Crittenden Edges Abel In Mayor's Race

From left to right, Mayor Henry H. Crittenden,

his wife, Fran, Janet Fisher, and Councilman

E.B. Fisher celebrate following Crewe elections

on May 2.

By RICK GUNTER
CREWE -- Incumbent one-term Mayor Henry H. Crittenden held off a strong challenge by former Crewe Police Chief William C. "Billy" Abel to win a second term in municipal elections Tuesday. In unofficial returns, Mr. Crittenden polled 298 votes for 57.75 percent of the vote to Mr. Abel's 215 votes for 41.67 percent of the ballots cast.

All incumbents on Crewe Town Council won re-election along with newcomer Gary Lee Simmons Jr.

Councillor Sally Wilkerson led all Crewe candidates with 401 votes. She was followed by Eddie Higgins, 374; Simmons, 361; C. Rhea Houchins, 352; E.B. Fisher, 350; Harrison Skipwith Jr., 332; and Bobby Duffy, 293. They will begin their new terms in July.

Rodney Walker with 252 votes and Renea Shreck with 222 were not elected.

In Blackstone, newspaper editor Billy Coleburn defeated former Nottoway Board of Supervisors Chairman Otho Fraher, 403 to 311 votes.
Jerry Wilson, L. Benjamin Green, Alfred Tucker, C. Duncan Quicke, John W. Hill Jr., Barbara Thompson, and Constance Wynn were elected to Blackstone Town Council.

In Farmville, incumbent Mayor Sydnor C. Newman Jr. defeated businessman Carl U. Eggleston, 788 to 439.

In Burkeville, Mayor Joe Morrissette, unopposed Tuesday, was re-elected. Newcomer John P. Toone led the field in Burkeville with 92 votes for town council. He was followed by Earl Moore, Pearl Bowlin, Sherry Mouser, Paul Bennett, Zora Bruce, and E. Wayne Rickman, all of whom were re-elected or elected.

In the Crewe mayor's race, Mr. Abel, the challenger, made only two real promises. He promised, "I will make you a good mayor." And he pledged to make Crewe a safer place, a direct slap at his successor, Mike Hall, who was appointed by the council led by Mr. Crittenden, who asked Mr. Abel to retire as chief nearly two years ago.

Mr. Abel served as the town's police chief for 15 years after a long career as a line officer with the Blackstone Police Department. He liked to keep news of crimes close to the vest. That practice tended to give the impression that there was no crime in Crewe.

Mr. Hall has been more open with public information than was Mr. Abel. The impression, and it is a false one, left with some residents is that there is more crime here now than when Mr. Abel served as chief.

Mr. Crittenden ran on his record. He said his proudest accomplishment as mayor was to win a settlement of an environmental lawsuit filed by Ben and Sherry Jones.

He and his Town Council colleagues have been in a defensive stance all of their two-year term that ends in July. They have dealt with the continuing specter of the lawsuit and the possibility that the Joneses will pursue a second litigation that seeks $5.4 million. They have had to deal with federal court and state bureaucratic directives.

All the while Mr. Crittenden and council members have watched helplessly as the town has lost businesses, particularly its one and only grocery store. They have been handicapped by a shortage of revenue, a dearth that has far-reaching consequences for the municipality.

The next two years could prove as rocky, if not more so, than this group's first term. Water rates surely will increase, and the real-estate tax rate also is likely to be raised.

Mr. Crittenden wants to leave a legacy to the town in terms of jobs and economic growth.