Chapman Good gets GOP nod for Commonwealth’s Attorney; no candidate filed for District 1 school board seat
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, June 18 — The Page County Voter Registrar’s Office closed the books on the ballot for most local races in the November general election at the close of business on Tuesday. Two special races — Commonwealth’s Attorney and a Luray Council seat — still have an open deadline for candidates until Aug. 15. However, the deadline for candidates in all other open seats in Page County for this election cycle closed June 17.
Countywide, there are nine total seats up for election this November, with a total of 12 candidates currently on the ballot. Five seats are currently uncontested with a single candidate, three races will be contested, and the District 1 seat on the Page County School Board had no candidates meet the filing deadline. Meanwhile, the race for the District 1 seat on the Page County Board of Supervisors will feature three candidates.
Commonwealth’s Attorney
With the departure of Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Cave for a position on the bench in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in the 26th Judicial District, the race to fill his shoes attracted two candidates — now following the GOP caucus on Tuesday night… there are still two candidates.
While the Page County Republican Committee heavily favored former marine Chapman Good with a 51-8 vote during Tuesday night’s caucus over Luray attorney Charles “Chuck” Butler… the Luray councilman says he is not automatically walking away from the race.
“At the present time, I plan to take a couple of weeks to think about it, pray about it, consult my family and friends,” Butler told PVN on Wednesday afternoon.
The local Republican Committee announced its backing of Good on Wednesday morning.
“We want to extend our congratulations to Mr. Good on his win last evening and look forward to supporting him as our candidate on the November ballot for Commonwealth’s Attorney of Page County. Now that Mr. Good is our Republican candidate, it is incumbent on our committee and all Republicans within the county ‘to get out the vote’ in November and support Mr. Good,” the GOP’s press release reads. “We want to thank both candidates for their civic-minded desire to serve the citizens of Page County. And we wish Mr. Butler well in his future endeavors.”
On April 29, the court issued an order appointing Page County’s Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Armanda Clymer as the interim commonwealth’s attorney until the Nov. 4 special election. Neither the current deputy nor the current assistant commonwealth’s attorney (W. Andrew Harding) were eligible to run for the office since they do not reside in Page County.
Clymer recently hired Good to begin working in the commonwealth’s attorney office as an assistant. Good had previously been working as a defense attorney outside of Page County.
Due to it being a special election, in which the vacancy occurred after the November election, candidates for the commonwealth’s attorney race have until Friday, Aug. 15 to file their candidacy. The upcoming election will fill the position through Cave’s term, ending Dec. 31, 2027.
Board of Supervisors
The chairman’s seat on the Page County Board of Supervisors will be vacant, as current Chairman Keith Weakley plans to step down after one term. However, the vacancy has drawn two candidates. Republican Clifton “Bucky” Thomas will face independent and former planning commission chairman Jared Allan Burner. The four-year term runs through Dec. 31, 2029.
The District 1 seat is the most contested race on the local ballot with three candidates — Republican Joseph “Jeremy” Baldwin, incumbent David Keith Guzy, and independent Michael A. Montgomery. Guzy is a conservative, who has run as a Republican in the past, but missed the GOP filing deadline in April this year. This November, he’s running as an independent.
A special election will be held to fill the remainder of Isaac Smelser’s term in District 4. Susan K. Kile was appointed to fill the seat this winter, and she was the only candidate to file paperwork with the county’s voter registrar by the June 17 deadline. The unexpired term runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
The District 5 seat will likely be retained by incumbent Jeffrey P. Vaughan of Shenandoah. The longtime supervisor and Republican was the only candidate to file for the seat.
School Board
The Page County School Board will see a lot of new faces in 2026. Not only are three members stepping down — losing decades of experience — but a fourth member is running for chairman in an uncontested race that will create another vacancy in January.
District 4 representative Duane E. Painter is the lone candidate who filed for the chairman’s seat. Once he takes his oath and wields the gavel in January, the school board will need to appoint someone to take Painter’s seat in District 4.
That creates some concern, as the District 1 seat on the school board drew no candidates. Taylor Alger is stepping down after being appointed in late 2022 to replace the late Tommy Lansberry and won the remainder of his term in November 2023.
The District 5 seat has drawn two candidates — M. Charles Queen Jr. and Ana Maria Mendez. Ana Maria made a recent write-in run at the Shenandoah Council last fall.
Luray Council
A special election will be held to fill the remainder of Stephanie Lillard’s Council term through Dec. 31, 2027. Lillard won a two-way race in November with Councilman Ron Vickers to become mayor, thus vacating her council seat in January. Former mayor (and former councilman) Jerry Dofflemyer was appointed to the seat in February, and now he is the only person who has filed for the position.
Due to it being a special election, in which the vacancy occurred after the November election, candidates for Luray Council have until Friday, Aug. 15 to file their candidacy.
Key Dates for the 2025 General Election
- Sept. 19 — Early voting opens.
- Oct. 14 — Deadline to register
- Oct. 24 — Deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail
- Oct. 25 — Open for early in-person voting (Saturday)
- Nov. 1 — Final day of early in-person voting (Saturday)
- Nov. 4 — ELECTION DAY
NOTE: The Page County Democratic Committee has not endorsed any local candidates for office.
For more information about the upcoming elections, call the Page County Voter Registrar’s Office at 540-743-3986 or email cgaunt@pagecounty.virginia.gov, or visit them at 103 S. Court St., Suite D, Luray.
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