Brown
Appointed Interim Supervisor
Walkers Creek District has a new supervisor – and it’s the runner-up from last fall’s election.
In a court order signed by Rockbridge County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Russell Tuesday, Toria Brown was appointed to fill the Walkers Creek District seat on the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors on an interim basis until a special election can be held in November. All of the judges from the 25th Judicial Circuit, which runs from Augusta County to Craig County, participated in the selection process.
“I am honored and grateful to be appointed to this position to serve Walkers Creek and Rockbridge County,” Brown said in a press release from the county yesterday. “I am eager to get to work with the members of the Board and staff in doing my part to move Rockbridge County forward in a positive trajectory.”
“As a Board, we welcome Ms. Brown to the service of Walkers Creek and the entire county,” Board of Supervisors Chair David McDaniel said in the release. “We look forward to working with her in the important process of decision making as we collectively address challenges and seek opportunities for our citizens. Our job now is to, along with our staff, assist Ms. Brown in any way possible as she acclimates to this important role in our community.”
Brown was one of three candidates who sought to represent the Walkers Creek District in last fall’s election, running against incumbent Jay Lewis and Steve Reese. Lewis won the election with 702 votes, followed by Brown with 648 and Reese with 631.
Brown was born and raised in the Brownsburg area of the county, and she, her husband and their children operate a beef cattle farm in the county. In a candidate profile ahead of last fall’s election, Brown said that she has “many years [of] experience as a business owner and entrepreneur” to bring to the table.
“I want to see our county maintain its core values and natural beauty while also evolving with the times,” she told The News-Gazette for that profile. “I want this county to be a place that I can retire, sure, but I primarily want it to be a place where my children and grandchildren can thrive professionally and personally. To me, that means a community where livable job opportunities are present and the barriers to start or expand a business are small.”
An interim appointment was made necessary following the discovery last month that Lewis had not taken his oath of office within the specified timeframe following his reelection, meaning the seat had technically been vacant.
The change resulted in a vote on financing the proposed community recreation center, which had originally passed 3-2, failing in a 2-2 revote. The auditing process for the financing was what had uncovered that Lewis had not been sworn in.
Brown’s first meeting as a member of the Board of Supervisors will be the May 4 meeting, which will include the public hearing on the FY2027 budget.
