Vote totals from James City County show Republican challenger Kevin Onizuk has defeated incumbent Democrat Jim Icenhour in a nail-biter race for the Jamestown Board of Supervisors seat that has come down to fewer than 35 votes.
Unofficial results from James City County show Onizuk picking up 2,675 votes while Icenhour has 2,644, leaving them 31 votes apart. As long as the James City County Electoral Board’s canvassing Wednesday to certify the results keeps Icenhour within 1 percent of Onizuk, Icenhour can appeal for a recount.
WYDaily reached out to Icenhour following the tallying of the unofficial results. He said he will appeal the results of the election once canvassing finishes. Canvassing is a process where election officials conduct a formal assessment of the results.
Earlier in the night, Icenhour told WYDaily he was concerned a machine at a Jamestown District precinct was malfunctioning early in the day and in the afternoon. James City County Registrar A.J. Cole said he was not aware of any major voting machine malfunctions in the county, though minor glitches occurred at various precincts.
“Oftentimes a jam in one of the scanners is because the ballot box is full,” Cole said. “If you look at the Jamestown precincts, all but one had more than 1,000 ballots cast. Those machines are built to hold between 1,000 and 1,200 ballots at a time. That sort of jam doesn’t typically affect the vote count.”
Calls to Onizuk by WYDaily on Tuesday night were not returned.
Regardless of what happens with this race, Republicans now have a majority on the James City County Board of Supervisors. Republican Michael Hipple defeated Democrat Bob Mandala for the Powhatan seat on the board, joining Republicans Jim Kennedy (Stonehouse) and Mary Jones (Berkeley). If Onizuk is the winner, that means John McGlennon (Roberts) will be the only Democrat on the board.
Onizuk defeated Icenhour in the fundraising race. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that tracks campaign expenditures, Onizuk received $33,376 in contributions in 2013 while Icenhour received $16,345.
Icenhour was originally elected to the board of supervisors in November 2005 as the representative of the Powhatan district. He ran unopposed for the Powhatan district in 2009, picking up 71.18 percent of the vote, with the other 28.81 percent going to write-in candidates.
Redistricting in 2011 shifted Icenhour into the Jamestown district, necessitating a special election in 2012. In that contest, he squared off against Republican challenger John Wright. Icenhour won the 2012 election, capturing 51.46 percent of the vote to Wright’s 48.07 percent.
Onizuk is a residential mortgage loan originator who works for WestStar Mortgage. He and his wife Heather have been married for 16 years and have three children who attend Williamsburg-James City County schools. He told WYDaily in a questionnaire sent out to candidates for the board of supervisors that he moved with his family to the area by choice in 2006 for the schools, activities and quality of life.
Icenhour spent twenty years in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot. During that time, he flew 195 combat missions in Southeast Asia and was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He then transitioned to the private sector, where he worked as an airline pilot with Pan Am and Delta for 18 years. He has been married to his wife Linda Fisher since 1968 and has two grown daughters.
