THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506200109
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WINDSOR LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Less than an hour before the filing deadline last week, the election situation with the county supervisor's seat in the Windsor District got interesting.
Joan C. ``Joni'' Griffin filed as a candidate running against L. Lorenzo ``Ren'' Spivey.
Two other Isle of Wight County supervisors' seats - in the Newport and Smithfield districts - remain uncontested.
Griffin, 41, is a Suffolk native who moved to Isle of Wight in 1982, when she married T. Hayes Griffin, an operations supervisor for Virginia Power. They have four children.
She graduated from Forrest Glen High School and attended National Business College in Roanoke.
The campaign will be Griffin's first experience in seeking political office, and she is running as an independent against an experienced campaigner.
Spivey, 48, won the seat in a special election held last year after former Supervisor Steve Edwards moved out of the district. Spivey served two terms on the Windsor Town Council, on the town Planning Commission and the county Planning Commission.
He graduated from Windsor High School and attended Ferrum Junior College. He later graduated from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Spivey received his master's degree in public administration from Golden Gate University in 1978 and a master of divinity degree from the Southeastern Theological Seminary in 1983. He occasionally preaches at area churches and has not ruled out, in his words, entering the ministry as a career. He and his wife, Sandra, have two children.
Griffin's experience has come more from civic involvement. She has been active in the Windsor community for years, serving three times as president of the Junior Woman's Club. She also has been involved with Friends of the Library and was its president when the library was built in Windsor.
With her husband, she was active for several years with the Smithfield Ham and Gourmet Food Festival, serving as publicity chairman, chairman of corporate sponsorship and entertainment chairman.
Spivey's work experience is in public service. He started his career as a social worker in Isle of Wight. He is an adult-probation and parole officer in the Fifth Judicial District.
A Democrat, Spivey has never run unopposed in an election. He said he will work hard to continue supporting the Windsor District and the county as a whole if re-elected.
``I take every candidate seriously and plan to work hard again. I solicit the support of every voter - and put the decision in their hands.''
Griffin said recently that she decided to run for the board because of her interest and concern for quality education. She also plans to focus on county unity.
``I realize we have a lot of diverse groups of people here, but I think we are all here with common goals - to have a very safe, clean place to live and for our children to go to school. When people ask where you're from, I'd like to hear everyone in this county say, `I'm from Isle of Wight' - and be proud of it.''
And Griffin brings another new dimension to county politics in Windsor. She is the first woman to run for county office in that district and only the third to run for the board countywide.
A woman has never served on the Board of Supervisors in Isle of Wight. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
L. Lorenzo ``Ren'' Spivey
Won seat in special election
Joan C. ``Joni'' Griffin
Political newcomer
KEYWORDS: ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RACE CANDIDATE by CNB