is running for another term as Commissioner of the Revenue in Louisa County. She won election in 2019 with 46.5 percent of the 11,992 votes cast.
Likewise, Henry Binns Wash has also filed for re-election to run again as Louisa County Treasurer. Wash first won in 2011 in a six-way race in which he won with 24.8 percent of the 8,105 votes cast. In 2015 he won in a two-way race but this time got 62.2 percent of the 7,627 ballots cast. Wash ran unopposed in 2019.
Leroy Oscar Pfeiffer Jr. has been the Treasurer in Cumberland County since at least 2003. He’s never faced opposition. Pfeiffer has filed for another run this year.
Michele Lea Roakes has filed paperwork to run as Commissioner of Revenue in Campbell County. Cal Massie has held the position since at least 2003.
Valerie Younger is seeking a second eight-year term as Clerk of Court in Campbell County. Younger was first elected in 2017 in a special election with 98.6 percent of the 14,671 votes cast.
Stephanie D. Love will seek another term as Commissioner of Revenue in Buckingham County. She was first elected in 2011 with 59.8 percent of the 4,985 votes cast.
Christy Love Christian has been the Treasurer in Buckingham County since 2006 when she won in a special election and received 91.9 percent of the 1,748 votes cast.
Reading material:
Lynchburg City School Board rejects 'opt-in' policy change, Bryson Gordon, Lynchburg News & Advance, February 8, 2023
Campbell County considers sale of greenway, Shannon Kelley, Lynchburg News & Advance, February 8, 2023
Report: Southside population losses continue, Chuck Vipperman, Chatham Star-Tribune, February 9, 2023