Holtzman drops out of Luray Council race

Four candidates remain for three open seats

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Sept. 10 — Less than two months from the election, the race for three open seats on the Luray Council has become less contested after candidate Wendy Temple Holtzman officially withdrew her name from contention last week. The first-time candidate spoke highly of her hometown during recent interviews with Page Valley News, but became quite critical of Luray during a recent rant on social media.

“I pray that this community will, one day, get a handle on the evil that lurks and takes the proper steps to stop it. It breaks my heart to see what has happened to my hometown, but I am excited and blessed that my family has the means to seek a better path,” reads a recent post by Holtzman on Facebook.

After growing up on Willow Street, Holtzman moved back to Luray about two-and-a-half years ago and purchased the home of a childhood friend on Rosser Drive adjacent to Eugene Park. During an Aug. 15 interview with PVN at her home (interview aired on Aug. 21), Holtzman praised the place where she grew up.

“I would say it’s the greatest little place in the world,” she told PVN during the recording of “Page Valley Livin'”. “I’ve lived in a lot of places…but there’s something that draws you back to this town.”

However, a few days after filing a Candidate Withdrawal Form with the county’s voter registrar on Wednesday, Sept. 4, she publicly aired quite a different view of Luray.

“I can no longer support a town/community that condones drug dealing, crooked cops, unethical attorneys, shady contractors, unlicensed businesses, money laundering, tax evaders, etc.,” her social media post stated. “While I appreciate the enormous amount of love and support I received during my campaign, this is not the ‘home’ I imagined for my family…and therefore it will not be a place that I wish to represent. There are vile, corrupt individuals that walk our streets.”

Holtzman’s name will not appear on the ballot, according to Page County voter registrar Carol Gaunt.

“The timing was pretty incredible… we were in the final proofing stage for ballots,” Gaunt said. “So, she was able to remove her name [from the ballot]… by one day.”

In an ironic contrast, Holtzman was the first of five candidates to gather her signatures and file her declaration of candidacy and other paperwork with the county registrar. She officially became a candidate for town council on Jan. 18.

“As soon as I was able to get the paperwork, I got out there, started door knocking, and letting people know it was something that I was interested in,” Holtzman told PVN last month. She said she was able to secure the necessary signatures “quickly”, and was happy to find out her efforts would place her at the top of the ballot, as the first name listed.

When asked what grade she would give the current Luray Council, Holtzman offered up an “A-“.

“I am actually very proud of our local council right now,” she said on Aug. 15. “I think, for the most part, there are plans in place and things in the pipeline that our council is really moving forward on that will help make Luray 10 times better than it already is.”

Multiple efforts to reach Holtzman for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful, as PVN was searching for an explanation for the candidate’s 180-degree turn in just a matter of two or three weeks, as well as an explanation of vague accusations and claims.

“It is a sad day when a family can no longer feel safe. It is a sad day when a young woman can’t go to work without feeling threatened. It is a sad day when the ‘good ol boy’ system is working to protect far worse things than moonshine and chicken fights,” Holtzman’s recent social media post begins.

The post alluded to numerous problems in the community, and not only did it state her intentions to drop out of the race for council… but potentially her plans to move away from Luray a second time.

“It breaks my heart to see what has happened to my hometown, but I am excited and blessed that my family has the means to seek a better path,” her post reads.

While Holtzman’s campaign slogan was “Common Sense for the Common Good,” many are still scratching their heads trying to make sense of the candidate’s sudden change from believing Luray was “the greatest little place in the world”, to a place where “evil lurks” and “corrupt individuals walk our streets” — from being “very proud of our local council right now,” to citing Luray as a place that “condones drug dealing, crooked cops, unethical attorneys, shady contractors, unlicensed businesses, money laundering, tax evaders, etc.”

When asked during the Aug. 15 interview, “When were you proud of Luray?”, she responded: “There’s lots of times… and it’s quite often that I’m proud to be a resident of Luray.” She cited the March wildfires as a “truly defining moment for our community,” that “when you see the community involvement, it’s overwhelming for me, and I just think that that is an amazing, amazing thing.”

“I thank the good Lord every day that we are blessed to be able to experience life here,” Holtzman told PVN just three weeks ago.

With Holtzman’s withdrawal from the race, there are now four candidates vying for three seats on the Luray Council — two incumbents, Jason Pettit and Joey Sours, and two challengers, Chuck Butler and Robert Spencer. Voters may cast a ballot for up to three choices for council.

PVN has posted both basic Q&As and recorded interviews with each candidate (Robert Spencer’s video interview will be posted tomorrow on Wednesday, Sept. 11).

Early voting starts Friday, Sept. 20.

For more information on the Town of Luray,

visit https://www.townofluray.com/

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