Consider elected office

Are you interested in serving your community in a positive way? Then consider running for one of the Madison County elected offices whose qualifying periods is going on now through June 9 for the Nov. 3 election. Not all of the incumbents have directly answered The Eagle’s question on whether or not they are running for re-election, but even so, it seems almost certain there will be some seats in need of candidates.

Even in a small, rural county like Madison, there are many excellent potential candidates out there, but often, for whatever reason, these top hopefuls fear dipping their toes into the political waters. Our elected public servants often get a lot of grief in letters to the editor and elsewhere, but we do applaud their service to the community and the good they do in keeping Madison County a great place to live.

We hope enough quality folks out there will give careful consideration to running. In the long run, the community is well-served by having a strong selection of candidates to choose from in the various races – ones who openly and clearly share their positions on the issues during the campaign process.

You won’t get rich serving as a member of the Madison County Board of Supervisors or the Madison County School Board. Supervisors make about $9,000 a year, plus fringe benefits, and school board members make about $2,000 a year and are eligible to participate in a health insurance program. While theoretically these positions are part-time, in practice many members do work long hours, take citizens’ calls at home and attend many functions in the community – definitely more than just a two-hour monthly meeting.

There’s a little work involved in running – you have to fill out a form or two, collect signatures and possibly pay fees. County Registrar Diana Eanes can answer many of your questions about running. She has made copies of special information sheets and reports already giving out “quite a few” of them, although no one had yet officially qualified to run in any of the races when The Eagle checked last week. Her number is (540) 948-6533. There is also information available on-line at www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms.