Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030248
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
District C-4 of 4 precincts reporting. Joe Stewart (R-Incumbent) 1,492 (52 percent) Smith (D) 1,378 (48 percent).
District D-4 of 4 precincts reporting. Jablonski (R-Incumbent) 1,966 (52 percent) Jim Martin (D) 1,811 (48 percent)
\ The faces will stay the same on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors next year.
The three incumbents, Republicans Joe Stewart and Henry Jablonski and Democrat Jim Moore, all were returned to the board, but in the two races featuring challengers, the victory margins were uncomfortably close.
In District C, which encompasses the southeastern portion of the county, Stewart of Elliston will return for his fourth four-year term on the board.
Stewart defeated Democratic challenger Jim Smith of Elliston with 52 percent of the vote, 1,492 to 1,378.
Smith, who promised to be a more activist member and give more support to education, ran a tight race with Stewart, a staunch conservative
But Smith couldn't overcome Stewart's strong showing in the Good Shepherd Baptist Church precinct at the top of Christiansburg Mountain, where Stewart won 518-372.
Stewart, 78, said he would have liked a bigger victory margin, but "a win's a win."
An editorial in The Roanoke Times & World-News endorsing Smith energized him, Stewart said. But he was "not too confident" as he worked the polls Tuesday.
In his new term, the farmer and livestock-market operator said he would like to see improvements made in Virginia 603, North Fork Road, which winds from Ironto up through the Ellett Valley, "all the way from Salem to Blacksburg."
A young voter at Shawsville Elementary School may have summed up the sentiment about Stewart. "I feel like he's been doing what's to be expected," said Joey Earles of Shawsville. "There seems to be no need to change."
In District D in southwestern Montgomery County, Jablonski won his rematch with Democratic Planning Commissioner James Martin, but by a narrower margin than in 1989.
Jablonski trailed Martin by 70 votes with three of four precincts reporting, but pulled out a final 1,966-to-1,811 win, drawing 52 percent of the vote when the results from the Christiansburg Armory precinct were reported.
"That's what I was banking on," Jablonski, 57, said after he had won his fourth term to the board.
Jablonski said the county needs to move ahead with its economic development plan and the creation of new jobs. Unlike the past, when roads were always the most pressing issue, the need for more jobs was the top thing on voters' minds as he campaigned this fall, Jablonski said.
Incumbent Moore of Blacksburg was unopposed as he sought his second term on the board.
He said he looks forward to tackling the county's long-range solid-waste problems during his next term. He also plans to continue his strong support for the county's educational system, he said.
The county needs to become involved in the planning for the new north-south Interstate 73, Moore said.
Keywords:
ELECTION
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.