The Buchanan County Democratic Committee will hold precinct meetings on December 1, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. at the normal polling places for each precinct, with the exception of the Hurley Precinct which will meet at Hurley Middle School, for the purpose of electing precinct officers pursuant to the Bylaws of the Committee. All Democrats who are registered and eligible to vote are invited to attend the precinct meetings. Each person participating in the precinct meetings must provide written certification that he or she: is a democrat, is a registered voter in their respective magisterial district and voting precinct; believes in the principles of the Democratic Party; and that he or she does not intend to support any candidate who is opposed to a Democratic nominee in the next ensuing election. Certification forms must be filled out prior to the meeting. Doors to the precinct meetings will close at 10:00 a.m. and no person may complete a certification or enter the meeting after that time with the exception of those in line at the aforementioned time. Precinct officers elected will meet on December 10, 2007, in the circuit courtroom at the courthouse in Grundy, Virginia on December 10, 2007, to elect officers of the Committee which includes Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Buchanan County Democrats claimed three constitutional offices and five seats on the Board of Supervisors at the polls on November 6, 2007. Beverly Tiller, Bill Keene, and Jay Rife easily won Circuit Court Clerk, Treasurer, and Commissioner of Revenue respectively. The Democratic majority elected to the Board of Supervisors included Berlin Viars (Garden District), Carroll Branham (North Grundy), Steve O’Quinn (Prater District), Frankie Landreth (Rocklick District), and William P. Harris (Hurricane District).
Buchanan County Democrats also celebrated the fact that the Virginia Senate is now back in the control of Democrats. With Democrats in control of the Virginia Senate, our own Senator Puckett is expected to assume a significant leadership role which can only benefit our county.
The loss of Commonwealth Attorney and Sheriff tempered the celebration on election night. A Republican and independent challenged Sheila Tolliver to her fourth term as Commonwealth Attorney. Randy Ashby fell short of his attempt to unseat the incumbent Republican Sheriff. Like the race for Commonwealth Attorney, Ashby also faced an independent in addition to the Republican candidate. As we often see, the presence of independents hurts our candidates and divides our party. Of course, when the independent is a former Democrat, the idea is to scuttle the battleship when victory is obviously out of reach. Both Tolliver and Ashby have been public servants for more than twenty years. Our party wishes Tolliver and Ashby the best with their future endeavors.
