SUFFOLK
Two incumbents will face competition and a third opening will go to a newcomer when voters choose School Board members in the fall.
The Nansemond, Sleepy Hole and Whaleyville boroughs will elect representatives Nov. 4 for the seven-member board.
Seven people met Tuesday's filing deadline for the three seats, but one of those candidates has not yet been certified to run.
Newcomers Thelma V. Hinton and Marion H. Matthews are running for the Nansemond borough seat. The third candidate for that borough, Robert L. Barnes, has not yet been certified to run.
Hinton, vice chairwoman for the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners, lost to John R. Riddick Sr. in 2004 with 45 percent of the vote. Riddick, elected in 1996, did not file for re-election this year.
Matthews is a former teacher who retired in 1995 as a guidance counselor for Portsmouth Public Schools. Barnes is the senior pastor at Canaan Baptist Church.
In the Sleepy Hole borough, current School Board vice chairman James E. Perkinson will face challenger Diane B. Foster. Perkinson is dean of business, public services and technology for Tidewater Community College's Chesapeake campus. Foster is an early literacy and career development specialist for the Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project's Head Start Program.
In the Whaleyville borough, incumbent Sharon R. Harris, a former downtown business owner and a retired chief warrant officer for the Army Reserve, will go up against challenger Phyllis C. Byrum, a 30-year teacher for Suffolk Public Schools who retired in 2003.
Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown @pilotonline.com
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