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2006 Guide
 to Municipal Elections

The 2006 guide to municipal elections is designed to inform you, the voter, of the candidates running for office in the May 2, 2006 General Election.  Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.  We encourage you to let your voice be heard by voting for the candidates of your choice.

A total of 42 candidates are on the May 2 ballot with a large number of candidates running in the four largest towns. In the smaller towns, write-in candidates will be selected to fill vacant seats.

Town of Gate City
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Mark Jenkins

Office Sought: Gate City Mayor

Personal information: Jenkins, who was appointed to serve as mayor in September 2004, is seeking re-election to the office. He is a 1973 graduate of Gate City High School and has been employed as a quality management facilitator by Eastman Chemical Company for 32 years. He has attended much training seminars due to his occupation. He has lived in Gate City for 25 years and has been married to his wife, Jan, for 26 years. Jenkins formerly served on the Gate City Town Council and Gate City Planning Commission. He is a local business owner and a community stakeholder because of his ownership of several properties in the town limits. He vows to make Gate City an even better place to live if he is elected. Jenkins is 50 years old.

Roger Cassell

Office Sought: Gate City Town Council

Personal Information: Cassell previously served a term on the town council in 2000 and has served on other town boards including the planning commission and board of zoning appeals. He is a 1983 graduate of Gate City High School and a 1994 graduate of Northeast State Technical Community College where he earned an associate degree in electrical technology. He has volunteered with the Gate City Fire Department for the past 23 years and has served as Fire Chief since 1998. He is a meter revenue servicer II employed by Appalachian Power Company. He is also an associate instructor with the Virginia Department of Fire Programs. A lifelong resident of Gate City, Cassell and his wife, Norma, have two children, Mitchell, 7 and Courtney, 4. He is 41 years old.

Carl Hurt

Office Sought: Gate City Town Council

Personal Information: A 1954 graduate of Shoemaker High School, Hurt is retired from Eastman Chemical Company. He is 69 years old and has spent most of his life involved in the Gate City Little League program. Hurt has been a member of the Little League program for 33 years and has served as president of the organization. He is also a member of the Gate City Fire Department and Catlett Lodge No. 35 AM&FM. He is married to Gladys Hurt and the couple has four adult children.

Frances Perry

Office Sought: Gate City Town Council

Personal Information: Perry was appointed to serve on the town council and has been serving for the past 20 months. She is a 1960 graduate of Gate City High School and is married to Robert J. Perry. The couple has two adult children. Perry, who is 63 years old, attended adult business classes at Dobyns-Bennett High School and Mountain Empire Community College. Currently working as a sales clerk at Scott Jewelers, Perry taught music to kindergarten students at a private school, worked in the business office at Indian Path Hospital and has been a legal secretary for private practice attorneys and the commonwealth's attorney. She follows in the footsteps of her late father, Earnest Sampson, who served several terms on the council and her brothers, both of whom have served in community government. She is an active participating member of the First Baptist Church of Gate City. She has also served on the Gate City Planning Commission for the about 25 years. Perry states that the present council inherited some major problems and they have faced them "boldly and with courage". It is her desire to see improvements in the town in every area possible.

Rita Tipton

Office Sought: Gate City Town Council

Personal Information: Tipton is seeking her fourth term on the council. She is employed as a Housing Choice Voucher Specialist for the Scott County Redevelopment & Housing Authority. Tipton graduated from Suitland High School in Suitland, Md. in 1959 and earned an associate degree in police science in 1997 from Mountain Empire Community College. She also attended Strayer Business College, Washington, D.C. She and her late husband, Robert Paul Tipton, have five adult children. Her previous work experience includes stints as secretary to the division manager at Peoples Drug Store and rehabilitation secretary for Goodwill Industries. Tipton says she has always worked in direct contact with the public and has strived to help families have a better quality of life. She stresses the importance of education, no matter your age and says the town's Main Street approach will encourage forward-thinking economic development and historic preservation. She is 64 years old.

Others seeking positions on the Gate City Town Council are Steven Dougherty and Tommy Herron. There are five seats on the council. Douglas C. Gillenwater is also running for Gate City Mayor.
 

For more information on election requirements or statistics, visit the State Board of Elections website at www.sbe.virginia.gov or call the Scott County Registrar's Office at 276-386-3843.

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