The Northern Virginia Daily

May 5, 2010

Front Royal receives new mayor with Darr

By Ben Orcutt

FRONT ROYAL -- Timothy W. Darr will take office as the town's new mayor on July 1 after defeating incumbent Mayor Eugene R. Tewalt in a rout on Tuesday.

Darr won all six precincts in tallying 958 votes, or 61 percent of the ballots cast, to Tewalt's 605 votes.

Darr, 48, served on the Town Council from 2004 to 2008, and was seeking his first two-year term as mayor after Tewalt had been elected to the post in 2008.

"I'm surprised by that to be honest with you," Darr said of the vote. "Gene has been a statesman through this whole thing. I couldn't of asked for a better opponent."

Darr had said earlier in the day that if he held his own in the Happy Creek precinct that he thought he would have a good chance of winning. He outdistanced Tewalt there, 290 votes to 199.

"I felt really, really good when that return came in," Darr said. "Of course, the people all over the town supported me well tonight, and I certainly appreciate that from everybody."

Tewalt was gracious in defeat.

"I congratulate Tim Darr for his win," Tewalt said. "I thank the public for coming out and voting."

Tewalt said Darr's margin of victory was somewhat of a surprise.

Former Councilman Hollis L. Tharpe, 58, was the leading vote-getter among three incumbents and three challengers in Tuesday's election for three council seats. Tharpe got 891 votes, to 760 for Councilman Thomas H. Sayre and 636 for Councilman N. Shae Parker.

"I'm extremely honored and humbled that the voters have chosen me to serve our community for the next four years," Tharpe said. "Being the top vote-getter, it restores my confidence that my political career has been restored."

Sayre, 47, spoke in a similar vein.

"It was a good race and I am grateful to all of the voters who put their trust in me," Sayre said. "I think they want us to all work together for the common good of the people."

Parker, 38, was seeking election to a four-year term on the council after having been appointed to the panel in 2008 to complete the two years remaining on Eugene R. Tewalt's term after Tewalt was elected mayor.

Parker, who could not be reached for comment, narrowly defeated Joe E. Swiger, 69, former head of the town's electric department, by 20 votes, with Swiger getting 616 ballots.

"In native American folklore seeing a black bear is a good omen," Swiger said. "At the moment that Matt Tederick got the [news] from his poll workers that we had lost the vote, my wife, Wilma, looked out the back door and a 300- to 400-pound black bear was eating out of the bird feeders. I think that it's a good omen for me. I think that black bear was telling me that things turned out the way they're supposed to. It shows the rejuvenative power of the electorate is alive and well in Front Royal. The town council has been purged and they now have a new beginning."

Vice Mayor Bret W. Hrbek, 35, finished a distant fifth in the voting, tallying 565 votes.

"Obviously, my family and I are disappointed that we weren't successful in re-election, but we wish the new council members success in building on the good things of Front Royal and thank the citizens of Front Royal for the past four years," Hrbek said.

Challenger Robert M. Tennett Jr., 43, who could not be reached for comment, finished last in the voting, receiving 487 ballots.