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| Teague to bid for full term; Lawson says she’s likely to run |
Kim Adkins |
Thursday, January 14, 2010
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
A business and community activist on Wednesday became the first person to formally announce plans to run for a seat on Martinsville City Council this year.
Kim Adkins, executive director of the West Piedmont Workforce Investment Board (WIB), will seek one of two council seats up for grabs in the city’s May 4 election. Those seats now are held by Kathy Lawson and Gene Teague.
Lawson, the current mayor, said she likely will run for a second four-year term.
While he has not yet formally declared his candidacy, Teague said he plans to run for another full term.
Adkins, 47, of Martinsville, said that if elected, she will “push for a sense of urgency toward economic recovery.”
She mentioned that Martinsville has faced economic challenges for more than a decade.
“It is time for us to be the poster child of transformative success instead of the poster child of economic despair,” she said.
Adkins said she favors continuing the public-private approach to economic development efforts, as well as services that help small businesses grow.
She wants to see localities in the region work together to solve problems, as well as more resources put toward education and public safety, she said.
Also, she aims to promote uptown revitalization and continued support of the New College Institute, she added.
Adkins said she has not yet formed positions on issues. She said that while she has ideas for making the community better, she also will seek ideas from the public as she campaigns.
Overall, she said she is running for council because “I love this community and want to do my part to help solve the numerous challenges” it faces.
Adkins has headed the WIB for more than two years. The WIB funds and monitors area Virginia Workforce Centers and many employment services and training programs for employers, job-seekers and youth.
Previously, she was president of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce for about eight years and director of corporate communications and investor relations for Tultex Corp. for about 14 months before the company closed a decade ago.
She already has some local government experience: She has served on the Martinsville Planning Commission for two years and currently is its chairman, and she is a member of the West Piedmont Planning District Commission.
Adkins has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and is a graduate of the Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. She has completed the Virginia Certified Planning Commissioners Program and graduate work in public administration.
She is vice chairman of the Southside Business Technology Center and is on the boards of the Martinsville-Henry County YMCA, the chamber’s education foundation and Carlisle School, where she is immediate past chairman.
Adkins also has helped launch and served as a founding board member of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., Fayette Area Historical Initiative and West Piedmont Business Development Center.
She and her husband, Jeff, have two children, Jack, 18, and Claire, 15.
As of Wednesday, no one had filed with the city registrar’s office papers required to run for a council seat, said Deputy Registrar Joyce Hazelwood. The deadline for filing is March 2, she said.
Adkins said she still is circulating a petition to get signatures of 125 local registered voters, as is required, and aims to submit her papers next week.
Lawson was elected to the council in 2006. She was chosen by council members to be mayor in 2008.
“I’m pondering the pros and cons” of seeking re-election, Lawson said.
But “the pros are at the top of the list,” so she probably will run again, she said, adding that she intends to make her decision next week.
In January 2008, the council appointed Teague to fill the seat vacated by former councilman Mark Anderson, who resigned to move to Danville.
Teague has served on the council for a total of 12 years over two stints.
In 1994, council members appointed him to fill the vacancy left by former councilman Steve Draper, who was elected city sheriff and still holds that constitutional office.
Voters elected Teague in 1996 and 2000. Council members chose him to be vice mayor in 1998 and mayor in 2002. He did not seek re-election in 2004.
Reached while he was traveling on Wednesday, Teague said he will make a formal announcement of his candidacy at a later date. |
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