By Randy Arrington
LURAY, June 11 — With the filing deadline for candidates expiring at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the local ballot is now set for municipal elections in November.
The Town of Luray will feature the only contested races this fall. The Luray Council has five candidates who have filed with the county registrar to compete for three open seats, while the mayor’s seat will have one name on the ballot competing with a write-in candidacy.
The race for Luray Council will pit two incumbents, Joey Sours and Leah Pence, against three challengers — Judy Peabody, Jason Pettit and Ligon Webb. Longtime councilman Leroy Lancaster is not seeking another four-year term.
The race for Mayor of Luray will have two candidates, but only one on the ballot. Jerry Dofflemyer has been on file with the registrar as a candidate for mayor for several weeks. Last week, Luray resident Darryl Haley picked up paperwork from the county registrar, but then decided to launch a write-in campaign for the position. (See related story on our LURAY page, posting later this evening.) Two-term mayor Barry Preserves is not seeking re-election.
If Dofflemyer wins the mayoral race, it would open up an additional seat on the council. The potential vacancy would be filled by appointment through the end of 2021, and then at the polls during a special election next November to fill the remainder of the term through Dec. 31, 2022.
The Town of Shenandoah will likely see no changes in its council for the next four years. Councilmen Richard Pierce, Mike Lowe and Russ Comer all plan to run for another four-year term — Comer as a write-in candidate — and there are no challengers who have filed with the county registrar. Likewise, longtime mayor Clinton Lucas has filed his paperwork and has no apparent challenger for re-election to another two-year term.
The Town of Stanley will have two candidates on the ballot for council this fall; however, there will be three seats open. Councilmen Joseph Mauck and Jeremiah Knight have filed their paperwork to run for another four-year term. The other vacancy was created when Mike Uram abruptly left his seat on council at the end of February.
The Stanley Council unanimously appointed former mayor Doug Purdham to fill Uram’s seat on April 8. The appointment runs through Dec. 31, 2020. Purdham did not file paperwork with the county registrar to retain the seat. Uram’s unexpired term runs through Dec. 31, 2022.
Mayor Mike Knight has filed his paperwork to retain his seat in Stanley, and there are no apparent challengers.
The race for chairman of the Page County School Board officially has two candidates — Dr. Paul Johnson and Jason “Scotty” Breeden.
The special election will be held in November to fill the unexpired term of Randy Bailey, who resigned Nov. 1, 2019, citing health reasons. On Dec. 9, 2019, the Page County School Board appointed Jim Grimley as chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2020. His appointment ends Dec. 31, 2020.
The general election this fall — also featuring the Presidential and Congressional races — will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Originally set for June 9, the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate was rescheduled to June 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ballot contains the names of Daniel Gade, Thomas Speciale and Alissa Baldwin — all vying for the party’s nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Mark Warner in November.
The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Tuesday, June 16. The deadline to cast an absentee ballot in person is 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 20. Voters who choose this option are asked to enter the county office building on South Court Street through the rear entrance. Photo ID will be required for in-person voting, both for absentee and at the polls.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering, or who has questions about voter registration, absentee ballots, the upcoming GOP primary on June 23 or the general election in November, may do one of the following:
• Call the Page County Registrar’s Office at (540) 743-3986;
- Email county registrar, Carol Gaunt, at cgaunt@pagecounty.va.gov
- Visit the state elections website at elections.virginia.gov
- Send U.S. Mail to: Page County Registrar, 103 S. Court St., Suite D, Luray, Va. 22835.
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