It’s nominating season for local political parties hoping to select candidates to carry the elections in November. In addition to positions like the Board of Supervisors, a few of Albemarle County’s most important “law and order” jobs are also up for grabs.
Veteran defense attorney Denise Y. Lunsford received the Democrats’ bid to challenge Commonwealth’s Attorney James L. Camblos, III for the county’s chief prosecutor position.
Lunsford began her practice in Charlottesville 16 years ago and has had her own criminal defense firm for 10 years.
 Democrat Denise Y. Lunsford will challenge incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney James L. Camblos, III in the elections come November. The Republican Camblos has been the county’s chief prosecutor for 15 years. |
A Lunsford win would be a big shake-up in the county establishment. Camblos is a four-term incumbent Republican who has served as Commonwealth’s attorney for 15 years. Earlier this year, he was passed over for the Circuit Court judgeship in favor of fellow Republican Cheryl V. Higgins, with whom Camblos worked when Higgins was an assistant county prosecutor.
Camblos accepted the Republican nomination May 16, saying he’ll run a campaign that
is “positive, positive, positive.” He pledged to tackle “underage drinking and its tragic results.” “One death is too many,” Camblos said, referring to the 2006 death of Albemarle High School student Nolan Jenkins in a car accident following a party where teens were drinking.
Camblos said gangs are also an increasing threat in the county. He also pledged to work with the police departments and social services to prosecute abuse of elderly residents.
Lunsford’s campaign, on the other hand, has focused so far on the nuts and bolts of the prosecutor’s office. On her campaign website, she pledges, “As chief prosecutor, the Commonwealth’s attorney can greatly impact the level of crime in our county. I will work alongside the police to provide confidence in our judicial system and to send a strong message that people who commit crimes in our community will pay.”
Nominees for the office of Albemarle sheriff have also been selected by both parties: Larry Claytor, a master police officer with the county, beat out Master Deputy Sheriff Roger Craig to accept the Dems’ nomination. Claytor, also president of the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad, will find a strong rival in the well-known Charlottesville Police Captain J.E. “Chip” Harding, who accepted the Republican nomination.
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