At least one name will be on the November ballot for the District 2 supervisor seat to fill the remainder of the late William McCarty’s term.

David Garner of Rescue recently announced his candidacy in a letter to the Times. Isle of Wight County Registrar Lisa Betterton confirmed on July 2 that Garner had qualified for the ballot.

Per state law, declarations of candidacy must be accompanied by a petition bearing the signatures of at least 125 registered voters who reside in the voting district for the office sought. Prospective candidates for the District 2 seat, due to its status as a special election to fill a vacancy, have until Aug. 15 to submit their paperwork. Betterton said Garner’s application was the only one she’d received as of July 2.

McCarty, 48, who’d served on the Board of Supervisors since 2016, died unexpectedly on Jan. 25 just over a year into his third four-year term in office. On March 6, the four remaining supervisors voted to appoint Thomas Distefano, formerly of the county’s Planning Commission, to temporarily fill the vacated seat through election day. Distefano told the Times in June he isn’t planning to run in the special election.

Garner said in his candidacy announcement that he plans to run on a platform of controlling the residential and commercial growth the Carrollton-centric district has seen over the past several years. According to census data and the American Community Survey, the roughly 6-mile census-designated place saw its population grow 5.4% from 7,498 residents counted during the 2020 census to just over 7,900 as of 2023.

“Growth is important but needs to be controlled. As a result, infrastructure, real estate assessments, roads, schools and county services suffer without finding ways to make the developer accountable for financing the burden of growth,” Garner said in his candidacy announcement.

It’s a platform that saw success in 2024 when four candidates who campaigned on reining in growth and development flipped control of Smithfield’s Town Council. Last year, first-time candidates Mary Ellen Bebermeyer and Darren Cutler and incumbent Mike Smith won their bids, ousting incumbents Jim Collins and Raynard Gibbs in a five-way race for three seats. The fourth went to Bill Harris, who ran unopposed for the two-year remainder term ex-Councilman Wayne Hall vacated in 2023.

Garner, who moved to the area 25 years ago and retired in 2019 from the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, said he took an interest in local politics after meeting former Town Councilman Dan Smith, who built Garner’s home, and Cutler, whom Garner called a “mentor.”

“Darren has been extremely helpful,” Garner said.

Garner said one of his priorities is the repair and replacement of Isle of Wight’s aging school facilities, contending the voluntary cash proffers offered by developers “vastly underestimate” school impacts.

 

Who else is on the ballot?

Two additional supervisor seats – Districts 3 and 5 – will be on the ballot for full four-year terms. The deadline to qualify for the ballot in those races was June 17.

Rudolph Jefferson, who since 2013 has held the District 3 supervisor seat, was the only candidate to qualify for that race by the deadline. The District 5 seat will see a contested race with incumbent Don Rosie and challenger Robert Eley both qualifying.

No candidates qualified by the June 17 deadline to appear on the ballot for the District 3 School Board seat. As a result, write-in votes will decide that race. Michael Cunningham, who currently holds the seat, told the Times he plans to step down at the Dec. 31 end of his term.

John Collick, the incumbent in the District 5 School Board seat, was the only candidate to qualify for that race. Collick said he too initially planned to step down but in May reconsidered.

The town of Windsor announced on July 1 that Vice Mayor J. Randy Carr had tendered his resignation effective June 30 after serving on the Windsor Town Council for just over six years. Under state law, the town has 15 days, or until July 15, to petition the county’s Circuit Court for a writ of election.

A town news release states the Windsor Town Council is soliciting registered voters residing within the town limits who are interested in serving as an interim appointee to the council to submit a cover letter and resume to Town Manager William Saunders at 8 E. Windsor Blvd. or P.O. Box 307, Windsor, VA 23487, or by email to wsaunders@windsor-va.gov, by 5 p.m. on July 18. Per state law, the remaining council members have 45 days to vote on an interim appointee. One or more candidates for interim appointment must be announced at least one week prior to the vote.

Surry County will hold its own special election on Nov. 4 to fill the Claremont District seat on its School Board. Surry Registrar Sharna’ White said no candidates had qualified as of July 2.

Laura Ruffin, who’d held the seat since 2012, died at age 77 on April 28 just over a year into her fourth term. Prospective candidates for that seat also have until Aug. 15 to submit their paperwork. The Surry School Board voted in May to appoint Wayne Gholston to temporarily fill Ruffin’s seat until the election.