Voters Choose New Sheriff, School Board Members  (VA)

Scott County Virginia Star    14 November 2007

It didn't take nearly as long as some suspected to tally votes from last week's General Election due to diligent work on the part of election workers. By midnight on Nov. 6, unofficial results from that day's election had been counted and some new faces would be joining the county's school board and leading county deputies.

With many of the computerized voting machines not working in some precincts, members of the county electoral board and the registrar's placed the sole blame on the malfunction on the company that provided the equipment.

Officials should have downloaded specific upgrades from the manufacturer and restarted the machine prior to the election. Somewhere along the line, many of the county's 45 machines (30 in all) weren't properly upgraded and didn't work for most of the day.

Precinct workers were forced to let voters make their choices on paper ballots that were not only a hassle but had to be counted by hand. Poll workers remarkably were able to count nearly as fast as the machines tallied and unofficial results from the election were available shortly before midnight.

In the most talked about campaign in Scott County in recent years, Democratic candidate John Puckett beat 16-year incumbent Jerry Broadwater (R-Gate City) and Independent candidate Steve Templeton in the sheriff's race. Puckett earned 49 percent of the vote (4,074 votes) while Broadwater received 32 percent (2,685 votes) and Templeton 20 percent (1,640 votes).

In other constitutional races, Kevin Helms (R-Gate City) defeated Janet Davidson (D-Midway) for the open treasurer's position. The contest was very close with Helms earning 4,058 votes (50.8 percent) to Davidson's 3,196 (49.2 percent).

Scott County Circuit Court Clerk Mark 'Bo' Taylor and Scott County Commonwealth's Attorney Marcus McClung were unopposed on the ballot. Although voters chose several write-in candidates, each easily won re-election. Taylor received 7,179 votes and McClung had 6,421 votes.

Republican incumbent Gary Baker won his second term as Scott County Commissioner of the Revenue. He defeated former commissioner C.H. Presley Jr. for the position. Baker received 4,790 votes (60 percent) compared to Presley's 3,196 (40 percent).

Two new school board members were ed to join the six-member board. In District 2, Dennis Templeton won the position, defeating incumbent Nathan Catron and challenger Tom Beasley. Templeton with 558 votes earned 42 percent of the vote total. Beasley tallied 417 votes (31 percent) to Catron's 349 votes (27 percent). District 6 School Board Member David 'Tip' Kindle was defeated in another three-way race. James Kay Jessee won the position with 54 percent of the vote (613 votes). Kindle earned 387 votes (34 percent) and Stephen Sloan received 136 votes (12 percent).

Lowell Campbell retained his District 1 School Board seat with 58 percent (731 votes). Challenger Eugene McClellan garnered 42 percent (527 votes).

Incumbent District 3 School Board Member Joe Meade was re-elected to a second term with 58 percent (874 votes). Former school board member, Mack Gilliam, who earned 42 percent (639 votes), challenged him.

Kathy McClelland retained her District 4 position on the board, accumulating 1,060 votes (83 percent) in the race. John Dockery earned 179 write-in votes (17 percent) while another 40 write-in votes were cast for various persons.

In District 5, Beth Blair returns for another term on the school board. She garnered 56 percent (739 votes) in the race while her challenger, Darla Berry Carter, earned 44 percent (581 votes).

All seven incumbents on the Scott County Board of Supervisors will return for new terms beginning Jan. 1. Dr. David Redwine (D-Snowflake) beat Wayne McConnell (R-Gate City) for the at-large supervisor seat. Redwine earned 63 percent of the votes cast (5,020 votes) compared to McConnell, who received 37 percent (2,892 votes).

District 6 Supervisor Chad Hood (D-Duffield) had the tightest race, winning re-election by only 41 votes. Hood earned 593 votes (52 percent) while his challenger, W.E. 'Harry' Moore (R-Fairview), tallied 48 percent (552 votes).

In the District 1 race, Paul Fields (D-Yuma) beat Darrel Jeter (R-Yuma) for his second term on the board. Fields received 679 votes (53 percent) to Jeter's 598 votes (47 percent).

Joe Horton (D-Hiltons) won re-election as the District 2 Supervisor with 945 votes (70 percent). His challenger, Eleanor Carter Clark, (R-East Carters Valley) earned 405 votes (30 percent).

Danny Parks (D-Nickelsville) defeated former board member Roy 'Buck' Meade (R-Nickelsville) to the District 3 supervisory position. Parks earned 55 percent of the vote (823 votes) while Meade received 45 percent (677 votes).

Joe Herron (R-Manville) was re-elected as the District 4 representative. He garnered 927 votes (65 percent) to Jimmy Gibson, (D-Gate City) who received 490 votes (35 percent).

Randall 'Buck' Kinkead mastered a feat no other District 5 Supervisor has been able to attain - he won re-election for a second term. Kinkead (D-Dungannon) received 709 votes (54 percent). A total of 604 votes (46 percent) were cast for his challenger, Boyd Farmer (R-Dungannon).

State Sen. William Wampler (R-Bristol) was unopposed and earned 6,718 votes. A total of 42 write-ins were cast in the state senate race.

First District Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) easily defeated Lee County teacher Jerry Taylor (D-Ewing). Kilgore received 73 percent of the vote (5,839 votes) and Taylor had 27 percent (2,140 votes). About 50 percent of the 15,506 eligible voters voted in the Nov. 6 General Election.