Candidates file to run for office

Published 12:42 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Candidates for the Victoria and Kenbridge town councils have revealed their intent to run for office, according to town officials and documentation from the Virginia Department of Elections.

The deadline to file to be on the ballot was March 6.

Newton said Victoria Council member Kenneth Boyd will not pursue another term.

“Councilman Boyd has made an announcement that he will not be seeking re-election,” Newton said. “The deadline for candidates to register is March 6 at the registrar’s office at Lunenburg Courthouse.”

Documentation from the Virginia Department of Elections cites that those who have filed to run for town council include Christopher T. Garrett and J.B. Crenshaw as running for the Victoria Town Council seat.

Crenshaw said in a phone interview Friday that he has considered running in the past and believes his previous experience in the town will aid him in serving on the council.

“I just thought the circumstances were such, with Ken Boyd leaving, that I’m at a place in my life right now where I have the time that I can devote to it,” Crenshaw said. “I’ve served the Town of Victoria for years in different capacities and I’ve always been interested in the good of the town. I thought it would be a good time to run.”

Crenshaw served as Town Manager for Victoria from 1996-2003.

Garrett, of Victoria, said he was inspired to run for Victoria Town Council because he wanted to develop a place that had more opportunities for his two young kids.

“(It’s) mainly just getting involved while my kids are still young,” Garrett, who owns Lawn Wizzard and works full-time as a firefighter in Petersburg, said, “to try to turn Victoria back around and kind of give it some things so the kids have something to do and get it economically back on track.”

He said he would work to develop the town’s economic opportunities. This is Garrett’s first time running for public office.

Filed to run for Kenbridge Town Council are Wanda G. Morrison and Paul E. Perusse.

Morrison said in a phone interview Thursday that she believes the town is entering a period of change and said she believes she can help bridge the Kenbridge community with the council and help bring economic industry.

“The strongest communities I know are anchored in a spirit of collaboration,” Morrison said, noting that she believes Kenbridge is a great place to live. “I think we can build upon that if we bring in more business, bring more families in, keeping our rural community tight but still opening it up so that people want to come to Kenbridge.”

Morrison ran against Mike Hankins for the Browns Store District seat for the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors during the 2017 election.

This will be Perusse’s first time running for the Kenbridge Town Council. He said he wants to see the economy restored and said he sees the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) currently under construction at Fort Pickett in Nottoway County as potential for economic growth. He said he has spoken with contractors about the potential of relocating to the town.

“Most of the (contractor’s offices) have to be within 25 miles of the base,” Perusse, a defense contractor for the Department of the Navy for 30 years, said in a phone interview Friday. “We’re 10 miles from the base. That would work. (If) those people are working here, their offices (are) here, odds are they are going to live here.”

Kenbridge Town Council members Ken Blackburn, Cathy Gilley, Daniel Thompson and Raymond Hite have filed to run for re-election, records from the department cited.

Kenbridge Town Manager Robyn Fowler said in an interview last Tuesday that Michael Bender, Michael McGrath and Mayor Emory Hodges turned in paperwork for Town Council March 5.

“Bender and McGrath turned in paperwork (March 5), along with Emory Hodges who is running for Mayor again,” Fowler said.

Victoria Mayor Carol Watson and Town council members Johnnie Brame and Greg Elam are also slated to run.