Write-in Supervisor candidate in Greene County raised more money in September than three on the November 3 ballot

There are less than two weeks now until Election Day and a total of 2,892 Greene County residents have voted through October 20 thanks to data collected by the Virginia Public Access Project.

In our area, races for local elected are usually held in odd-numbered years but a vacancy on the Greene County Board of Supervisors has led to a four-way race for the at-large seat vacated by Francis McGuigan in January.

Three candidates made the deadline to get on the ballot for the seat but one member of the Republican has entered the race on a write-in campaign. That still requires candidates to register with the Virginia Department of Elections and submit reports on financial contributions.

The latest deadline for this race was yesterday and the VPAP has collected that information as well.

Alex Salle, began the reporting period with $225 on September 1 and raised $2,160 during the month. The campaign spent $1,943 mostly on printing. A total of $443 was in the campaign account as of September 30. (raw report)

Jennifer Anne Ziros started September with $100 and received $400 during the month. The campaign spent $403 and had $96 left over. (raw report)

John Hunter raised no money and began September with $401 and spent none of it.

Republican Shawn Hayes did not make the ballot but outraised the three who did with a total of $4,550 in contributions between September 15 and September 30. Most of that amount, of $3,900, came from him personally.

Hayes spent many years as the owner of the Blue Ridge Cafe in Ruckersville.

As previously reported, Hunter is a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Board of Equalization. Salle works in project management for local government. Ziros also sits on the Board of Zoning Appeals and is a former member of the the Stanardsville Town Council.

While write-in campaigns are difficult to win, there is a precedent for success. In 1993, Sally Thomas defeated Carter Myers 2,238 votes to 2,046 votes. Thomas would go on to serve four terms on the Board of Supervisors.

Another candidate in the Rivanna District made an attempt in 2019 but fell short. Democrat Bea LaPisto-Kirtley defeated write-in candidate Michael Johnson 4,416 votes to 2,272 votes in the November general election. Johnson outraised La-Pisto Kirtley $99,336 to $23,476.

So far in 2026, 822,785 Virginians have cast ballots through October 20 according to VPAP.

• In Albemarle County, 16,143 people have voted
• There have been 6,200 ballots cast in Charlottesville
• A total of 5,337 have voted in Fluvanna County
• The number in Louisa County 5,092
• In Nelson, 2,305 people have submitted their ballot

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