Marie Walls, 55, of Port Haywood, has announced that she is running as an independent for the position of Mathews Commonwealth’s Attorney in the Nov. 7 election.

A prosecutor in Virginia for more than 20 years, Walls said she has prosecuted 100+ jury trials. She said integrity and trustworthiness are central to the role of a prosecutor, and that her job is to help victims speak to the judge or the jury—to be their voice in court. In addition, she said a prosecutor and a sheriff need a close working relationship based on trust and support, and she prides herself on having had a good relationship with all the officers she has worked with over the past two decades. “I want to be the voice for the victims,” she said.

Currently the chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney for Gloucester County, Walls is a Williamsburg native and a lifelong Virginia resident who earned a B.S. in Psychology from Christopher Newport University. She then attended the University of North Dakota School of Law,...