It’s been a week now since Election 2022 and as of publication of this article on Information Charlottesville, there are 356 days until the next one. It’s perhaps a bit premature to look that far ahead, but annual elections are the way. This past year there was only one race across most of the Fifth District, but next year will be a lot busier for local and state seats. Here’s a quick overview of what to expect:
Albemarle County
There are three seats up for election for the Board of Supervisors with races in the Rivanna, Scottsville, and White Hall Districts.
Supervisor Donna Price has stated she will not seek reelection to a second term, leaving at least one open race. The Virginia Public Access Project lists that a Mike Pruitt as a candidate for the seat. This seat was contested in 2019 when Democrat Price defeated Republican Michael Hallahan with 55.2 percent of the vote.
The Rivanna District was technically uncontested in 2019 but Democrat Bea LaPisto Kirtley defeated write-in candidate Michael Johnson with 66 percent of the vote. Johnson raised nearly $100,000. Hallahan raised $92,256.
Democrat Ann Mallek has won four elections to the White Hall District including a win over Republican Steve Harvey with 56.7 percent. Mallek ran unopposed in 2011 and 2015 but defeated Republican incumbent David Wyant in 2007 with 55.7 percent of the vote.
Charlottesville
Three of the city’s at-large seats are up this year. First-time Democrats Sena Magill, Michael Payne, and Lloyd Snook may or may not be on the ballot depending on what they announce.
It has been since 2015 that a sitting member of Council opted to run for re-election. That was Kathy Galvin, who was elected on a ticket with Wes Bellamy and Mike Signer. That year was the last time a Republican was on the general election ballot. Anson Parker received 1,205 votes compared to 4,278 for Signer, 4,561 for Galvin, and 4,657 for Bellamy.
In 2015, Galvin opted not to seek a third term and ran instead for the Democratic nomination for House District 57 and lost in the primary to Sally Hudson.
Fluvanna County
Two of the five seats on the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors are up for election. These are the Fork Union District seat held by Mozell Booker and the Palymra District seat held by Patricia Eager. Both Booker and Eager ran unopposed in 2019.
Greene County
There are three seats up for election in Greene County. These are for the Ruckersville District seat held by Independent Davis Lamb, the Monroe District seat held by Republican Steve Bowman, and the at-large seat held by Dale Herring.
In 2019, Lamb defeated Thomas Joseph Flynn with 52.8 percent of the vote. Incumbent Herring defeated James Murphy 3,373 votes to 2,647 votesBowman beat incumbent David Cox for the Monroe District seat 756 votes to 636 votes.
Louisa County
In Louisa County, three of seven Supervisor seats will be on the ballot. These are the Cuckoo District seat held by Willie Gentry Jr, the Louisa District seat occupied by Eric Purcell, and the Jackson District seat held by R. T. “Toni” Williams.
Both Gentry and Purcell were unopposed in 2019. Williams won election in a contested race with 64 percent of the vote.
Nelson County
Two of Nelson County’s five seats are up for election. These are the West District seat held by J. David Parr and the South District seat held by Robert “Skip” Barton. Parr was unopposed in 2019. Barton defeated Larry Saunders in a close race with 560 votes to 510 for his opponent.
General Assembly races
All 140 seats in the state legislature will be on the ballot next year under new districts drawn under the direction of the Virginia Supreme Court after the Virginia Redistricting Commission failed to complete their task due to a partisan deadlock.
The new boundaries for House District 55 cover almost all of Albemarle County, portions of northern Nelson County and western Louisa County. Incumbent Republican Rob Bell is in this district. Two Democrats are vying to be on the November ballot. They are former Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer and emergency room nurse Kellen Squire.
The new House District 54 covers the city of Charlottesville as well as a portion of Albemarle’s urban ring. The incumbent is Democrat Sally Hudson.
The new House District 56 consists of all of Buckingham County and part of Fluvanna County and a very small sliver of Louisa County. VPAP currently shows one Republican and one Democrat in the race for this open seat.
Senator Creigh Deeds, a Democrat, is moving from Bath County to Charlottesville in order to run in the new 11th Senate District. So far he is the only person in the race for a district whose boundaries cover all of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Amherst County, and Nelson County, as well as the western portion of Louisa County.
The rest of Louisa County is in District 10, as is the rest of Fluvanna County and many other localities in the northern part of Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District. There are four Republicans running including Duane Adams, the Mineral District Supervisor in Louisa County. The others are Sally Brindley, Jack Dyer, and John McGuire.
Any interest in running for any of these? When you’re ready to announce, drop me a line. I plan to cover the elections like I cover everything else. If you want to know what’s happening, keep reading and listening.
Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the November 8, 2022 edition of the program. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.
