Voters in Mathews County handed decisive victories on Tuesday night to two board of supervisors challengers—Patrick Beattie, who garnered 31.6 percent of the vote, and David Walsh, who came in right behind him, with 30.3 percent.
Incumbents Mike Walls and Dave Jones split the remaining third of the vote, pulling in 20.34 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively.
Much of the race centered on decisions and actions Walls and Jones had made during their four-year term regarding the county’s relationship with the Hole in the Wall Waterfront Grill, a county-owned property that is leased to the restaurant. The two incumbents had a rocky, sometimes adversarial, relationship with the restaurant owners that resulted in multiple lawsuits and the expenditure of county funds on legal fees. Both of the winning candidates promised a fresh start and a commitment to resolving the issues.
But on Wednesday morning, none of the candidates were focused on that central issue. The victors were all about moving forward, while those who lost were accepting of the outcome.
“I want to thank everybody that voted,” said Beattie, “especially the team that supported me through this, my family, and my church. Now I look forward to the challenges ahead and helping this community move forward. There’s a lot of work ahead.”
Walsh thanked all the voters who voted for him, as well as the ones who didn’t.
“I want to thank those that didn’t vote for me for doing their civic duty,” he said. “Because it is a duty.”
Walsh said further, “I’m honored and humbled, and I’m ready to get to work.”
Walls thanked Mathews County for the support he received during the past four years, and he assured his supporters that “everything’s good in my world.”
He also had a message for the new board members.
“I wish the supervisors-elect going forward the best of luck,” he said. “Now do positive things for Mathews County.”
Jones said, “I did not have to bow down to the liberal PACs to try to win an election. I am a pro-life Christian conservative Republican, and I thank the citizens who supported me over the last years.”
School board
School board incumbent Linda Hodges and newcomer Amy Bohannon-Stewart both ran unopposed and handily won their seats, with Bohannon-Stewart receiving 3,007 votes and Hodges getting 2,956.
