Clarke County 2020 Voting Opportunities

from Clarke monthly February 2020

by Clarke County Observer

Hats Off To Ryan Keebaugh

Clarke County Residents May Have Four Opportunities To Vote In 2020

There may be as many as four opportunities for Clarke County residents to vote in 2020: March 3 is the Democratic Party Presidential Primary; May 5 is a Town of Berryville General Election; June 9 may be the Primary Election (if held); and Nov. 5 is the Presidential, General, and Special Election.

Register to vote at the Clarke County Offi ce of Elections located in the Berryville-Clarke County Government Center (second fl oor) at 101 Chalmers Ct. in Berryville or any state voter registration agency. Applicants with Virginia driver’s licenses or identifi cation cards can register online via elections.virginia.gov.

Absentee voting began Jan. 16 for the Democratic Party Presidential Primary. Deadline to register or update registration for the Democratic Party Presidential Primary is Feb. 10. Deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is Feb. 25, and deadline to vote in-person absentee is Saturday, Feb. 29, when the Clarke County Offi ce of Elections is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Berryville residents who wish to run for Mayor or Town Council representatives for Ward 1 and Ward 3 must complete and submit the necessary paperwork by Tuesday, March 3, in order to be on the May 5 ballot.

Candidates must be Virginia residents (at least one year prior to election). Ward representatives must

live in the ward they will represent, and mayoral candidates must be registered voters within town limits.

All registered voters within Berryville town limits may vote on May 5.

If a Primary Election is held, it is on June 9. Absentee voting begins April 14. Deadline to register or update registration is May 18. Deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is June 2, and the deadline to vote inperson absentee is Saturday, June 6, when the Clarke County Offi ce of Elections is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The national Presidential, General, and Special Election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Absentee voting begins Sept. 18. Deadline to register or update registration is Oct. 12, and deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is Oct. 27. The deadline to vote in-person absentee is Saturday, Oct. 31, when the Clarke County Offi ce of Elections is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To learn more about Berryville Town Council qualifi cations and to request forms to run for offi ce, contact the Clarke County Offi ce of Elections.

For any information about voting and elections, contact the Clarke County Offi ce of Elections at 540-955- 5168 or vote@clarkecounty.gov. The Offi ce of Elections in the BerryvilleClarke County Government Center (second fl oor) at 101 Chalmers Ct. in Berryville. Find more information at elections.virginia.gov.

Hobert Presented Wingate MackaySmith Conservation Award

The Clarke County Board of Supervisors honored J. Michael Hobert with the 2019 Wingate Mackay-Smith Clarke County Land Conservation Award January 16 at the Millwood Country Club. Hobert served on the Clarke County Board of Supervisors for 16 years, during which time he helped create and then served as a founding member of the Conservation Easement Authority. The Board of Supervisors offi cially adopted the Authority and its easement purchase program in June 2002, and the Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority recorded its fi rst easement in 2003.

Easements are voluntary agreements negotiated between landowners and public agencies in which the landowners agree to place specifi c restrictions on the use and development of their property in exchange for payment and various income and estate tax benefi ts.

The general purpose of Clarke County’s Conservation Easement Authority and Conservation Easement Purchase (CEP) program is to protect and preserve land with signifi cant agricultural, natural, scenic, and historic resources as well as to protect open space, plant life, wildlife, and water resources.

In 2015, the Conservation Easement Authority established the Wingate Mackay-Smith Clarke County Land Conservation Award to honor individuals, groups, and organizations for their signifi cant contributions to preserve and protect open spaces in Clarke County. The annual award also draws attention to the need for land conservation and the role easements play in preserving the natural and historic resources in the county.

Mackay-Smith was the fi rst recipient of the award as she was instrumental in helping the Board establish the Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority, and she helped negotiate the Authority’s fi rst easement purchase — historic Greenway Court — the colonial-era home of Lord Thomas Fairfax.

Other Wingate Mackay-Smith Clarke County Land Conservation Award recipients are Holy Cross Abbey (2015), G. Robert Lee, Margaret Maizel, Robert Mitchell, and A.R. “Pete” Dunning (2016), Melvin Kohn (2017), and Joe and Denise Sipe (2018).

Hobert represented the Berryville District on the Board of Supervisors from January 1999 — when he was appointed to serve out an unexpired term — through 2015. Hobert served as the Board’s vice chair from 2003 through 2009 and as its chair from 2010 through 2015.

Hobert is a retired lawyer who for 36 years specialized in elder law, estate planning and

J. Michael Hobert with Wingate Mackay-Smith at a January awards luncheon where Hobert received the Wingate Mackay-Smith Clarke County Land Conservation Award.

administration at his Berryville-based fi rm, Hobert and Kerr P.C. During his years as a Supervisor, Hobert served on numerous county boards and commissions, and he represented Clarke on the Virginia Association of Counties board for seven years.

After stepping down from the Board, Hobert offered his legal expertise to Clarke residents who wished to place their land in conservation easement.

When discussing his decision not to seek reelection in 2015, The Winchester Star quoted Hobert as citing the creation of the county’s Easement Authority as among his most signifi cant accomplishments. Hobert said he was “happy and proud” to have been a part of that.

Since its creation in 2002, the Conservation Easement Authority and other easement-holding organizations such as the Virginia Outdoors Foundation have helped Clarke landowners place a total of 26,744 acres in easement, retiring 275 dwelling unit rights (DURs). In 2019, the Authority added 209 acres to the count and retired seven DURs. Now, almost a quarter of Clarke County’s 113,920 acres is protected by conservation easements.