Hankins To Fill Vacancy

The Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors appointed Mike Hankins to fill the spot left open by the recent death of District 2 (Brown’s Store) Representative David Wingold last Thursday night.

Lunenburg County Attorney Frank Rennie noted that this meeting was the last opportunity to fill this vacancy by appointment  according to the 45-day period specified by law.

Two candidates from that district had asked for the appointment with Wanda Morrison being the other person to approach the board about the vacancy.

Mr. Hankins addressed the board and stated, “David Wingold was a personal friend of mine and I felt like this would be a great way to honor his passing.”

He also noted that he has a long family history in Lunenburg, including a family farm of over 100 years and grew up in the area before working at many different locations in the healthcare industry.

He moved back to Lunenburg with his wife and worked at area hospitals before his recent retirement. Mr. Hankins noted that he had attended classes as Virginia Tech, Duke, and Harvard and has extensive budget knowledge as well as a career working with people.

He stated, “My goal is to bring jobs to Lunenburg and to have a school system that is second to none.”

Mrs. Morrison also spoke to board members and stated, “It is with much prayer and thought that I submitted my request to the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors.”

She was born and raised in Lunenburg and is a graduate of Central High School before going on to VCU and Strayer University to continue her education goals.

She had a career with SunTrust Mortgage Company and worked for many years in the United States Military where she noted that this background helps her work with the public and gives her business experience.

She said that she lived din Chesterfield, Virginia for many years before moving back to Lunenburg in order to support her county.

Mrs. Morrison stated, “My goal is to continue the work that has been done by Mr. Wingold.”
Following the words from both individuals, the BOS members spoke and offered a unified theme that both candidates were very good and this was a tough choice.

Chairman Randy Slayton stated, “Both candidates are well qualified and this is a tough decision.”

Vice-Chairman Frank Bacon stated, “This is not fun and is a bad place to be in. If we don’t do it then the judge has to do it and he doesn’t want to.”

Supervisors Alvester Edmonds, Edward Pennington and Wayne Hoover all pointed out that this is simply an appointment, but that a special election will be held for this seat during the November general election this year and any residents of District 2 that qualifies to run will be able to do so at that time.

Mr. Rennie then asked for a motion to be made on the first candidate, Mike Hankins, and he was approved in a 4-2 vote to fill the District 2 position until the November election at which point the public will elect the person to fill the remainder of Mr. Wingold’s term to 2019.