A second candidate for Supervisor has emerged in the White Hall District, creating the possibility of a contested race for a second election cycle in a row. Brad Rykal of Crozet has filed a statement of organization with the Virginia Department of Elections to run as an independent.
Ann Mallek was first elected to the White Hall District on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors in 2007 when she defeated Republican David Wyant with 55.64 percent of the 5,307 votes cast that year.
Mallek ran unopposed in 2011 and 2015 but faced Republican Steve Harvey in 2019 and won 56.7 percent of the 7,728 votes cast that year.
It’s been many years since anyone sought a fifth term, but Mallek made her intentions known at a kick-off event Saturday at Crozet Library.
“With encouragement from local citizens and county leaders across the Commonwealth, I declare today to seek re-election for a last term representing the White Hall District,” Mallek said.
A round-up on other candidates who have filed so far for 2023
There are 263 days left until the general election on November 7, and more candidates are emerging in the community.
This week, Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley of the Rivanna District filed paperwork with the Virginia Department of Elections to run for re-election. She won election to a first term in 2019 in a race that was technically unopposed but write-in candidate Mike Johnson received nearly a third of the vote.
Johnson raised $99,336 for his write-in campaign, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project. That’s among the highest amounts ever for a Supervisor race in Albemarle County. That amount compares to $23,476 for LaPisto-Kirtley in 2019. She won the Democratic primary that year against Jerrod Smith.
This year, LaPisto-Kirtley may have an opponent in the General Election.
David Coleman Rhodes filed paperwork to run as an independent. I contacted him to confirm his candidacy and he said he didn’t have much to say yet.
“I am a lifelong resident of Albemarle, don’t like the direction this community has taken, and believe the Supervisors need a different voice,” Rhodes said in an email to me on Thursday.
Rhodes said he would not run if another candidate emerges.
So far, the only other candidate to announce for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors is Michael Pruitt, a Democrat who launched his campaign last November. Read that story here.
Other candidates:
A third candidate has filed for the South District seat on the Nelson County Board of Supervisors. Mary Kathryn Allen is running as an independent. Republicans James C. Bibb and Philip Purvis have both filed to run for the seat. The incumbent is Robert Barton. (read story on Information Charlottesville)
David Michael Goad is running for the Fork Union seat on the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors. He filed as an independent. The seat is currently held by Mozell H. Booker, who was first elected in 2007.
Joe Chambers has filed to run for another term as District 6 representative on the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors. Chambers has been on the Board of Supervisors since at least 2003. The Department of Elections online records for local races only go back to 2000. Chambers ran unopposed in 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2019. In 2011 he ran as a Democrat and won against a write-in candidate who got 29.1 percent of the 581 votes cast.
Daniel Reed has filed to run for the Fork Union Seat on the Fluvanna County School Board. The seat is currently held by Perrie Johnson who was first elected in 2015 with 54.5 percent of the 974 votes cast.
Stephen C. Harris will seek a fifth term representing the Cuckoo District on the Louisa County School Board. He was first elected in 2007 and has never faced opposition.
Patty Coleman Madison will seek another term as Clerk of Court in Louisa County. Madison was elected to the position in 2017 after the retirement of Susan Richardson Hopkins.
Democrat Angela Fortune Hicks has filed to run as re-election as Treasurer in Nelson County. She was first elected in 2011 when she secured 73.7 percent of the 5,418 votes cast that year. Hicks won with 81.4 percent of the vote in 2015 and was unopposed in 2019.
Likewise, Henry Binns Wash has also filed for re-election to run again as Louisa County Treasurer. Wash first won in 2011 in a six-way race in which he won with 24.8 percent of the 8,105 votes cast. In 2015 he won in a two-way race but this time got 62.2 percent of the 7,627 ballots cast. Wash ran unopposed in 2019.
Democrat Jim Hingeley has filed to run for a second term as Commonwealth’s Attorney in Albemarle County. Hingeley defeated incumbent Republican Robert Tracci in 2019 with 56.27 percent of the vote. Tracci had defeated incumbent Democrat Denise Lunsford in the 2015 race with 51.26 percent of the vote.
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The first campaign finance reports for the 2023 election are in and they look back to activity from the second half of 2022. Thanks to the Virginia Public Access Project for making all of this information from the Department of Elections easy to navigate.
Cooper becomes second candidate in House District 54
As 2022 comes to a close, a look ahead to the School Board races in the community beginning with news of the first person to file as a candidate in Albemarle.
Meg Bryce has filed a statement of organization to run for the at-large seat on the Albemarle School Board. Bryce is a resident of Ivy and had no comment for this story. The seat is currently held by Jonno Alcaro, who was first elected to the county-wide office in November 2015.
UVA Law student is first to announce in 2023 Albemarle Supervisor elections
A small group gathered on the steps of the Albemarle County Office Building Saturday afternoon to support the first candidate to make a formal announcement to run for the Board of Supervisors.
“My name is Mike Pruitt, and I’m a Democrat running for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors to represent the Scottsville District,” said Mike Pruitt.
Mike Pruitt, a candidate for the Scottsville District on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors at his announcement on November 26, 2022 (Credit: Sean Tubbs / Town Crier Productions)
Pruitt grew up in a small town in Anderson County, South Carolina he said was about an hour away from a city where people could find work. A former mill had closed, leaving no major industry.
“As I got older, I realized that this wasn’t a place I could stay,” Pruitt said. “Decades of disinvestment meant that there were no opportunities and growing up in the 90’s as a kid like me, I didn’t always feel the most welcome.”
Localities in Virginia have the ability to institute a new way of casting ballots whose proponents say would encourage more people to vote and run for office. But Albemarle’s new registrar told the Board of Supervisors earlier this month that more time is needed to implement ranked choice ballots.
“There are significant unresolved technical and legal issues that affect the implementation of ranked choice voting in 2023 elections,” said Lauren Eddy, Albemarle’s Director of Elections.
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:
Tomorrow the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will discuss what the Electoral Board might need if a directive was given to adopt an alternative method of selecting candidates. Earlier this month, Delegate Sally Hudson (D-57) briefed the elected officials with control over elections policy on what’s known as ranked choice voting.
“Ranked choice voting is an election reform that is now being adopted across the country, both coasts and everywhere in between,” Hudson said.
Throneburg only won in Albemarle County, Charlottesville, and Danville. Nearly 87 percent of voters in Charlottesville cast a ballot for Throneburg, compared with 66.1 percent in Albemarle, and 53.2 percent in Danville.