Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 29, 1992 TAG: 9202290164
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
5 TOWN COUNCIL INCUMBENTS FILE PLANS FOR RE-ELECTION
Five of six incumbents on the Blacksburg and Christiansburg town councils have filed for re-election in May's municipal elections, and the sixth has said he plans to be on the ballot, too.So far, no challengers have filed to run against the current council members.
Tuesday is the deadline to file the papers necessary to run for election with the voter registration office in the Montgomery County Courthouse.
When asked why no one was opposing the incumbents this year, Christiansburg Mayor Harold Linkous said, "Hopefully, people are saying they're satisfied with the way things are going. Dissatisfaction usually means more people would get into [the race]."
Currently, incumbents Michael Chandler, Waldon Kerns and Frances Parsons have decided to run again for Blacksburg Town Council.
In Christiansburg, council incumbents Wayne Booth and Truman Daniel will run again.
Councilman W. Scott Weaver, whose seat is also open, has not yet filed to run. However, he has said in past interviews that he does plan on being a candidate.
Linkous said it is always good to have interest in what's going on "and you know you have that when you have challengers."
But sitting on a town council is a tough job, the mayor added. It requires a good deal of time and "you realize you can never please everyone."
And the pay isn't all that great either. Christiansburg council members are paid $25 per meeting they attend. They also are paid for attending separate committee meetings.
In Blacksburg, members receive $400 per month, no matter how many meetings they hold, or how many they attend. Blacksburg's mayor receives a little extra - $500 a month.
A staff member at the voter registration office said the incumbents' filings are still being processed and no one is certified yet.
To run for office, candidates must collect at least 125 signatures of registered voters on a petition. The petition must be turned in with such information as a declaration of candidacy, a statement of property holdings and the candidate's qualifications.
Registrars have the tedious job of checking each name on every petition, as well as all the other information.
Cathryn McCue contributed information to this story.
Keywords:
POLITICS