WINDSOR

Isle of Wight County’s Windsor District Board of Supervisors and School Board representatives are both up for re-election this year, and both are running unopposed.

Lisa Betterton, the county’s voter registrar, confirmed to The Tidewater News that as of the county’s June 11 deadline for candidates to file the paperwork for getting their names listed on the ballot this November, only incumbent Joel Acree had done so for the Windsor District seat on the Board of Supervisors and only Julia Perkins had done so for the Windsor District seat on the School Board.

According to the county’s website, Acree began his first term in office on Jan. 1, 2016 and currently serves as the Board of Supervisors’ vice chairman. His biography states he is a lifelong resident of the county, having graduated from Smithfield High School and received his associate’s degree in EMS services from Tidewater Community College. He currently serves as battalion chief with York County Fire and Life Safety, having been with that organization for over 25 years. He is also an honorary chief of the Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department, where he served as the department fire chief from 1996 to 2016.

Perkins, according to Isle of Wight County Schools’ website, was first elected to the School Board in 2011, and holds a bachelor of science degree from Radford University, as well as a master of arts degree in teaching from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She retired in 2008 as lead teacher at Windsor High School, where she previously worked as a science teacher, bus driver, coach and athletic director. She is also a former chairwoman of the Paul D. Camp Community College Board and currently serves on Isle of Wight County’s Social Services Board.

There may, however, still be turnover come November among the Board of Supervisors and School Board members representing constituents from the county’s northern end. Challenging Dick Grice for the Smithfield District Board of Supervisors seat is Timmie Edwards Sr., and challenging Newport District Supervisor William McCarty Sr., who currently serves as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, is Richard “Rick” Gillerlain.

For the county’s School Board, incumbent Smithfield District representative Kirstin Cook will be stepping down at the end of her term, leaving town residents with a choice between Matthew Thorns or Denise Tynes. Newport District School Board representative Victoria Hulick, who currently serves as chairwoman of that body, is running for re-election but is being challenged by Lawrence Rotruck.

Also up for re-election are the following constitutional officers: Sheriff James Clarke Jr., Commonwealth’s Attorney Georgette Phillips, Commissioner of Revenue Gerald Gwaltney and Treasurer Judith Wells.

Clarke was appointed sheriff on March 1, 2018 following the retirement of his predecessor, Mark Marshall, and officially elected on July 24 that same year, to fill out the remainder of Marshall’s term. According to the Sheriff’s Office’s website, Clarke has been in law enforcement for 20 years, having been employed with the Smithfield Police Department in 1998 and accepting employment with the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office in 2012. He holds an associates degree in police science from Paul D. Camp Community College and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Saint Leo University. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

According to the county’s website, Phillips has served as the county’s commonwealth’s attorney since December 2014 after L. Wayne Farmer resigned from the position to accept a Circuit Court judgeship. She has served in the county’s Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for 14 years, first as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney, then deputy commonwealth’s attorney. She was first elected to the office of commonwealth’s attorney in 2008 upon W. Parker Councill’s resignation and prior to Farmer’s election. She is a graduate of Norfolk State University and William and Mary Law School.

Gwaltney, according to the county’s website, first served as the county’s commissioner of revenue from 1980 to 2002, and then again from 2006 to the present.

Two seats on the county’s Soil and Water Directors Board are also up for election. County voters may also cast write-in votes for any of the available offices.