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Sammy Campbell and his wife, Tomie Jo, may not agree on everything, but one thing they do see eye to eye on is what the town of Damascus needs.
That’s especially important now as the tiny trail town bands together to recover from fierce winds and flooding from Hurricane Helene that raced through Southwest Virginia weeks ago leaving utter destruction.
The husband and wife will tell you they love seeing their town prosper, and they want to see that livelihood return.
They love it so much that both of them decided months ago to run for two of the three full-term town council seats available in the 2024 General Election held on Nov. 5 for the Town of Damascus.
By running together, the couple said they hope to draw more attention to the election, plus give them greater leverage at moving Damascus in a positive way.
“There’s a possibility one of us may get elected and one of us may not. There’s also a possibility we both get it or neither of us does,” said Tomie Jo. “We’re prepared for that.”
“Whatever happens, we want to focus on helping with disaster relief efforts in town. We want to unify our neighbors,” she said.
According to Derek Lyall, director of elections for Washington County, the couple is running in the 2024 general election with three town council seats available in Damascus. In addition, a special election is being held for a partial-term seat that became available when a council member resigned during the middle of the term.
In Damascus, the candidates running along with the Campbells in the general election for the full-term seats are Tommy Hayes, Beaty Jackson, Hunter Faust, Jeffrey Buckley, and Brian Schmidt.
Ann Marie Mack-Schmidt, the wife of Brian Schmidt, withdrew from the race earlier this summer, leaving only one couple as candidates.
During his nine years as registrar in Washington County, Lyall said he has not seen couples running together for seats in the same election. While a spouse can be a running mate in the Damascus election, it couldn’t be determined how often this happens in state and town elections in Virginia. It’s definitely out of the ordinary. No doubt, all’s fair in love and war.
“It’s not a regular occurrence,” Lyall said.
Tomie Jo said that together, she and her husband can make a stronger impact in the town.
“Some people would say it poses an awkward situation for a husband and wife to run together, but we felt like it would be our best chance to help the town. We did our research and were told there was no conflict of interest,” she said.
Before the town was impacted by Hurricane Helene, the husband and wife team spent the past few months knocking on doors in town, handing out campaign fliers and letting people know how they can make their home a better place if elected to the Damascus Town Council.
Residents of the trail town of 650 told the candidates they want more transparency and to be treated more fairly by town officials, said the wife.
“If elected, our priority will be to make sure that property owners are treated fairly with disaster relief efforts and ensure all residents receive the resources they need to rebuild.”
The candidates say all they want is what’s best for their little town.
The husband and wife say each of them will bring unique skills and qualities to the table. Sammy is a local high school teacher. Tomie Jo is a weekend hospice nurse.
Sammy has taught business and coached sports at Holston High School in Damascus for 23 years. He’s lived within the town limits for as many as 15 years, also serving the community as a volunteer with the Damascus Volunteer Rescue Squad. For years, he has attended meetings for Damascus Town Council, as well as meetings for the planning commission and zoning appeals board and budget workshops.
“I want to be informed about what’s happening with the government in the town,” said Sammy.
Perhaps, his devotion is a result of his deep roots in the town.
His grandmother, the late Carol Barr, a registered nurse and an advocate for emergency services, was the founding member of the Damascus Volunteer Rescue Squad, which has served the community since 1984.
“The rescue squad started out in a garage in the back of town hall. She and my grandfather used their farm in Alvarado as collateral for a loan to secure a building,” he said.
Sammy’s paternal grandmother, Geneva Campbell, also loved Damascus, doing whatever she could to promote the town. In 1978, Geneva Campbell traveled with Elizabeth McKee, who was town mayor at the time, to Washington, D.C., to secure playground equipment for the town.
She was also a big supporter of Damascus Senior Citizens and a longtime member of Damascus United Methodist Church.
Tomie Jo is originally from the Benhams community in Washington County, making Damascus her home since marrying her husband in 2020.
”Damascus feels like my home now,” she said. “I have roots in Mountain City, where my grandmother was raised, and I have several fond memories of visiting Damascus. We had reunions here. We would stop by Dairy King and get ice cream.”
As a teacher, Sammy’s goal is to serve as a voice for teens in the community and be a strong advocate for their needs. “There are not a lot of activities for teenagers here in town,” he said. “For example, we need pickleball and basketball courts, and a splash pad.
“Holston High School and Future Business Leaders of America currently want to support a pickleball tournament as a fundraiser, but we would have to compete at the event in Bristol, Tennessee, as there is not a place here,” said Sammy.
He also wants to organize opportunities for youth to shadow local business owners, providing them with a connection to local job opportunities.
“I’d also like to see more connections between the schools and the town government,” he said.
He would like to see Backer Park in town added to the National Historic Registry to preserve the baseball field for future generations.
The couple said they will work together to improve relationships with other community stakeholders, including businesses and service organizations, schools, other local government agencies and emergency services.
“We want to bring about new ideas for the next generation. Young people need to get involved. It’s going to be their town to run one day,” said Tomie Jo.
She said she’d like to see more unity in the town. “There’s been some disconnection recently. We want to bring the community back together and focus on the future,” said Tomie Jo, who added that she is disappointed when townspeople become divided over disagreements.
“My goal,” she said, “is to see more transparency and accountability with decision-making in town. My husband and I believe that citizens deserved to be heard and treated equally and with respect,” she said.
“We believe our town should be a place where we help our neighbors, value transparency, equality, inclusivity, liberty in policy changes, and a celebration of successes,” the couple said in a campaign flyer. “We want a town where residents are taken care of as well as the visitors.”
