by Tom Chillemi and Larry Chowning –
The deadline to file as a candidate in the Nov. 7 General Election is less than two weeks away. The deadline is 7 p.m. June 20.
Three more candidates have qualified recently, reported Melissa D. Welch, Middlesex County’s director of elections and general registrar.
Incumbent Reginald A. “Reggie” Williams Sr. has qualified as a candidate and is seeking another term on the Middlesex Board of Supervisors representing the Harmony Village District.
Also qualified as a candidate late last week is James W. Evans, who is seeking the seat on Middlesex Board of Supervisors for the Jamaica District. He will be challenging incumbent Jamaica District representative Wayne H. Jessie Sr., who qualified earlier.
Three seats on the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors are up for grabs, as well as three seats on the Middlesex County School Board. The districts to be contested include Jamaica, Harmony Village and Pinetop.
The supervisors seats are currently occupied by Wayne Jessie Sr., Jamaica; Reggie Williams Sr., Harmony Village; and Lud Kimbrough, Pinetop.
Kimbrough has said he will not seek another term. Joe A. Heyman is in the process of filing as a Pinetop District candidate, Welch reported.
School board
Current Jamaica District School Board representative Elliott W. Reed is now a qualified candidate. Possible challenger Evelyn B. Beaumont is also in the process of filing to run for that seat.
The Middlesex County School Board districts that are on the ballot are Pinetop, Jamaica, and Harmony Village. These school board seats are currently occupied by Garland Harrow, Pinetop; Elliott Reed, Jamaica; and Claudia Soucek, Harmony Village. Soucek has said she will not seek another term.
Longtime Pinetop District school board member Garland Harrow has decided not to run for re-election to his seat in the Nov. 7 election.
Harrow said in a telephone interview this week that he feels it is time for him to step down.
“This job is for younger people,” he said. “I have enjoyed being on the school board,” he said.
“I came on the board when Rusty Fairheart was superintendent of schools and I’ve enjoyed working with each superintendent since,” said Harrow. Fairheart was superintendent of Middlesex County Public Schools from 2007 to 2011.
No one has filed for School Board seats in Harmony Village and Pinetop districts, nor the two Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District seats, said Welch who added some potential candidates have shown interest in the Board of Supervisors and School Board seats this week.
Constitutional offices
Constitutional offices on the ballot include those occupied by Middlesex Sheriff David P. Bushey, Middlesex Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael T. Hurd, Middlesex Treasurer Traci B. Wright, Middlesex Commissioner of the Revenue E. Mae Diggs, and Middlesex Clerk of the Circuit Court Rachel K. Hartenbach.
Wright, Diggs, Hartenbach, Bushey, and Hurd, each of whom is seeking re-election, have filed the necessary forms and are qualified as candidates, reported Welch.
Middlesex voters will also choose two members of the Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District. The current members are Jason Bray and Alan Sutherlin.
All terms are for four years except for the Clerk of the Circuit Clerk, which is an eight-year term.
General Assembly
Middlesex voters will elect two representatives to the General Assembly.
The 2021 redistricting changed boundary lines and Middlesex County is now in the 25th District of the Virginia Senate and 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates, said Welch. This November Virginia Senator and Virginia House of Delegates will be on the ballot for the new districts.
With the boundary line changes, current Senator Ryan McDougle no longer lives in the 25th District, which includes Middlesex. A new state senate representative will be elected in November to a four-year term. Qualified candidates for the Virginia Senate are Republican Richard H. Stuart, and Democrat Jolicia A. Ward.
Delegate Keith Hodges, R-Urbanna, has qualified as a candidate. He still lives within the 68th District and represents Middlesex County. Delegates serve two-year terms.
Middlesex will not have any party primaries in June.
How to qualify
Candidate packets are available in the Middlesex Elections office located at 105 Bowden St. in Saluda. Call 804-758-4420 for information. Also, all forms needed are also on the Department of Elections website, elections.virginia.gov.
Candidates for office must meet certain qualifications and are required to file specific documents in order to qualify to appear on the ballot, Welch said. All candidates must be qualified to vote for and hold the office sought, and be a resident of Virginia for one year immediately preceding the election. The forms include candidate qualification certificate, statement of economic interests, declaration of candidacy, petitions with at least 125 qualified signatures and campaign finance forms. There is no cost to file for local offices.
Candidate packets are available in the Middlesex Elections office located at 105 Bowden St. in Saluda next to the new courthouse. Call 804-758-4420 for information. Also, all forms needed are also on the Department of Elections website, elections.virginia.gov.
