The 2024 Town of Scottsville mayor race is close — very close.

Two votes close.

According to the preliminary results on the Virginia Department of Elections website, incumbent Mayor Ronald L. “Ron” Smith has 120 votes to challenger Eddie Payne Jr.’s 118. 

That number could change — according to the Virginia Department of Elections site, which was last updated at 11:13 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Albemarle and Fluvanna County registrars have not reported provisional votes. 

(The Town of Scottsville is located in both Albemarle and Fluvanna Counties.)

People who register to vote on Election Day, or whose voter status is in question that day, can vote using provisional ballots. Provisional ballots are handled separately from normally-cast ones, and the local electoral board reviews each provisional ballot to determine if that vote will be counted. (More on provisional ballots from the Virginia Department of Elections.)

But, it is unclear whether or not there were any provisional votes cast in the Scottsville town mayoral race. Charlottesville Tomorrow was unable to immediately reach the Albemarle County Registrar’s office to confirm.

“It’s kind of unique to have a really close race like this in Scottsville,” Smith told Charlottesville Tomorrow during a phone call Wednesday morning. “Usually it’s a bit lopsided.”

Payne could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.

The last time Smith ran for mayor of Scottsville, in 2020, only 69 people voted, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. Smith won 59 of those votes. 

Smith suspects voter turnout was particularly low that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, nearly half the town — 231 of the town’s roughly 500 people — voted in the mayoral race. (Six voted for neither Smith nor Payne, but for a write-in candidate. Who they voted for has not yet been reported.)

Smith currently serves as mayor, and his opponent, Payne, currently sits on the Town Council. Both answered a candidate Q&A for Charlottesville Tomorrow’s 2024 Voter Guide for Central Virginia, and they differ on a few key issues facing the small town. 

For example, Smith said he is open to growing the town’s population to help bolster small businesses and the town’s budget for infrastructure projects. Payne’s responses suggested he may not be.

“If the population of the Town of Scottsville increases, more people require more services and I would like to know if the influx of new people would [off]set the cost of these additional required services, for example police, fire, rescue and school system,” Payne wrote.

(Last year, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported on some of the budget challenges Scottsville faced after COVID-19 relief funding dried up.)

During a Jan. 17, 2023 regular business meeting, the Town Council heard an application for a rezoning and special use permit for the former tire factory at 800 Bird Street in Scottsville. The owner wanted to convert it into an apartment building and mixed-use complex — potentially doubling the town’s population. 

After hearing comments from community members, Councilor Dan Gritsko suggested delaying a vote on the application. He thought the Council and the community would benefit from learning more about the project before making up their minds. 

Smith supported the plan, but as mayor, he did not get a vote. (Scottsville’s mayor does not vote on matters before the Town Council, only serving as a tie-breaking vote if the six-member council is split.) He said the Council could delay a vote, and would like to see a councilor motion to do so.

Payne interjected and made a motion to take a vote that night, which Councilor Alex Bessette seconded. 

The Council ultimately voted four to two against the project, with Payne among the nays.

Before that, in 2022, Payne also voted against a development to bring 36 new single-family homes to Bird Street, across from the factory. That vote passed, however, when Smith cast a tie-breaking vote. It will be the town’s first new neighborhood in 70 years. 

Despite their differing views, the candidates are friends, said Smith. 

“Eddie and I are friends, and like I’ve said, I’d like to do this for another four years, but we’re not going to break up our friendship over it,” he said.

Editor’s note: There are two votes separating Smith and Payne. A previous version of this story said there were three.