Virginia teen narrowly defeats former civics teacher in county election

VIRGINIA - On the night of Nov 4, a charismatic teenager eked out a victory in a race for a county supervisor seat in south-eastern Virginia.

Mr Cameran Drew’s victory was notable not only because of his age of 19 or the narrow margin of victory with 10 votes, but also because of the opponent he beat: his former high school government teacher.

Mr Drew won a seat on the Board of Supervisors in Surry County, Virginia, with 345 votes to Mr Kenneth Bell’s 335.

Mr Drew, a lifelong Surry County resident, is a 2024 graduate of Surry County High School, where he took four dual-enrolment classes with Mr Bell, mostly focused on history and government.

The election, to represent the Dendron district, was not contentious.

In fact, Mr Drew said he remained “very close” with his former teacher, fondly recalling that Mr Bell twice took him to Richmond to shadow lawmakers.

Mr Bell, for his part, said he was “over the moon” when he found out who he would be running against.

“He’s the type of student that if teachers could have a little cloning machine in their classrooms to duplicate, he would be all over the place,” Mr Bell said.

Surry County, with a population of about 6,500, is in a rural area of south-eastern Virginia between Richmond and Norfolk. The five members of the county board serve four-year terms.

A seat opened up in July when a board member resigned, and both Mr Bell and Mr Drew raised their hands for an interim appointment. The board seated Mr Bell.

Mr Drew then gathered the 125 signatures needed to get on the ballot for Nov 4’s special election.

“I saw that the youth wasn’t always taken care of or just appreciated, so I was like, ‘Hey, it’s time for me to step up’,” said Mr Drew, who is studying business administration at Virginia Peninsula Community College in Hampton, Virginia.

He made direct-to-camera appeals to voters on Instagram, dressed in a suit and positioning himself as someone “who’s looking to move Surry forward, while retaining our rural charm”, as he put it in one post.

He also promoted some endorsements, such as one from Ms Lashrecse Aird, a Democratic Virginia state senator.

Mr Bell said that, because of his affection for Mr Drew, he did not campaign aggressively.

Mr Drew reported spending US$2295 (S$2985) on his campaign, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a non-partisan group that tracks voting data. Mr Bell spent nothing.

Mr Bell and Mr Drew, neither of whom ran on a party line, largely agreed on the issues and held just one joint town hall-style forum. Describing himself as a philanthropist, Mr Drew told the audience: “It’s time to bring young minds to the table.”

The campaign centred on local issues, though some, such as affordable housing, have resonated nationally. Mr Drew focused particularly on how to incentivise young people to stay in the area.

On election night, Mr Drew was at a watch party for a mentor of his, Ms Kimberly Pope Adams, who flipped a seat in the House of Delegates, helping Democrats increase their majority.

On the Virginia elections website, Mr Drew saw that he had eked out a victory – a moment he called “surreal”. Mr Bell called to concede. They had a pleasant five-minute conversation.

“He was like, ‘If you ever need anything from me, just let me know’,” Mr Drew said. “He was, once again, still the supportive person he has always been.”

Mr Bell said there was “not a sad bone in his body” that he lost.

“I have found that is not the answer people in our community want me to give,” Mr Bell said. “I think everybody wants me to be in a depression and sad. It’s because I know Cameran and I know the quality of a person that he is. And so I can’t be sad.” NYTIMES