Henrico primary elections become clearer

Henrico voters will select or help select party nominees June 11 in at least five political races involving the county.

Those races became a bit clearer Thursday, when the deadline for party-affiliated candidates to file for local and state office passed.

At the county level, Henrico Democrats must select nominees for two races:

• Fairfield District supervisor – Four candidates, including six-term incumbent Frank Thornton – have filed for the nomination; the others are Maurice Tyler, a longtime coach and community volunteer; Jenny High, a community volunteer; and Joseph W. Brown. No Republicans are seeking the seat, so the primary likely will serve as a de facto general election.

• Sheriff – Three candidates have filed for the party's nomination: Henrico Sheriff's Chief Deputy Alisa Gregory, Richmond police officer Harold Ford and former Virginia Division of Capitol Police Lt. James Layne, who was the party's nominee four years ago.

Henrico Republicans have just one nominee to select at the local level: a candidate in the race for Three Chopt District supervisor, in which first-term incumbent Tommy Branin will face challenger Dishant Shah, a physician and political newcomer. No Democrats have filed for the seat.

The party chairs of both parties have untl April 2 to certify their slate of candidates, according to Henrico Registrar Mark Coakley.

At the state level, party primaries will be necessary in races for at least two of the seats that involve Henrico County:

• the 68th House of Delegates District, in which Henrico native and data analytics firm chief operating officer Garrison Coward will face local CPA and former business owner Lori Losi for the Republican nomination, with the winner challenging first-term incumbent Democrat Dawn Adams in November's general election;

• the 12th Virginia Senate District, in which Delegate Debra Rodman will face attorney Veena Gupta Lothe for the Democratic nomination in the 12th District, with the winner facing incumbent first-term Republican Siobhan Dunnavant in November.

No other party primaries appear necessary at the state level in Henrico-related districts, but a Virginia Department of Elections official told the Citizen Friday that its list of certified candidates wouldn't be made public until next week.

Though voters of any affiliation are permitted to vote in primary elections for either party, no voter may cast ballots in both primaries. At the local level, parties typically also ask voters who participate in their selection process to commit to supporting the party's nominee in the general election.

Local races
A number of local races will see competition in the Nov. 5 general election:

• Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney – Two-term incumbent Democrat Shannon Taylor is being challenged by Republican attorney C. Owen Inge Conway;

• Henrico Sheriff – The Democratic nominee will face political newcomer and Republican nominee Bob Matson, a longtime Henrico police detective who is seeking to follow five-term Republican incumbent Mike Wade, who is retiring;

• Brookland District supervisor – Incumbent Republican Dan Schmitt, who took office late last year after winning a special election to complete the term of Courtney Lynch, will face Democratic challenger J. Steven Burkarth, a program specialist for the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing;

• Tuckahoe District supervisor – Six-term Republican incumbent Pat O'Bannon will face Democratic nominee Marques Jones, the former chair of the Henrico Democratic Committee. Jones originally sought the Democratic nomination to run for the 12th District Senate seat, but when Rodman entered that race, he withdrew and opted for the Tuckahoe seat instead;

• Brookland District School Board – Political newcomers Kristi Kinsella and Jackson Knox are seeking to replace two-term member Bev Cocke, who is vacating the seat;

• Varina District School Board – Alicia Atkins and Michelle Henderson, both also new to the political scene, have filed to seek the seat, currently held by longtime incumbent John Montgomery, who has not yet publicly announced whether he will seek re-election;

Keith Hicks (Fairfield) and Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe) also will seek to represent their districts on the School Board. The incumbents from their districts, Roscoe Cooper and Bill Pike, have not publicly announced whether they will seek re-election.

Party affiliation is not permitted for School Board candidates, so all certified candidates simply compete in the general election. Candidates for School Board seats still may file until 7 p.m., June 11.

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson is the only incumbent at the local government level who is certain he won't face opposition either from his own party or an opposing party, though an independent candidate still could choose to file through June 11.

Incumbent Three Chopt District School Board member Micky Ogburn also faces no opposition yet, though other candidates still may file.

Claiborne Yarbrough and Anne-Marie Leake are seeking election to the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District Board in November.

General Assembly seats
Two members of the General Assembly whose districts involve Henrico appear to have no challengers:

• 71st District Democrat Jeff Bourne;

• 74th District Democrat Lamont Bagby

In the 56th District, first-term Republican incumbent John McGuire will face a November challenge from Louisa Democrat Juanita Jo Matkins, a retired William & Mary science professor.

In the 62nd District, which is being vacated by longtime Republican Delegate Riley Ingram, fellow Republican Carrie Coyner, a two-term member of the Chesterfield County School Board, appears to be the only candidate who has filed.

In the 70th District, longtime Democratic Delegate Delores McQuinn will face competition from independent Linnard Harris, Sr.

In the 72nd District, first-term Democrat Schuyler VanValkenburg, a Glen Allen High School teacher, appears likely to face Republican GayDonna Vandergriff, a professor and community volunteer, in the general election.

In the 73rd District, Democratic newcomer Rodney Willett will be his party's nominee for the seat Rodman is vacating, and he'll likely face Republican Mary Margaret Kastelberg in the general election. Willett is a vice president of technology consulting firm Impact Makers. Kastelberg has spent her professional career working in finance roles.

Ninth District Senate member Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat, is likely to run unopposed.