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As part of the court order in his case, Charlotte County Supervisor Gary Walker will step down from office on March 23. Charlotte supervisors are moving forward on the process to fill that seat, both on an interim basis and then permanently. 

The term expires on Dec. 31, 2027. As such, there will be a special election held this November to find a long-term successor for Walker. That’s the part being addressed at this week’s board of supervisors meeting. The board has to take a vote and officially give the county attorney the authority to petition the circuit court to issue a writ of election. That would be taken up on the circuit court’s docket on March 24, at which point the judge will set the date of the special election for the next general election, on Nov. 4. 

But first, there needs to be someone to sit in that chair for the rest of this year. And applications are still being taken, but you’re almost out of time if you haven’t submitted one yet. 

There are a couple things required, if you want to apply. You’ll need to put together a resume, along with a letter explaining why you’re interested. Those have to be turned in no later than March 21. Then on Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m., those interested candidates would be able to come before the board and each one give a three minute ‘sales pitch’, detailing why they would be the best person for the interim job. 

Then Charlotte supervisors will go into closed session and discuss the candidates. 

Public records and Charlotte supervisors

All applications will be a matter of public record, so residents can request a list of who has filed as early as March 24, two days before the meeting. No action will be taken by the board at that March 26 meeting. It’s just to gather information. A vote to choose the interim supervisor will take place on Wednesday, April 9.

As part of the regular meeting, the board’s first action will be to make an interim appointment to fill the vacancy left by Walker. Circuit court officials will also be on hand that day, so the interim appointee can be immediately sworn in. 

Why is there a vacancy? 

Just as a refresher, Walker faced three felony counts of perjury and two misdemeanor counts, alleging he violated Virginia’s Conflict of Interest Act. The 73-year-old Charlotte Court House resident turned himself in to Virginia State Police back on Thursday, Jan. 11. Those five perjury charges were deemed ‘noelle prosequi’, meaning they would not be pursued as charges by the prosecution. Instead, they were reduced to five counts of failure to disclose perjury charges, which are misdemeanors. 

As part of the case, Walker entered an Alford plea. That means the defendant still maintains he’s innocent, but accepts there’s enough evidence that a judge or jury could find him guilty.

He received a one-year suspended prison sentence for each of those five charges, to run consecutively. That means he will serve no time. Instead, he will basically be on probation for that five-year period. Adams also ordered that Walker be removed from the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors, no later than six months from Sept. 23. During his probation period, he also cannot run for office.