Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Monday, October 6, 2008
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Choose your cause and there’s likely a candidate to champion it in the race for the honorary mayor of Horsepasture.
Brenda Moorefield, one of the six contenders for the post, promises voters she will “lower taxes, lower gas prices, bring the men and women back from overseas and world peace from now on.”
Voters do not believe her claims, but they do buy them.
“They give me money,” she said, laughing.
And that’s the whole point.
The mayor’s race is a fundraiser to benefit the Horsepasture Volunteer Fire Department, according to Moorefield, who also is the chairman of the department’s fundraising committee.
Each vote costs $1, and “whoever gets the most votes or collects the most money for the fire department wins,” she said. All proceeds benefit the fire department.
The idea for the mayor’s race is an effort to “try something different this year” to raise funds, Moorefield said, adding typical fundraisers include breakfasts, steak dinners and other events.
Residents are “very supportive” of such events, Moorefield said, and the mayor’s race “is a way to maintain the community’s interest.”
In addition to Moorefield, candidates include Matt Tatum, Bob Lawson, Angie Wood, Jimmy Clifton and Doc Ward.
The winner will receive a plaque, be addressed as the mayor at public functions and serve in the honorary post for one year.
Although the race is for a worthy cause and all in good fun, candidates are not skimping on the campaign.
“A lot of us have had signs made, and I even had T-shirts made,” Moorefield said.
Wood, who manages C&B Market on Preston Road, also “has signs all over the parking lot and on the sides of the store,” Moorefield said.
Tatum and Lawson are using TV ads to try and get votes, she added.
The race is not limited to Horsepasture residents or voters, Moorefield said, and there is still time to beat Wednesday’s entry deadline.
At this point, “it’s anybody’s race. Anybody can win,” she said.
Moorefield is hopeful the contest will raise at least $2,500 for the fire department, “if not more.”
Anyone wishing to enter the race is asked to call Joel Barnes at the Old Country Store. Barnes has made “ballot” boxes for individual candidates, Moorefield said, and ballots must be cast at the store, she said.
No candidate will know how many votes — or how much money — he or she has collected until the winner is announced Saturday, Moorefield said.
The reason for all the secrecy is simple, Moorefield said. “This race can be bought.” |
| |
|
|
.jpg)
