Meet the candidates
Rappahannock News forums are Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 at the Theatre
The Rappahannock News has scheduled candidate forums in the last two weeks of September, at which all the candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot have been invited to speak and take your questions.
Both forums start at 7 p.m. at the just-repainted Theatre at Washington (291 Gay St.). On Monday, Sept. 21, candidates for supervisor and school board seats will be on stage. On the following Monday, Sept. 28, candidates for sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, court clerk and other constitutional-officer posts will be present, as will candidates for the two open
seats on the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District board.
There is no admission charge for the forums, for which the Theatre at Washington donates its 200-plus seats and stage.
The candidates, most of whom are expected to attend (except as noted), are:
Circuit Court Clerk: Incumbent first-term court clerk Peggy Ralph faces opponent Lavonne Adkins, who made an unsuccessful write-in bid when Ralph ran in a required special election in 2010 after she was appointed to replace longtime clerk Diane Bruce, who announced her retirement in 2009.
Commonwealth’s Attorney: Current first-term officeholder Art Goff has no opponents; Goff will not be able to attend the Sept. 28 forum.
Sheriff: Sheriff Connie C. Smith, running for a third term, is opposed (for the second time) by Anthony E. “Andy” Berry Jr., a Culpeper town police sergeant from Sperryville.
Commissioner of the Rev
enue: Three women seek the post held for nearly 30 years by Beverly Atkins, who’s retiring: Sharon Dodson of Flint Hill, Atkins’ longtime deputy; Marlina Lee of Castleton; and Christa Weeks of Washington.
Treasurer: Deborah Knick, appointed in 2013 to replace Frances Foster (who held the post for more than a half-century), was unopposed on last November’s required ballot, and is unopposed again.
Soil and Water Conservation District Board: Three candidates are vying for two seats on the board: Incumbent
Monira Rifaat of Sperryville, Heritage Hollow Farm co-owner Mike Peterson and Isaac Parrish of Viewtown.
Supervisor, Hampton dis
trict: Three candidates seek the seat being vacated by longtime supervisor Bryant Lee: Realtor and current school board chair John Lesinski; farmer and realtor J. Newbill “Jay” Miller Jr. and water and sewer authority member Keir Whitson.
Supervisor, Jackson district: Incumbent Ron Frazier, a 19-year veteran of the board, faces school board member Amy Hitt.
Supervisor, Wakefield district: Incumbent Roger Welch, current chair of the supervisors and the board’s second-longestserving member, is unopposed.
School Board member, Hampton: No candidate will appear on the ballot for the seat being vacated by Lesinski. Former teacher and nurse Demaris Miller has announced her plan to run as a write-in candidate; former longtime RCES teacher Lucy “Pud” Maeyer, who says she’s not actively campaigning (including by not attending the Sept. 21 forum), also said Monday that she will serve if she receives enough write-in votes.
School Board member, Jackson: Former school board member J. Wesley Mills is running unopposed to fill the seat that Hitt will give up Jan. 1.
School Board member, Wakefield: Incumbent W. Chris Ubben is unopposed in his bid for a second term.
The Friends of Liberty announced this week their plans to hold two candidates forums earlier in September. See the Events calendar on pages 2 and 3 for more information about the Sept. 3 and Sept. 9 events in Amissville and Washington.