New Market Town Council will have at least one new member starting this summer.
Mayor Larry Smith and three councilmen—Troy Fadeley, Eddie Litten and Harry Durrett—are up for re-election May 1. Fadeley, however, is not running, he said.
The deadline for candidates to get their names on the ballot is March 6. Council terms run four years and begin July 1.
As of press time Tuesday, only Smith had submitted the necessary paperwork with Shenandoah County Registrar Lisa McDonald to run for office. Litten is undecided, while Durrett could not be reached for comment.
Fadeley is finishing his second term on Town Council. He logged seven years on the New Market Planning Commission before that.
“That’s long enough,” Fadeley said. “It’s time to do something else.”
Litten is completing his first full term on council. Before being elected in 2008, he served three years as an appointed replacement for John Chroniger, who resigned his seat in 2005.
While undecided, Litten said he was “leaning toward” running again. He plans to make a decision within the next week.
Durrett is serving his first stint on council.
Smith was elected mayor in 2008 and previously served about two years on the Planning Commission. He is also a past president of the New Market Area Chamber of Commerce.
“I enjoy representing the town,” Smith said. “There’s still unfinished work to be done.”
He said the downtown streetscape project, curb-and-gutter construction on Shady Lane and a regional water supply study were the issues left to complete.
If Litten runs again and is re-elected, he added two other projects to the list: fixing drainage problems on John Sevier Road and adding sidewalks leading to the Dollar General store on East Old Cross Road.
Planning Commission member Tim Palmer is expected to run for council, sources said, but he could not be reached for comment.
