Mike Walls, 61, of Hudgins, is a candidate for one of two seats on the Mathews County Board of Supervisors in November’s general election.

Walls said his goals, if elected, would be to keep taxes low by spending taxpayer money wisely while looking for ways to stretch a dollar, support law and order and public safety, and increase job opportunities for all residents through economic development.

He said he would seek to ensure that the schools, staff and students have the tools they need for success, protect the civil rights of everyone in the county, and bring more cohesiveness to the board of supervisors. He said he supports the U.S. Constitution in its entirety.

National and world events in the 1990s made Walls realize that the people of his generation had been so consumed by working and raising a family that they had not been active enough, and this led him to want to get more involved. He said he believes the nation has lost its moral compass “and we need to work hard to regain it.” With that in mind, he made his campaign slogan “honesty, integrity and common sense for local government.”

Walls grew up in Chesterfield County, Virginia, where his family moved when he was six years old. He graduated from Thomas Dale High School and subsequently had 2½ years of vocational training for electrical instrumentation at Richmond Technical Center. He then went into trucking and was self-employed as the owner of Walls Trucking Company Inc. for over 30 years until he retired in 2017. He continues to work part-time as a truck driver for a local contractor.

Walls said he and Tammy, his wife of 40 years, visited Mathews in the 1980s and fell in love with the county. They moved from Chesterfield to Mathews in 2001 “and have never looked back.”

“I love this county, its people, and our way of life,” he said. “It is my desire to represent all of the people, all of the time. This is the most giving and friendly community I have ever lived in. I am so fortunate and proud to be able to call Mathews my home.”

Walls is one of two candidates for supervisor who were nominated by the Mathews County Republican Committee during a firehouse primary in May. The other is Dave Jones.

Four candidates—Walls, Jones, independent incumbent Mike Rowe and independent candidates Billy Cook and Dee Russell—are running for two open at-large seats on the county board.