The deadline to file as a candidate in the Nov. 7 General Election is 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20.
The Middlesex elections office will be closed on Monday, June 19, for Juneteenth, a federal holiday. This means there are three business days to complete candidate paperwork — today, Friday and Tuesday. Another candidate has qualified this week, reported Melissa D. Welch, Middlesex County’s director of elections and general registrar. Michelle Lane Haskiell has filed to run for Clerk of Middlesex Circuit Court and is now a qualified candidate, said Welch.
Haskiell is challenging the current Middlesex Clerk of the Circuit Court Rachel K. Hartenbach.
Three seats on the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors are up for grabs, as well as three seats on the Middlesex County Public School Board. The districts to be contested include Jamaica, Harmony Village, and Pinetop.
As of June 14, no one had filed as a candidate for the board of supervisors, or school board for the Pinetop District. Neither of the current Pinetop District office holders are seeking re-election.
Joe A. Heyman is reportedly in the process of filing as a Pinetop District supervisor candidate, Welch reported. Pinetop representative Lud Kimbrough has said he will not seek another term.
No one has filed as a candidate for the two Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District seats, said Welch. The current representatives are Jason Bray and Alan Sutherlin.
Candidates so far
Incumbent Reginald A. “Reggie” Williams Sr. is the only qualified candidate for the Middlesex Board of Supervisors representing the Harmony Village District. No one else has filed in this district.
In the contest for the Middlesex Board of Supervisors Jamaica District, incumbent Jamaica District representative Wayne H. Jessie Sr. will be challenged by James W. Evans.
School board
Current Jamaica District School Board representative Elliott W. Reed is now a qualified candidate. Possible challenger Evelyn B. Beaumont is also reportedly in the process of filing to run for that seat, said Welch.
The Middlesex County School Board districts that are on the ballot are Pinetop, Jamaica, and Harmony Village.
Thomas D. Kennedy is in the process of filing to run for the Harmony Village District school board seat, Welch reported.
Current Harmony Village school board member Claudia Soucek is not seeking another term, neither is Pinetop District school board member Garland Harrow.
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.
All terms are for four years except for the Clerk of the Circuit Clerk, which is an eight-year term.
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.
