T.C. “Tom” Bowen III, 71, of Mathews, has announced his candidacy for a seat on the Mathews County Board of Supervisors in the Nov. 7 election. He is running as an independent.
Bowen said Mathews is facing a declining population and that the future success of the county depends on the schools, since young families seeking to move into the county will want to know the schools are acceptable. He said one of his goals is to help create a stronger school system by developing a good working relationship with the Mathews County School Board.
He said he also wants to work on developing a positive business climate by reaching out to business owners and finding out what they believe the county needs, rather than “throw up a problem and not be helpful solving it.”
“We have a lot of smart business owners,” he said. “We need to capture their ideas and find ways to work with them … Supervisors need to be problem solvers.”
Bowen said he’s been concerned about the removal from various local boards of citizens that have a wide variety of viewpoints and their replacement with people “from a very small group.”
“You don’t have to agree with everybody, but you should receive input and ideas from everybody,” he said. “Our local government should be focused on economic development, strong public schools, promotion of tourism, promotion of recreational activities for families, and public safety. Supervisors should be respectful of all citizens and should act with integrity and dignity.”
Bowen said he had been encouraged by residents to run for office, but thought there was little that one person would be able to do to effect change. He was therefore glad to find that both Janice Phillips and Tim Doss had received similar encouragement from residents, and the three decided to run as a team under the auspices of Mathews Citizens for the Common Good.
Serving as Mathews Commonwealth’s Attorney since 2011, Bowen announced earlier this year that he was retiring from the position this December. Before coming to Mathews, he spent 19 years as an attorney in Tazewell, where he had a general law practice with his father and brother and also served as Commonwealth’s Attorneys for eight years.
Bowen has a bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College and a law degree from the T.C. Williams School of Law at Richmond University.
In 2001, Bowen moved to Mathews so he and his wife could take care of her mother. He joined Kingston Parish Episcopal Church and became involved in Boy Scouts, Meals on Wheels, and high school mock trial competitions. He has been a Rotarian for 40 years and served as past president of a Rotary Club.
Bowen is married to Mathews native Marti Lewis Bowen, a retired Mathews High School teacher whose family on both sides have lived in Mathews County for more than 200 years. Their daughter Kathryn graduated from Mathews High.