Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503220044
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With the filing deadline less than three months away, Thomas said he has not decided whether he will be a candidate.
Thomas' decision is getting a lot of attention from school officials and Catawba residents because he is the senior board member.
He is considered an institution in the school system, having been a board member for 12 years and chairman for 10 of those.
Thomas has helped oversee several building programs and the selection of a new superintendent.
If Thomas were to leave the five-member board, there would be no member with more than three years' experience. Two were elected last November, and two will be elected this fall. The most senior member would be Jerry Canada of Hollins, now vice chairman.
Friends and supporters are encouraging Thomas to run.
``I've received a fair amount of support. I can't really say what I am going to do. I'm neutral now,'' he said Monday.
Canada said Thomas has not told board members what he intends to do.
``I'd like for him to run. I'd encourage him to,'' Canada said. ``He works so much on school matters that we are fortunate that he can get away from his job to do it.''
Thomas is vice president of Thomas Brothers, a family-owned excavation business.
He is the third generation of Thomases to serve on the board. His grandmother was a member in the 1950s and '60s. His uncle, Joe Thomas, was on the board in the '70s.
No other candidates have emerged in the Catawba district, but some potential candidates have inquired at the county registrar's office about the procedure for getting into the contest.
To run, a candidate needs to collect the signatures of 125 voters and file by June 13. There is no provision for political parties to nominate candidates, but parties can endorse candidates, once petitions are filed.
Hugh Key, chairman of the county Republican Party, said Monday that it was too early to say whether the GOP or individual party officials will endorse candidates. Key endorsed Thomas Leggette, last fall's winner in the Windsor Hills district.
Dana Martin, chairman of the county Democratic Party, also endorsed Leggette, but he could not be reached for comment Monday on whether he or the party will endorse School Board candidates this year.
Voters in the county's Cave Spring district definitely will choose a School Board member in November.
Maurice ``Buck'' Mitchell, who has represented Cave Spring for six years, is not running. He has cited his displeasure at the thought of having to campaign to keep his position as one reason for his decision.
He is the third member to decline to run since the county switched to an elected board. He opposed the move, as did Barbara ``Bootie'' Chewning and Charlsie Pafford, who did not seek re-election last fall.
No candidate has filed a petition to run for the Cave Spring seat, but several people have made inquiries at the county registrar's office.
Key said he didn't know of anyone who has decided to run in either Catawba or Cave Spring.
by CNB