Three new candidates emerge

With only four months until June primaries and nine months until Election Day, candidates for local and state office are beginning to officially announce their campaigns.

In Henrico, three new candidates have emerged in recent weeks:

• Maurice Tyler, a longtime coach and community volunteer who is seeking the Democratic nomination to unseat longtime Fairfield District Supervisor Frank Thornton;

• GayDonna Vandergriff, a community activist and volunteer who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 72nd District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.

• Alicia Atkins, a longtime PTA volunteer who is seeking the Varina District seat on the Henrico School Board.

Tyler, CEO of a cleaning company who has coached in Henrico County for three decades, founded the Coaches Against Violence Everywhere organization several years ago after a 12-year-old girl was caught in the crossfire of two men in Richmond and killed. Tyler is a Hermitage High School graduate.

Thornton recently announced that he is seeking his seventh term on the Board of Supervisors. He has championed his concept of "possibility governance," through which he hopes to implement more civility, dignity and citizen input into local government.

Of Thornton, Tyler wrote in a Facebook post: "[F]or black men like myself, he's an icon and someone I look up to, but I feel it's my time and it's time for a change."

All other members of the Board of Supervisors – Brookland's Dan Schmitt, Three Chopt's Tommy Branin, Tuckahoe's Pat O'Bannon and Varina's Tyrone Nelson – also will seek  re-election.

No other School Board members have officially announced their intentions yet. All 10 seats on both Henrico boards are up for election in November.

Vandergriff, who last sought public office during an unsuccessful run for the Brookland District School Board seat in 2007, has served on several county boards and commissions and been an active volunteer and community member in the years since. She has been the chair of the Henrico Library Advisory Board and president of the Friends of the Glen Allen Library. She currently serves as the Brookland representative on the Henrico Area Mental Health and Development Services Board.

Democrat Schuyler VanValkenbug, a Glen Allen High School teacher, is concluding his first two-year term in the 72nd District and is expected to seek re-election, though he has not formally announced his intentions yet.

Atkins, a health information consultant for Anthem, spends much of her free time as a PTA volunteer in Varina District schools. She has served as PTA president of several schools in the district and also served as the district's representative on the Henrico County Council of PTAs.

She credits her time as a PTA member and official with helping her develop a more complete understanding of the needs and challenges facing schools and educators – and a more resolute desire to provide for them as a board member.

Though she's spent countless hundreds of hours volunteering in Henrico schools, one volunteering experience last year changed her life. She was assisting in an Eastern Henrico high school and noticed a student whose pants were sagging too low.

"I said, 'Sweetheart, you need to pull your pants up,' and he said 'Why? Nobody cares.' I told him 'I care.' But he said, 'You won't be back.'

"I made sure I would be back."

The moment was a defining one for Atkins, who says she is guided by her faith. She was moved to show that student in particular – and others like him – that someone does care and will prove it, she said. It solidified her decision to seek election.

Atkins has vowed to address three key areas if elected: student academic growth; student health and well-being; and family engagement.

Current Varina School Board member John Montgomery has not announced whether he will seek another term on the board.