The Shadow
Three seats on Covington City Council will be decided by voters in Tuesday’s elections.
Polls in the city will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
Elections will be held in Districts 3, 4 and 5.
In District 3, incumbent Stephanie Clark is running unopposed for a third term. Clark served as Covington’s first African-American mayor from 2008-2010.
Three candidates are vying for election in District 4. The incumbent is Vice Mayor Buddy Brown, who is seeking a second term on council. Brown, a retired MeadWestvaco Corp. employee, is facing opposition from Harrison Scott and Tom Sibold Jr. Scott is a former Covington mayor, who retired from AET and Hercules Inc. Scott also has a long-time affiliation with the Covington Rescue Squad and the Covington Fire Department. Sibold is employed by the Virginia Department of Transportation as a supervisor.
The candidates in District 5 are David Crosier and Patrick Scruggs. Only Crosier will be listed on the ballot. Scruggs is running as a write-in candidate. Crosier is employed by the Covington Virginian Inc. as manager for the Virginian Review Online. Crosier serves as a retired officer in the Covington Fire Department and he is a former member of the Covington Rescue Squad. Scruggs says he has more than 25 years experience in the consumer and banking division of a Fortune 500 company as a branch manager, district manager and regional sales manager.
The winner in District 5 will assume the seat being vacated by Mayor Rob Bennett, who decided not to seek a third term on council.
The winners of the elections will serve four-year terms, beginning July 1. Elections will be held in Districts 1 and 2 in 2014. The District 1 councilman is Bill Zimmerman, while Councilwoman Kim Warlitner serves District 2.
Tuesday’s elections will cost the city $6,353. City taxpayers will also have to cover the costs of a June 12 Republican primary and the regular general election in November.
Covington is the only locality in the Alleghany Highlands that still holds council election in May. The towns of Clifton Forge and Iron Gate have moved their council elections to November to avoid additional costs.
