Letters still accepted; no further local coverage
By Randy Arrington, publisher
As we publish this, there is just one week left to go until Election Day. While many have already voted, the majority of folks in Page County will wait until Nov. 5 to cast their ballots. With that in mind, we take a look back at (and offer links to) local election coverage Page Valley News has provided on municipal races in Luray, Shenandoah and Stanley.
During the final seven days leading up to Election Day, PVN will continue to publish Letters to the Editor in support of candidates or certain issues at the local, state or federal level as time allows through Tuesday, Nov. 5. However, we will not be publishing articles related to local elections during the final days before ballots are cast.
With that said, we offer apologies to several candidates in the Town of Shenandoah. It appeared there would be no contested races in Shenandoah, until several last-minute write-ins candidates emerged. While we planned to conduct interviews and debates (or forums) with all candidates in contested races, the only candidates to officially file by the June filing deadline were in the Town of Luray.
Way back in January, we conducted one-on-one interviews with both of Luray’s mayoral candidates:
- Page Valley Livin’ talks about the race for Mayor of Luray with Stephanie Lillard
- Page Valley Livin’ talks about the race for Mayor of Luray with Ron Vickers
As well as publishing Q&As with each on PVN:
- Decision 2024-Mayor of Luray ~ Q&A with Ron Vickers
- Decision 2024-Mayor of Luray ~ Q&A with Stephanie Lillard
After the June filing deadline passed, we scheduled one-on-one interviews with each of five Luray Council candidates:
- VIDEO ~ Page Valley Livin’ talks with Luray Council candidate Chuck Butler
- VIDEO ~ Page Valley Livin’ talks with Luray Council candidate Wendy Temple Holtzman — (Holtzman dropped out of the race and will not appear on the ballot)
- VIDEO ~ Page Valley Livin’ talks with Luray Council candidate Jason Pettit
- VIDEO ~ Page Valley Livin’ talks with Luray Council candidate Joey Sours
- VIDEO ~ Page Valley Livin’ talks with Luray Council candidate Robert Spencer
Remember voters may vote for UP TO THREE candidates to fill the THREE available seats on the Luray Council. PVN also published individual Q&As, complete with biographical information, on all five candidates:
- Decision 2024-Luray Council ~ Q&A with Chuck Butler
- Decision 2024-Luray Council ~ Q&A with Wendy Temple Holtzman — (Holtzman dropped out of the race and will not appear on the ballot)
- Decision 2024-Luray Council ~ Q&A with Jason Pettit
- Decision 2024-Luray Council ~ Q&A with Joey Sours
- Decision 2024-Luray Council ~ Q&A with Robert Spencer
PVN even hosted a forum or “debate” among both groups vying for seats on the Luray Council:
The Town of Stanley also appeared to have no contested races until citizens approached Councilman Doug Purdham to launch a write-in candidacy for mayor against incumbent Michael Knight. Both men have served the Town of Stanley for more than half a century combined. While Knight is defending a third, four-year term as mayor, he previously served on council. Purdham spent nearly a quarter century as mayor of Stanley from 1992 to 2016, and also served several years on council prior to wielding the gavel.
Also in Stanley, no candidates stepped forward in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Duane Layman. So, Council’s May appointee Robyn Good will be unchallenged. Council members Joseph Mauck and Jeremiah Knight will also be unopposed in a bid to retain their seats for another four years.
Circling back to the Town of Shenandoah, we again offer our apologies to the late write-ins candidates — the timing didn’t allow us enough weeks to schedule interviews with everyone, so we did not pursue further coverage. We did not learn about some candidates until very late in the process. The race for three seats on the Shenandoah Council now includes five candidates, including two write-ins:
- Chris Reisinger (incumbent)
- Mike Lowe (incumbent)
- Brenda Haggett
- Gary Red Taylor (write-in)
- Ana Maria Mendez (write-in)
After PVN initially announced his write-in candidacy in late September, we truly regret not interviewing Chris Reisinger in his write-in bid for Mayor of Shenandoah. He commented on our Sept. 24 story, noting why he chose to enter the race.
“I decided to run for mayor after several incidents at town meetings that I felt could have been avoided and handled differently. I have much respect for our current mayor, and him and I have no ill feelings towards each other,” Reisinger stated in his comment. “I want everyone to know I come at a time when I have heard over and over Shenandoah is dying. On a walking tour I listened to a longtime resident tell us how the citizens of Shenandoah do not support the town like they do in Luray, Stanley or Elkton.”
“It’s sad when one generation yearns for the past so much they fail to see or allow the younger generation to keep the town alive,” Councilman Reisinger continued. “Shenandoah is ripe to become a strong new town that is not like the past, but great in its own way. Why can’t we celebrate our past and live for a future where families have a grocery store, a pharmacy, a Main Street, where we crowd the street with dances and car shows? We can sit by and let our town fall asleep or step up to the challenge of building it back up.”
Reisinger will appear on the ballot as a council candidate, but not as a mayoral candidate where he has launched a write-in campaign against longtime incumbent Clinton Lucas Jr. This will be the sixth time that Lucas has been challenged for his gavel since becoming mayor in May 1990. He is running for his 18th, two-year term as mayor.
Reisinger won a two-way race against Haggett last fall to fill the remainder of Russ Comer’s council term, who stepped down in the summer of 2023.
While write-in candidates usually don’t fair as well at the polls because their name doesn’t appear on the ballots, this year’s municipal races in Page County could produce some surprises in both Stanley and/or Shenandoah.
While we have some regrets and we had some difficulty handling late entries into local races, PVN has provided the ONLY local coverage of LOCAL races on this fall’s ballot in the Page Valley. We take pride in that, and pledge to improve as we move forward in the years ahead.
Early in-person voting ends Saturday, Nov. 2. Polls will be open on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Remember to bring an ID to present at the polls.
For more information about local elections, contact the Page County Voter Registrar’s office at 540-743-3986 or drop by their office at the Page County Government Center, 103 S. Court St., Suite D, Luray.
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RECENT EDITORIALS
When we early voted on 26 Sep, my wife’s vote showed as vote number 2969 on the voting machine. In precinct 201, there are 3460 registered voters, 171 “inactive”. A vote count of 2969 is a very high percentage more than a week before Election Day.
Mr. Sanford… that number does not reflect a single precinct (or district). That number represents the total number of votes cast among registered voters in the entire county (which is over 17,000). There is only ONE early in-person voting location for the whole county, as opposed to five polling locations on Election Day. I hope this clears up the confusion.
Thank you Mr. Arrington.