Peyton wins again

Clarence “Buggs” Peyton reclaimed his Stanardsville seat on Greene’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday night, besting challenger William B. “Bill” Martin by just 101 votes.
At press time the unofficial final tally was: Peyton, 791; Martin 690. There was one write-in vote for the seat.
“I appreciate the voters coming to the polls today and the confidence they have in my record,“ said Peyton. 
Martin was graceful in his concession: “I want to be among the first to congratulate Buggs Peyton for his victory in today’s election,“ he said. “It was a fine, clean, honest campaign and I appreciate Mr. Peyton’s competitive spirit. Buggs is a good man and a fine community leader and I count him as friend and neighbor.
“The Greene County Board of Supervisors faces a terribly difficult set of challenges in the next few years due to a debilitating economic climate,“ Martin continued. “Mr. Peyton deserves the support of all Stanardsville District voters as he and our Board deliberate over the many difficult issues our community faces. He has my full and unqualified support and I wish both him and the Board very well as they help us overcome these challenges. Finally, I humbly and deeply appreciate the confidence that so many Stanardsville District voters have shown me in this election.“
In all other races specific to Greene candidates ran unopposed: James F. “Jim” Frydl will be replacing Ruckersville’s supervisor, Jeri Allen, who is stepping down after serving two four-year terms; and both school board chair A. Michelle Flynn of the Ruckersville District and school board vice-chair Jason K. Collier of the Stanardsville District will be re-seated for their second four-year terms.
Peyton comments on the lack of opposition in local races: “I am disappointed that there were so few candidates in county-wide races,“ he says. “I don’t think it’s an indication that people don’t care about the county government; it’s an indication that they understand that running for and holding political office is a lot of hard work, and very time-consuming.“
Less than half—43.67 percent—of Greene’s more than 11,000 total voters went to the polls this year, compared to 46 percent who voted in 2007, and the 42.3 percent who voted in 2005.