No matter who wins Amherst County’s District 2 Board of Supervisors race, the vote will result in the first female member elected to the board since the early 1990s.
The contest between Bonnie Brockham Limbrick and Claudia Tucker is one of two contested races set to be decided on Election Day in Amherst County. In the other, Frank Campbell is challenging incumbent Leon Parrish for the District 5 seat.
The first and only female who has served on the Amherst County Board of Supervisors, former Sweet Briar professor Judith Elkins, was elected in 1993 but died of cancer before completing her first term.
Limbrick and Tucker are vying for the District 2 seat to be vacated by Vernon Wood at the end of the year. Both women have said the county needs quality leadership irrespective of gender or race. They have each served on the planning commission and Tucker is a current member.
Limbrick, an Amherst native, is co-owner of Amcar Rental in Madison Heights and a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Forehand & Co. in Lynchburg. She served on the planning commission for five years and currently serves on the board of zoning appeals.
Limbrick, 57, defines herself as a conservative and said her goals for the office include encouraging more growth in commercial and industrial zones and keeping taxes low.
“Business is the biggest contribution to our tax base, and we need businesses to keep taxes low,” Limbrick wrote in a letter to the newspaper.
Her opponent, Tucker, is the senior director of government affairs for Medco Health Solutions and has lived in the county for 13 years.
Tucker, 52, stated in a letter to the newspaper that she would advocate for more transparency and openness if elected to the board.
“We must have transparent and accountable public servants who are willing to stand firm, make hard decisions, maintain a fiscally conservative agenda and bring the county together so that we can move forward,” Tucker wrote.
Limbrick has spent $1,393.88 on the campaign so far, and Tucker has spent $2,351.81, records show.
Meanwhile, Parrish and Campbell will once again vie for the Old Town Madison Heights district seat. In 2005, the candidates opposed one another, resulting in a victory for Parrish.
The current board chairman, Parrish is seeking his fifth term and has the longest tenure of anyone serving on the board.
Parrish, 68, said his longtime experience in county government would serve as an asset if he were re-elected. His top priorities for his next term include restoring Old Town Madison Heights and ensuring that the Amherst Adult Detention Center is completed.
His opponent, Campbell, a lifelong Madison Heights native, said he would work toward creating a more open government that focused on the county’s economic growth if elected.
A neighbor of Parrish, Campbell, 39, is the sole proprietor of American Customized Exteriors in Madison Heights. Neither has indicated that they have spent money on their campaigns.
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