Orange voters pick Gibson, Higginbotham

After promoting a “contract with fellow citizens of the town of Orange” to oppose increases in the water and sewer rate and in real estate taxes, Ryan Gibson and Kent Higginbotham were elected Tuesday to Orange’s Town Council.
Only 20 percent of the town’s 2,306 registered voters participated in Tuesday’s election. Gibson was the top vote-getter with 230, followed closely by Higginbotham’s 215.
Incumbents Rick Sherman and Stacey Timmons finished third and fourth, with 200 and 189 votes, respectively. Sherman has spent four terms on council and Timmons is concluding his first.
Former Councilor Jim Darnell was a distant fifth with 68 votes. Robert Lovett, who filed paperwork to run but later removed himself from consideration, collected three votes.
Higginbotham returns to council after recent unsuccessful campaigns. He has 12 years of prior council service. Gibson was elected in his first attempt at public office.
“I think a lot of people are frustrated and feel like they’re being overtaxed,” Higginbotham said Tuesday night. “I’m committed to reining in that spending and I think that resonated with the voters.”
“I’m very excited,” Gibson said Tuesday night. “I chose Orange to raise my family. I have my business here. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to see what I could do to help.”
In the week before the election, Higginbotham and Gibson issued their contract with voters.
It read, “Ryan Gibson and Kent Higginbotham, candidates for the Town Council, promise to oppose any and all water and sewer rate increases and real estate tax increases. We will support a ‘zero-based budget’ to accomplish this objective.”
Timmons said he thought the contract was a key to Gibson’s and Higginbotham’s win.
“I’m not sure how they’re going to hold to the contract with all the obligations facing the town. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I wish them the best of luck,” Timmons said.
Sherman said he thought that campaigning as a ticket helped the two winners gain their council seats. He also conceded that voters may have been unhappy with the sitting council.
“We just spent $26 million for a new wastewater treatment plant, so the voters may have been asking, ‘What’s next?’” he said.
“I stand by the votes I’ve made,” Timmons added. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress in the last four years. I’ve made the best decisions I could and always in the best interests of the town. I appreciate all the support I’ve gotten and wish nothing but the best for the town.”
Higginbotham was born and raised in Orange County. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he returned to Orange, where he lives with his wife, Kathryn, and their two children.
Gibson was born and raised in Orange County and returned to Orange after graduating from Hampden-Sydney. He and his wife, Rachel, have two sons.
Higginbotham said maintaining the contract will be tough, but it has to start with a zero-based budget.
“Every department is going to have to start from ground zero rather than just add 5 or 10 percent on every year,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of belt tightening.”
“We need to watch where we put our money and when we spend a dollar we need to make sure we get a dollar’s value in return,” Gibson added.
“People feel disconnected with the council and frustrated that their money isn’t being spent wisely and we’re going to change that,” Higginbotham concluded.
Gibson and Higginbotham will begin their four-year terms July 1. Then, they will join Mayor Henry Carter and council members Nancy Alexander and Harry Hopkins, who each have two years remaining on their terms.