Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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| Earns 70.6% of votes in treasurer's race |
Interim Martinsville Treasurer Cindy Dickerson won election to the post Tuesday night by a wide margin. Above Dickerson is shown with retired city treasurer Bernice Smith, left, and immediate past treasurer Pat Conrad, who retired in January. Both endorsed Dickerson. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer
Martinsville voters on Tuesday elected Cindy Dickerson city treasurer by a landslide margin of almost 900 votes.
Dickerson, who has served as interim treasurer since former treasurer Pat Conrad retired at the end of January, won 1,093 votes in the special election.
Coming in second place out of the four candidates was Pamela Gauldin Shoemaker, an auditor/tax compliance officer in the city Commissioner of the Revenue’s office, with 210 votes. Paint contractor and businessman William L. “Butch” Freeland Jr. received 151 votes, and Martinsville Mayor Kathy Lawson received 91 votes.
“I can’t really remember a lopsided win like this ever,” said Circuit Court Clerk Ashby Pritchett.
About 1,550 people, or 17 percent of the 9,245 registered city voters, turned out for the special election, election results show. The results are unofficial and will be canvassed this morning.
Dickerson celebrated with about 50 supporters Tuesday night at the Sportsman’s Club on Fayette Street. She said she was “ecstatic” at the election results.
“I was hoping for, but not expecting” such a large victory, Dickerson said.
“I just want to thank everyone who worked with me, helped me and voted. I couldn’t have done it without them,” she added.
Dickerson will remain treasurer until the end of the year unless she is re-elected in the Nov. 3 general election. She said she plans to run again in November.
Reached Tuesday night, Freeland said Dickerson’s supporters “ran a real good campaign. They started early and finished strong.”
“I don’t have any desire to run again in November,” he added.
Lawson said she “really wasn’t surprised” by the number of votes she received.
“I had a large number of constituents who asked me to run (for treasurer), and I did, but I also had a huge number of people to tell me during the course of that month that they didn’t want me to win — they wanted me to stay exactly where I was,” Lawson said of her position as mayor.
“I think that was a reflection of the people in the city being pleased with the job I am doing as mayor,” she said.
Lawson would have had to give up her seat on the city council if elected treasurer because a person cannot hold two elected offices at one time, state elections officials have said.
Before deciding whether to run again in November, she said, “I would really have to do a lot of polling of constituents.”
“I enjoy what I do as mayor, and I think I am good as mayor,” Lawson said.
Shoemaker could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Dickerson said her plans are, first of all, to “get some sleep” and “then get back to work and get back to what we do.”
Dickerson took over the treasurer’s post for two months last year while Conrad was on medical leave. Dickerson worked for 15 years as city deputy treasurer, the last six of which she has been certified as a master deputy treasurer through the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia.
Before being hired by then-treasurer Bernice Hodges Smith, Dickerson graduated with an advanced diploma from Laurel Park High School and worked for one year at what now is Carter Bank and Trust.
Former treasurers Conrad and Smith both endorsed Dickerson from the beginning and celebrated with her Tuesday night.
“Obviously, I’m really pleased,” Conrad said at the Sportsman’s Club. “I became real concerned during this election, but this tells me people really support the treasurer’s office and really support Cindy (Dickerson).”
Smith said she was “just thrilled” for Dickerson’s victory.
“I thought she would win, but I didn’t think it would be this much of a landslide,” Smith said.
“I’m just delighted that she got it, because she is certainly the person for the job,” she added. “She’s smart, and she really deserves it.”
City councilman Danny Turner, also at the Sportsman’s Club, said he was “very pleased” that Dickerson won.
“I always maintained this special election should never have taken place,” Turner said, calling it “a waste of money.”
Turner dissented when the council voted to request the special election be held before the November election at a cost to the city of between $5,000 and $6,000. |
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