5 candidates are running to represent the City of Queen on the Staunton City Council

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) – Queen City residents will not only vote on who represents them in the White House and on Capitol Hill, but they will also have five candidates to choose from for four city council seats in the 2024 elections.

In a year of constant partisan fighting between the GOP and the Democratic Party, all five city council candidates have chosen to run their platform as independent candidates and focus on political people, not parties.

Adam Campbell

Adam Campbell is the only eligible voter this year after being elected in a special election after an interim council member decided not to run. He is facing his first full term on the city council.

Campbell’s work as a Virginia Department of Transportation planner is one of his platforms. He said council members should work for their constituents, and that requires strategic planning – and monetary investment – to ensure the well-being of the community.

“We continue to improve communication between the city and its residents, seeking more opportunities in the decision-making process to ensure that the voices of our citizens are heard in the direction of the city in the future,” Campbell said. “The next step is to look for additional opportunities to maximize benefits for all community members.”

Campbell hopes to create new partnerships with individuals and companies in both the private and public sectors. He said collaboration across sectors and people would move Staunton forward and keep it in the direction it was heading.

Not only does he value these potential partnerships, Campbell said he also encourages the public to make their voices heard. He said councilors can’t do much without public input.

Blake Shepherd

Blake Shepherd hopes to have a community voice on the City Council if elected. Shepherd works behind the scenes with The Breeze, a student news organization based at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Shepherd’s responsibilities include securing advertising dollars for the newspaper to ensure its continued operations for years to come.

Shepherd is guided by community voices. He said he often travels around the city, parks in front of houses or on lawns and listens to voters. Whether it’s tax credits, affordable housing or other issues to address, Shepherd said the needs of the community should always be priority No. 1. She also hopes to improve the school system.

“We need to invest in the Staunton City public school system,” Shepherd said. “This is one of our greatest strengths; our school system has improved significantly over the years because we have invested in it.”

Shepherd said the rezoning is a necessary part of his campaign. He said residents in the Greater Augusta area are struggling to find affordable housing because supply is much lower than demand. Shepherd hopes that if elected, he will increase the supply of affordable housing in the area and make life in the Queen City much easier.

In addition to affordable housing, Shepherd said he hopes to increase tourism in the city. When Shepherd isn’t in Harrisonburg with student journalists, he works at some of the historic parks around the city. He said he hopes to strengthen these parks and work to make downtown more attractive so people can stay longer and spend more money while in the city.

Dan Gunnels

WHSV’s coverage of the Gunnels will air on Tuesday’s News at Five. The video will be added to this article after the news broadcast.

Dan Gunnels is a name many Staunton residents may remember following the sudden resignation of former Staunton Mayor Andrea Oakes. Although Gunnels did not win this seat, he wants to serve his community through city council in the 2024 elections.

Gunnels is the only acting lawyer among the candidates. He has been a procurement attorney for over 20 years with several organizations and currently works with defense organizations based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He is also an active voice and member of the LGBTQ+ community in Staunton.

“I represent a part of the community that is not always represented, and if it is represented, it remains a secret and is not talked about,” Gunnels said. “As diverse as our city is, so should our city council.”

After visiting the Queen City, Gunnels decided to move away from big city life and moved to Staunton in 2018. Earlier in his career, he worked on homelessness and HIV policy reform. Gunnels said he hopes to connect with the city and the legal system to strengthen relationships and improve quality of life throughout the city.

Gunnels said he favors supporting external relationships and hopes to strengthen internal relationships, particularly the relationship between the city council and the Staunton City School Board.

Corie Park

WHSV’s coverage of the Park will air on Tuesday’s News at Five. The video will be added to this article after the news broadcast.

Corrie Park’s name may be familiar to Queen City residents, but unlike some of her election opponents, she has not previously run for any elected office in the city. Rather, she owns a local business with a storefront in the heart of downtown – Made; by the People for the People.

Park is also the only female military veteran on the list who served in the Virginia National Guard after graduating from college. She was sent to Washington after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Park is currently a teacher at Stuart Hall School in Staunton, where she teaches government and social studies. She said education is one of the basic principles of decision-making and she knows how important knowledge is when making decisions – especially for the candidate who will represent her on the city council.

“I want people to be able to have an open discussion and think about issues and think about them and appreciate what other people feel, their point of view and what we can all do together,” Park said.

The park hopes to reconnect a community it says has been divided over the rise and importance of social media and the Internet.

Jeff Overholtzer

WHSV’s coverage of Overholtzer will air on Tuesday’s News at Five. The video will be added to this article after the news broadcast.

Jeff Overholtzer is a longtime resident of the Queen City. For 35 years, Overholtzer lived in Staunton and worked in many areas of the community, including as editor of The News Leader newspaper based in Staunton.

After appearing in the news, Overholtzer worked closely with collegiate organizations in the information technology field to help reduce expenses and increase efficiency. He said negotiation and collaboration are his forte and that he can work to bring affordable projects to Staunton residents that will improve the quality of life in the area.

“We must support our local businesses to make it as easy as possible to do business in the city, while maintaining environmental health and safety standards,” Overholtzer said. “We need to attract new businesses to the city and diversify economic growth.”

Like its competitors, Overholtzer understands the need for affordable housing in the SAW area. He said Staunton is seeing a boom in industry and tourism with the development of Staunton Crossing and the importance of downtown districts, but there is still work to be done.

Overholtzer said if elected, he hopes to preserve Staunton’s values and traditions while adapting to social changes across the country. He said one of his best qualities is bringing people together to accomplish projects and that he hopes to translate those skills to the city council.

You can vote for four of the five candidates on election day, which is Tuesday, November 5.