EDITORIAL: Voting Suggestions

A CAPE CHARLES WAVE EDITORIAL
November 4, 2013

Tuesday’s election is the most important in modern times for Northampton County. For the first time, voters have a chance to elect their School Board, which until now has been appointed.

Two of the Board’s seven seats are at-large, voted on throughout the County. For the four-year-term seat, Randall Parks is running against Delores Lindsay. Both candidates have decades of experience teaching in Northampton schools. Mr. Parks has the distinction of being the driving force behind the petition and referendum that resulted in an elected Board. His opponent, Ms. Lindsay, is currently an appointed School Board member. Voters happy with the current Board will want to retain Ms. Lindsay, while the rest have an opportunity to cast their ballots for Mr. Parks.

The other at-large seat is between Jo Ann Molera, who with her husband ran a Montesorri school in Nassawadox for many years, and Nykia Robinson, who graduated from Northampton High six years ago. We commend Ms. Robinson for her civic spirit, and also appreciate that a Board member not long removed from the student side of the classroom could contribute a unique perspective. That said, the current perilous state of County public schools cannot afford the luxury of on-the-job training, and thus we support Ms. Molera.

District 1, where Cape Charles residents vote, is contested by Shannon Dunham, an Eastville attorney and graduate of Northampton High, and Tamsey Ellis, a retired teacher with decades of local experience. The two candidates’ personal styles differ dramatically – the former feisty, the latter folksy – but we believe that either choice would make a good Board member.

The other District 1 race is for Board of Supervisors, where Granville Hogg is challenging incumbent chairman Willie Randall. We appreciate both candidates’ willingness to serve – especially since the incumbents in District 2 and District 3 are running unopposed.

In District 1, Mr. Randall is running on his record, while Mr. Hogg has raised serious issues with County policies. We note that Mr. Hogg served on the Public Service Authority until this year, but when he opposed the PSA proposal to nearly double property taxes for selected commercial properties to fund a sewer pipe, the Board of Supervisors replaced him.

District 1 voters (and only District 1 voters) have the opportunity tomorrow to send a message to the Board of Supervisors. If they agree with the direction the Board has taken over the past four years, they can vote for Mr. Randall. If they disagree, they can vote for Mr. Hogg.

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