Evening star., 1955-04-10

Redistricting to Pit
RuruI Area Voters
Against Urbonites
BY MARY LOU WERNER
The hottest Democratic pri-
mary In years is shaping up In
Fairfax County.
A rearrangement Of county
magisterial districts has incum-
bents pitted against each other
in the Board of Supervisors con-
test. 1t also sets the stage for
a real tug-of-war between the
urban and rural sections for con-
troll Of the governing body.
Nominees for all seve nseats
on the board are to be chosen
in the July IL primary. The
list of candidates continues to
grow as the Wednesday fling
deadline approaches.
Districts Rearranged
This is the first election for
all seven supervisors since the
county's magisterial districts
were rearranged two years ago.
One supervisor Is elected from
each magisterial district in the
county.
Fairfax was redistricted to give
the urban sections Of the county
a greater representation by pop
ulation than they had under the
former district set-up. Three
districts used to be primarily
rural.
Now only Centreville can be
classed as primarily rural. It
fans across the western corner
of the county. taking in a larger
area than. any other district. In
this district there in q four-way
contest for one seat on the board.
Incumbents Run Again
Candidates in Centreville Dis
trict are Maurice Fox and Stuart
DeBell, incumbents: Mrs. Cuba
Curtice and Brs. Ruby Clarke.
Mr.. DeBell was elected from the
old Centreville District and Mr..
Fox formerly represente d
Dranesville District.
The other district where two
incumbents are competing is the
new Lee District. The opposing
candidates are c. B. Jett, elected
from the old Lee District, and
Arthur I. Shaffer, elected from
the former Mount Vernon Dis
trict. No newcomers have filed
in Lee. The district Is half rural.
Running in the new Dranes-
vile District are the veteran
board chairman, @. Wallace Car
per, and Paul Reiber. Mr.. Car
per formerly represented Provi-
dence District.
The only other incumbent
seeking reelection is Mrs. Anne
Wilkins. She is q candidate this
time in Mason District. She is
being opposed by w. c. Wills,
president of the Fairfax County
Chamber Of Commerce. Mrs.
wilkins formerly was in Falls
Church District.
The seventh Incumbent. c. B.
Runyon, has announced that he
is not seeking reelection.
Newcomers in Race
Two political newcomers are
competing in the new Falls
Church District. They are Jo-
seph H. Freehill and Mrs. Eliza
beth Straus, both widely known
for civic activities. This contest
Is of particular interest because
it pits two urban area candi-
dates against each other.
James Keith, who has an
nounced from the new Provi-
dence District, and John P. Par
rish, who is running from the
new Mount Vernon District, are
unopposed SO far in the primary.
There are reports of one and
possibly two contenders who
might file in Mount Vernon Dis
trict, however.
The candidates troubles won't
be over when the primary votes
are tailed. They still have Re-
publican opposition to face next
fall. What worries them most is
that 1855 real estate tax bills
will 60 out just before the gen.
eral election. Unfortunately for
the Democrats, it looks like the
taxes might have to 60 up to
meet this years budget.
Two Seats in House
Contests for the county's two
seats in the House Of Delegates
and for the Office of common
wealth's attorney already have
jelled. Three candidates seeking
the party nominations for the
two House seats are John c.
Webb and Omer Hirst, incum-
bents, and Lytton Gibson. Com
monwealth's Attorney Robert c.
Fitzgerald is opposed for re-
nomination by Ernest Hudgins.
State Senator John A. K. Dom
ovan is unopposed so far in the
primary, but there is talk that
a Fairfax attorney may run
against him.
Sheriff John Taylor also is un-
N,Nx1ncnH ~ Hofa