Wooster, Maresh outspend opponents in School Board race

Published 8:14 pm Friday, November 4, 2022

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Isle of Wight County School Board candidates Mark Wooster and Jason Maresh have vastly outspent their opponents.

Wooster, who is running for the District 2 seat against incumbent Renee Dial, reported just over $2,200 in campaign contributions and just over $1,900 in expenses for Jan. 1 through Oct. 27. During the same 10-month period, Dial reported $100 in contributions and no expenses, though she has distributed campaign signs throughout Carrollton. Dial was unable to be reached by phone or email by press deadline as to why her campaign signs were not listed as expenses.

Maresh, who’s running for the District 4 seat against incumbent Michael Vines, reported a year-to-date total of just over $2,600 in campaign contributions and just over $2,000 in expenses, as of Oct. 27. During the same period, Vines, like Dial, reported only $100 and no expenses.

Local candidates are required to periodically report their campaign finances to the state using a schedule set by the Virginia Department of Elections. The Oct. 27 year-to-date totals were due Oct. 31.

Vines filed three reports on Sept. 7, one for June 6-9, one for June 10-30 and one for July 1 through Aug. 31. No report of Vines’ contributions and expenses for Sept. 1 through 30 was listed on the Department of Elections website as of Nov. 1, though the report was due Oct. 17. No report was listed as of Nov. 1 for Vines’ Oct. 1-27 contributions and expenses either, though the report was due Oct. 31.

Town council candidates in towns with fewer than 25,000 residents are exempt by state law from having to file campaign finance reports. As such, none are listed for any of the five candidates vying for four available seats on Smithfield’s Town Council, nor the four Windsor Town Council candidates vying for three seats, nor Windsor’s mayoral race, in which George Stubbs is running unopposed.

Only one of the four candidates vying for a seat on Surry County’s Board of Supervisors is listed on the Department of Elections website as having filed campaign finance reports. Abram Ketchum, who’s running against Brenton Byrd for the Carsley District seat, reported just over $1,000 in contributions as of Oct. 27 and just over $930 in expenses.

No campaign finance reports for Byrd, nor for Dendron District candidates Jason Fuss and Breyon Pierce are listed.

Isle of Wight County’s Electoral Board is scheduled to meet Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. in the voter registrar’s office at Monument Circle to discuss campaign finance reports. Neither Voter Registrar Lisa Betterton nor Electoral Board Secretary Geoff McFather would elaborate as to what if any problems had been noted with any candidate’s report.