HomeMy WebLinkAbout031-25 (WritOfElectionPetition(ChairmanAtLarge&GainesboroDistrictRepsVacancies) RESOLUTION
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Action:
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: September 10, 2025 Adopted
AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY ATTORNEY
TO FILE A PETITION FOR WRIT OF ELECTION TO FILL VACANCIES
IN THE OFFICE OF CHAIRMAN AT-LARGE AND THE GAINESBORO DISTRICT
REPRESENTATIVE TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
WHEREAS, Heather Lockridge has submitted her resignation as Gainesboro
District representative to the Board of Supervisors, effective September 1, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Josh Ludwig has submitted his resignation as Chairman At-Large of
the Board of Supervisors, effective September 8, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Virginia Code § 24.2-226(A)requires the Board of Supervisors to file
with the Circuit Court a petition for a writ of election to fill a vacancy on the Board of
Supervisors within 15 days of the vacancy's effective date; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds it appropriate that the election to fill the vacancies in
the office of Chairman At-Large and the Gainesboro District representative to the Board of
Supervisors take place on November 3, 2026.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board authorizes the County
Attorney to file with the Circuit Court a petition seeking issuance of a writ of election, to
fill the vacancies in the office of Chairman At-Large and the Gainesboro District
representative to the Board of Supervisors, such election to occur on November 3, 2026.
Passed this I Oth day of September by the following recorded vote:
Chairman's Seat Vacant John Jewell Aye
Gainesboro Seat Vacant Robert W. Wells Aye
Blaine P. Dunn No Robert Liero Aye
Judith McCann-Slaughter Aye
A COPY
AT EST
Michae _. Bollho er
Frederic Cou Administrator
No. 031-25
After Meeting Action Report
Board of Supervisors
Regular Meeting Agenda Page 5
September 10, 2025
7. Board of Supervisors Comments
8. County Officials
8.A. County Administrator's Report:
1 . Options to Address the Vacancy of the Chairman's and the Gainesboro
District Seats
Discussion/Action Items/Proposed Timeline:
a. Selection of a date for the special election.
b. Approval of a resolution authorizing the County Attorney to file a petition
for Writ of Special Election with the circuit court to fill both vacant
positions.
Special Election set for 11-3-2026 & staff authorized to file writ of
petition — Jewell/Wells — 4-1, 2 vacancies
c. Application process and application deadline for receiving information
from prospective candidates for (1) the Chairman's Seat, and (2) the
Gainesboro Seat
d. The application period for both vacancies could be open from
September 11-24, 2025, allowing 14 days to receive applications.
e. The Board could hold a public meeting on October 1, 2025, to announce the
applicants and make the applications available for public inspection. The Board
should specify the nature of this meeting (such as whether applicants will be
allowed to speak or simply have their names stated).
f. The Board could make the appointment at the regularly scheduled
October 8, 2025, meeting. (If desired, the Board could hold a closed session
to discuss prospective candidates immediately before the October 8 meeting.)
g. This proposed timeline would leave October 15th available for a
special meeting, if needed.
Proposed timeline approved and applicant speeches limited to 5 minutes each at the October 1
public meeting —Jewell/Wells 5-0, 2 vacancies
BOS09-10-25VacantGainesboroSeatlnfo.pdf
BOS09-10-25VacantGainesboroSeat-B rig IiaMemo.pdf
2. Updated Board Committee Assignments
Attached after the last page of this Action Report
COUNTY of FREDERICK
wss Michael Bollhoefer
County Administrator
1739 540/665-63 82
Fax: 540/667-0370
E-mail: michael.bollhoefergfcva.us
TO: Frederick County Board of Supervisors
FROM: Mike Bollhoefer, County Administrator
SUBJECT: Impending Gainesboro District Supervisor Vacancy
DATE: August 21, 2025
With Supervisor Lockridge's impending resignation, the Board will have a vacancy in the
Gainesboro District Supervisor position. The vacancy presents two actions for Board: (1)
appointment by the Board of an interim Supervisor; and (2) Requesting a date for a special
election to fill the remainder of the term.
This memorandum outlines issues for the Board to consider relative to those two actions. For
your reference, I am attaching the full text of the code sections of the Code of Virginia.
Interim Appointment of a Supervisor
Section 242-228(A) of the Code of Virginia provides: "When a vacancy occurs in a local
governing body or an elected school board, the remaining members of the body or board,
respectively, within 45 days of the office becoming vacant,may appoint a qualified voter of the
election district in which the vacancy occurred to fill the vacancy." Any person appointed on an
interim basis serves only until the voters fill the vacancy by special election. As Supervisor
Lockridge's resignation is dated September 1, 2025, the Board's window to make the
appointment is September 1, 2025, to October 15, 2025. If a majority of the remaining members
of the board cannot agree, or do not act, on the appointment, the judges of the circuit court of the
county may make the interim appointment.
An additional requirement has been added to the statute since the last time the Board appointed
an interim member. The law now requires that the Board hold a public meeting at least 7 days
prior to making an interim appointment; furthermore, at the public meeting, the Board shall
announce the names of all persons being proposed for the interim appointment and shall make
available for inspection each person's resume and any other material required by the Board.
The meeting is not required to be a public hearing; however, if the Board decides to have a
107 North Kent Street 0 Winchester, Virginia 22601
public hearing, it must be properly advertised. We would follow the same public hearing
advertising requirements for this matter, as we would for our typical public hearings, which
requires the first notice of publication in the local paper to be no more than 21 days before the
meeting and the second publication being no less than 7 days before the meeting.
Once the Board has conducted the required public meeting, it must wait seven days before
making the interim appointment. The Board may hold a closed meeting to discuss prospective
candidates; however, the appointment of an interim supervisor must be made in a public meeting.
Special Election
Section 24.2-226(A)provides:
...The governing body...shall, within 15 days of the occurrence of the vacancy,petition
the circuit court to issue a writ of election to fill the vacancy ... Either upon receipt of the
petition or on its own motion, the court shall issue the writ ordering the election promptly and
shall order the special election to be held on the date of the next general election in November.
... However, if the governing body ... requests a different date for the election, the court shall
order the special election be held on that date, so long as the date requested precede the date of
such next general election and complies with the provisions of section 24.2-682. If the vacancy
occurs within 90 days of the next such general election and the governing body ... has not
requested in its petition a different date for the election, the special election shall be held on the
date of the second such election. ...
The Board has from September 1, 2025 to September 15, 2025 to decide on a date for the special
election. Because the vacancy occurred within the 90 days of the next general election, a special
election cannot be held in conjunction with the November 2025 general election. The next
general election will be November 3, 2026. If the Board decides it wants to hold the election on
a date prior to the November 3, 2026 general election, the following legal limitations apply:
• Must be on a Tuesday, §24.2-682(A);
• May not be on the same day as a primary (in 2026, the Primary will be June 16, 2026);
• May not take place in the 55 days prior to a primary or general election §24.2-682(A).
Furthermore, there are logistical limitations:
• The Board has avoided days when school is in session because most polling locations are
in schools;
• The County's election equipment may not be available for use during the four weeks
immediately following a primary election.
Should the Board choose to hold a special election on a date other than November 3, 2026, and
following the above limitations,there are three dates available, March 31, 2026 (which coincides
with Frederick County Public Schools' spring break), July 21, 2026 and July 28, 2026 (note the
July dates are 5 and 6 weeks after the June primary. )
Proposed Schedule for Board Actions
The Board's next scheduled regularly scheduled meeting is September 10, 2025. Staff will be
seeking the following actions from the Board:
1. Selection of a date for the special election.
2. Approval of a resolution authorizing the County Attorney to file a petition for Writ of
Special Election with the circuit court.
3. Application process and application deadline for receiving information from prospective
candidates.
a. The application period could be open from September 11, 2025 to September 24,
2025. This would allow 14 days to receive applications.
b. The Board could then hold a public meeting on October 1, 2025, to announce the
applicants and make the applications available for public inspection.
c. Following the October 1, 2025 meeting,the Board could then make the
appointment at the regularly scheduled October 8, 2025 meeting. (If the Board
desired, a closed session to discuss prospective candidates can be scheduled
before the October 8, 2025 regular meeting).
d. This proposed timeline would leave October 15th available for a special meeting,
if needed.
The above process is one option; however, the Board may set any schedule it desires as long as
meets the requirements stated in the first two paragraphs of this memo.
Should you have any questions regarding this proposed process, please do not hesitate to contact
me.
Relevant Virginia Statutes
§ 24.2-226. Election to fill vacancy.
A. A vacancy in any elected local office, whether occurring when for any
reason an officer-elect does not take office or occurring after an officer
begins his term, shall be filled as provided by § 24.2-228 or for
constitutional officers as provided in § 24.2-228.1, or unless provided
otherwise by statute or charter requiring special elections within the
time limits provided in this title. The governing body or, in the case of
an elected school board, the school board of the county, city, or town in
which the vacancy occurs shall, within 15 days of the occurrence of the
vacancy, petition the circuit court to issue a writ of election to fill the
vacancy as set forth in Article 5 (§ 24.2-681 et seq.) of Chapter 6. Either
upon receipt of the petition or on its own motion, the court shall issue
the writ ordering the election promptly and shall order the special
election to be held on the date of the next general election in November
or in May if the vacant office is regularly scheduled by law to be filled in
May. However, if the governing body or the school board requests in its
petition a different date for the election, the court shall order the
special election be held on that date, so long as the date requested
precedes the date of such next general election and complies with the
provisions of§ 24.2-682. If the vacancy occurs within 90 days of the
next such general election and the governing body or the school board
has not requested in its petition a different date for the election, the
special election shall be held on the date of the second such general
election. Upon receipt of written notification by an officer or officer-
elect of his resignation as of a stated date, the governing body or school
board, as the case may be, may immediately petition the circuit court to
issue a writ of election, and the court may immediately issue the writ to
call the election. The officer's or officer-elect's resignation shall not be
revocable after the date stated by him for his resignation or after the
forty-fifth day before the date set for the special election. The person so
elected shall hold the office for the remaining portion of the regular
term of the office for which the vacancy is being filled.
§ 24.2-228. Interim appointment to local governing body or elected
school board; elected mayor.
A. When a vacancy occurs in a local governing body or an elected school
board, the remaining members of the body or board, respectively, within 45
days of the office becoming vacant, may appoint a qualified voter of the
election district in which the vacancy occurred to fill the vacancy. At least
seven days prior to making such interim appointment, the body or board shall
hold a public meeting in accordance with § 2.2-3707 at which the body or
board shall announce the names of all persons being proposed for the interim
appointment and shall make available for inspection each person's resume
and any other materials required by the body or board. If a majority of the
remaining members of the body or board cannot agree, or do not act, the
judges of the circuit court of the county or city may make the appointment.
Notwithstanding any charter provisions to the contrary, the person so
appointed shall hold office only until the qualified voters fill the vacancy by
special election pursuant to § 24.2-682 and the person so elected has
qualified. Any person so appointed shall hold office the same as an elected
person and shall exercise all powers of the elected office.
If a majority of the seats on any governing body or elected school board are
vacant, the remaining members shall not make interim appointments and the
vacancies shall be filled as provided in § 24.2-227.
§ 24.2-682. Times for special elections.
A. Notwithstanding any charter or special act to the contrary, the following
provisions govern the times for holding special elections. Every special
election shall be held on a Tuesday. No special election shall be held within
the 55 days prior to a general or primary election. No special election shall be
held on the same day as a primary election. A special election may be held on
the same day as a general election.
P January 2026 February
No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 1 2 3 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
3 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 8 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 122 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
4 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 c 22 2.3 24 25 26 27 28 13 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Lf
5 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 i4 29 30 31
Iro May 20261
No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
14 1 2 3 4 16 1 2 23 1 2 3 4 5 6
15 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 19 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 24 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
16 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 25 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 21 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 26 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
16 26 27 28 29 30 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 27 28 29 30
23 31
No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
27 1 2 3 4 1 36 1 2 3 4 5
26 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 32 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 37 6 7 9 10 11 12
29 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 33 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 36 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
.30 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 34 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 39 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
31 26 27 28 29 30 31 35 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 40 27 28 29 30
36 30 31
October 2026I ■- r
No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa No. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
40 1 2 3 45 1 2O 4 5 6 7 49 1 2 3 4 5
41 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 46 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 50 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
42 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 47 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 51 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
43 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 48 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 52 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
44 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 49 29 30 53 27 28 29 30 31
Orange highlighter- school in session
Yellow highlighter- 55 days before and 4 weeks after primary/election
Pink highlighter- available dates (March 31, July 21, July28)
June 16th - primary
November 3rd- general election
.f
COUNTY OF FREDERICK
Steven D. Briglia
04 4 County Attorney
• 703-883-0205
¢G
1738 E-mail: sbriglia@brigliahundley.com
MEMORANDUM
TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steven D. Briglia, Acting County Attorney
CC: Michael Bollhoefer, County Administrator
DATE: August 26, 2025
RE: Impending Gainsboro District Supervisor Vacancy
On August 21, 2025, a meeting between the County Administrator, the Deputy County
Administrator, and me occurred to discuss the legal and procedural requirements (and options)
for filing the impending Gainesboro District Supervisor vacancy due proffered resignation of
Supervisor Heather Lockridge. We reviewed the relevant Virginia Code sections as well as the
25/26 calendar and collectively agreed upon the controlling Code provisions given the situation
and using the deadlines and available possible special election dates (using school holidays), a
consensus recommendation was reached.
On August 21st, the County Administrator prepared a Memorandum for the Board of
Supervisors based on the legal and procedural discussion and provided the Board with the
relevant Virigina Code sections as well as options for Board related to a Special Election, and
appointment of a Board member to fill the unexpired term of Supervisor Lockridge either by the
Board itself(within 45 days) or by the Frederick County Circuit Court.
Depending on the Board's decision related to the appointment, a petition for appointment
and/or petition for a special election will need to be filed with the Circuit Court.
107 North Kent Street • Winchester, Virginia 22601