Election Results: Unofficial

The unofficial election results I have are:

Phyllis Campbell: Mayor

Champ Nowlin
Richard Adams
Phillip Shepperd

Looks like Mr. Hailey got booted off, which is a good thing!

I also heard there was a large amount of write-in votes, but because of confusions, misspelling and combining names that a large number had to be kicked out as not counting.
Mr. Jennings also did well as a write-in for mayor, and had he been on the ballot I believe he would have unseated the incumbent. Two years from now he better be ready to run!

Congratulations to Mr. Shepperd for getting on the council and stepping up to run.
And a big thank you to our write in candidates for their efforts and concern for the community.
Things are not set in stone for the incumbents. Enough bad behavior and the community can certainly get rid of them.

Combing the Classifieds

I've been waiting for the council to make good on their June promise to hire a new town manager. Hasn't happened so far, and the scuttlebutt is that Mr. Adams and Mayor Campbell are 100% behind keeping Mr. Crews in place.

So I was surprised to see this ad in the Lynchburg News and Advance:

TOWN Manager: The Town of Brookneal, Virginia Town Manager, Town of Brookneal (population 1300)-part time, will consider full time. Manages/directs daily operations and oversees department heads; provides professional administration of all town affairs; and represents the town on regional boards. Serves at pleasure of mayor and six member Town Council. Should possess knowledge of public administration, financial management, and personnel management. Send resume, cover letter, and chronological work and salary history to Town Manager Search Committee, P. O. Box 450, Brookneal, Virginia 24528. Application review will begin immediately.


Is there a Town Manager Search Committee? I've never seen any mention in the paper about who was on it, what their selection criteria was and when they would let the residents know that they were working on actually getting us a town manager.

When you compare the above ad to the actual wording of the Town charter it appears that they missed advertising for several key components. Seems like the ad "dumbs" down the requirements of the charter, which is the only way they can slip their already selected choice in.

http://dls.state.va.us/lrc/charters/Brookneal.pdf
§ 19. Town manager.—(a) The council may appoint a town manager who shall
be the chief administrative officer of the town and shall be chosen solely on the basis of
his executive and administrative qualifications, and shall have some knowledge of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. He need not, when appointed, be a resident of the town, or of the Commonwealth of Virginia, but shall during his term of office, reside within the Commonwealth of Virginia, and shall be appointed for such term as he and the
council agree upon, not to exceed town years, but in any event, to end with the term of
the council making the appointment. The town manager may be suspended or removed
by the council for any cause it deems sufficient, provided that no order of suspension or
removal shall be made until after he shall have been given at least five days’ notice in
writing, stating the cause for such suspension or removal and fixing a day when he may
be heard thereon. The action of the council, suspending or removing the town manager,
shall be final. The council may place the control and supervision of the police force of the town under either the mayor or the town manager.

I'm guessing that our current town manager doesn't have any engineering degrees, civil, mechanical, electrical or otherwise. And from the looks of the ad that this mysterious selection committee ran it doesn't look like any degrees are going to be required. In fact the only requirement will be "serving the Mayor". Let's just admit to ourselves, fellow residents: The Mayor has no intention of hiring anyone with enough brains and backbone to tell her "No."

I find it embarassing that the town is advertising for an important position with such a lack of professionalism. Are we so low rent that we advertise for a public administrator in the same manner that Hardy's fills its employee quota?

Here's my prediction: No one that is even qualified to be a town manager will apply, because they are going to blow past this pathetic advertising effort thinking that the salary is lower than the night manager at Bubba's All Night Bait and Beer. The only people that will apply are the one already "working" for the town, and maybe someone between custodian jobs at the various state run prison farms.

Get out and vote people! Take the time and make some changes in this town!

Weekend news

My girlfriend visited the reception for Dr. Campbell out at Hat Creek. She said it was crowded and very nice. Dr. Campbell has been a fixture in the community and has done a lot of good things, it's a shame to see him retire from practice.

She said write-in candidate Sonya Furgurson was out there, but she didn't get the chance to talk to her. She did get to talk to several other people that mentioned that they felt Sonya and Tamera would help change the council.

I also heard through the grapevine that Mrs. Meisenbach's mother was in a car accident Sunday morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this time.

Has anyone heard anything about the Dollar Duz It opening back up? It would be nice to have a store on Main Street again. I also heard that a steak house is in the works!

Early Christmas present

If you could put a make a wish and get a write-in candidate for mayor elected who would it be?

Meet the New Candidates

Just in:

Since the mayor and "Acting as the Town Manager" decided to bully the Chamber of Commerce into not holding a candidates' forum the two ladies have decided to host their own get together:

"Meet the New Candidates for the Town of Brookneal Council. "
The newest candidates for council seats up for election this year are hosting a "Getting to Know Us" afternoon get together. The community is invited to attend. Come and meet the candidates and tell them your concerns for the town; Saturday, November 1st, 4:00 PM, 112 Clark Street.
For more information call Tamera Sprouse or Sonya Furguson 376-7297 to leave a message.

I hope these two women will get your support. Both are extremely qualified and both have local roots. I would like to see an end to the council and town employees being used for personal gain and to promote personal vendettas.

Council meeting recap: updated

Looks like the council has some issues to work on! There has been no forward movement on advertising for a town manager. Mayor Campbell and Councilman Adams were not in attendance at last night’s meeting.

There seems to be an issue about whether all employees are being treated the same across the board. Hasn’t the town been dealing with this type of problem for several years? Towns cannot make one set of rules for a section of the employees and not apply them to all employees.

Due to the recent vandalism and robberies it has been brought up that putting a curfew in place may help with some of the problems. Juveniles 17 years and under would have to be off the streets, or in the presence of an adult guardian, or risk being cited for violating curfew. Gladys, Virginia Beach, Alta Vista and other communities have put curfews in place and have seen as much as a 70% decrease in vandalism and theft. (Thank you, Mrs. Meisenbach for this information)
I’ve placed a new poll up about this matter; so let me know what you think.

It seems the Mayor and "Acting As A Town Manager" had a problem with there being a candidates' forum without their permission, and applied pressure to a local chamber board member, so the Brookneal Chamber of Commerce has withdrawn their offer to host a “Meet the Candidates Forum”.
Seems like the fact that there are two write-in candidates interested in running has caused a frenzy at the town office. I hope the Forum can simply be hosted by someone else so the community can meet the people interested in running for council.
I have to wonder why anyone working for the town has the ability to shut down a political forum. Aren't town employees supposed to be neutral, and not show political favoritism? And the "Acting As A Town Manager" can't even vote since he's a convicted felon, so why does he care if there is a forum?
With all the broken promises the town's people have heard this year is it any wonder people are wanting to see change?

Two write-in candidates for the coming election have come forward:

Tamera Sprouse is a hometown girl that currently works in Lynchburg as an administrator at social services. She lives in Brookneal and has long-term family ties to the area. She has an interest in improving the town’s financial base and working to make sure the town survives the tough economic times ahead. Her work as an administrator would certainly help provide stability and direction while serving on the council.


Sonya Furguson grew up in Campbell County and now resides in Brookneal with her family. She is currently employed as a Reading First Coach at Meadville Elementary School and is an adjunct instructor for Southside Virginia Community College where she teaches American Sign Language, Developmental Reading, and Developmental Writing. She has worked with getting educational grants, which would assist the town while it goes through the grant processes.

Congratulations (or condolences) to these two ladies for stepping up and running for council.
The candidates on November 4th are:

Richard Adams
James Nowlin
Stacey Hailey
Philip Shepperd
Tamera Sprouse
Sonya Furguson
Phyllis Campbell

A word to the wise: If you want the write-in candidates to get into office then ONLY vote for the write-in candidates. Voting for one of the incumbents can skew the vote (and really is there any difference between the incumbents?) and split it against one of the write-ins. So vote for the two write-ins, or one write-in and one regular candidate.

Three seats will be filled, so in all probability at least one of the incumbents will be going back in. It’s nice to dream about a clean sweep, but it’s not likely to happen. My guess is Mr. Nowlin will be going back in, but it would sure be nice to have these two very qualified women get a chance to use their experience to help the town make some progress.

Next election

I got an email this evening that there might be more than the expected number of candidates running in the election. Rumor has it that we have at least one write in for a council seat and possibly one for the mayor's seat.

If this is true, what would you like to see new council members work on?