Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 21, 1994 TAG: 9404210165
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE LENGTH: Medium
It appeared for a time that son Thomas would leave all the family honors to his father, Robert Julian Zimmerman.
But Thomas - better known as Tommy - relented and decided to seek re-election as mayor to continue his decade-long association with council. His father is seeking re-election as a council member in the May 3 election.
The mayor is elected by popular vote separately from other council members.
"I hated to see the election go by with nobody running for mayor," Tommy said.
If that had happened, the newly elected council members would have appointed a mayor.
And that might have been the only issue in this town of about 200 people.
But Tommy Zimmerman is back in the mayor's race and is assured of re-election because there is no opposition.
In fact, the elder Zimmerman and the other three candidates for council also are assured of winning. They are the only four candidates for four available seats.
Meredith M. Boone Jr. and Barry A. Reynolds are already members of council and are seeking new two-year terms. A new member will be Barbara C. Hunter.
Aside from getting one new face, the biggest change for council is that this election will reduce its size from six members and a mayor to four members and a mayor.
Even though Hunter will be a new public official, she is not new in Craig County.
She was born in West Virginia but moved to Craig more than three decades ago when she was 5 years old.
Hunter, who attended the former Maywood School and New Castle High School, has three children in Craig County schools. She works at the Craig Manufacturing Co. and is active in New Castle United Methodist Church.
The elder Zimmerman is better known by his middle name, Julian.
Even though he is a native of Craig County, he said his jobs with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Highway Administration kept him away from the county much of the time.
But now retired from those jobs, he has time to join Tommy - one of five sons - in New Castle town affairs.
His wife, Dreama, was secretary of the Craig County Electoral Board for many years. But with the election of Republican Gov. George Allen, she was replaced in that job. Even so, the job stays in the family, because the new secretary is Joe Huffman, Dreama's brother-in-law.
Tommy Zimmerman, who has been mayor since 1988, is active in government affairs beyond the town of New Castle.
He is vice chairman of the Craig County School Board and a member of the Roanoke Valley Regional Board for Low Incidence Population, an agency that works in the field of handicapped children.
He also is a member of a karate group and formerly was an instructor.
Meredith Boone, owner of New Castle Motors, has been a council member since 1990 and also is a member of the Craig County Board of Zoning Appeals.
He is a native of Roanoke County and has lived in Craig for eight years. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters and one son, all grown and living elsewhere.
Nancy Boone is a bank teller and formerly worked at Farmer's & Merchant's National Bank in New Castle.
Reynolds is a native of Craig County and a graduate of New Castle High School. He is seeking a second term on council.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB