Early voting starts today!

This email includes a story from Louisa County. If you know someone from that county who might be interested, please forward this email and share this link to subscribe for free!

Friday, Sept. 23, 2022

Voters, are you excited? Early voting starts today! Check out the 2022 Voter Guide for more information!

Today we bring you an election story from Louisa County.

Can an all-white school board adequately represent its minority constituents? That’s the question Mineral district voters are being asked to answer in a Nov. 8 special election. The school board, which governs eight schools with about 30% non-white students, has been all white since 2014. Now, candidates Lloyd Runnett and Dave Rogers want a place on the seven-person body.

Rogers says it’s time to change the “good old boy” board.  “I’m here to be the voice for people that don’t have a voice,” said Rogers, whose priority is hiring more diverse teachers and staff. 

Runnett said being white does not limit his ability to represent minority constituents. His priorities are helping all students catch up after the pandemic and improving school safety.

Race is at the center of Louisa County School Board special election

This story is among our first to feature a local election outside of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. It is our hope to continue expanding our coverage into our nearby areas because we are connected in central Virginia beyond city and county lines. If you live in Louisa County, we’d love to hear your feedback! 

In the meantime, you have a few options for gathering local election information. Our 2022 Voter Guide has information about local candidates and nearby races, and will be updated with more stories as Election Day nears.

For Louisa County specific information, check out the Engage Louisa newsletter, written by local reporter Tammy Purcell. She tracks our democracy at work in Louisa County very closely for the community.

And last but not least, we want to know what you want in local news. Whether you live in Charlottesville or one of our surrounding counties, we want to hear from you! We’re collecting suggestions right now in our annual survey that will inform our coverage choices for the upcoming year. Less than five minutes of your time will help us all year! Take the survey here.

Thanks for reading!

Jessie Higgins, managing editor