Four Bedford residents up for election on Bedford City Council

By Justin Faulconer

Published: October 30, 2008

Four Bedford residents are up for election on Bedford City Council on Tuesday.

Mayor Skip Tharp, Robert Wandrei and Jeff Hubbard are each running unopposed for their current council seats. Steve Rush is running unopposed for a seat to be vacated by Tom Padgett.

The candidates could possibly be among the last elected to a Bedford City Council.

City officials are exploring the option of reverting back to a town, which would merge the locality with Bedford County.

Decisions have not been made yet on the proposed reversion, as officials continue to privately explore the matter. Bedford was a town until 1968 when officials chose to change it to a city.

This is the last election cycle for council until 2010, said Randi Herrick, the city’s registrar. In January, members are slated to either reappoint Tharp as mayor or appoint a new one, along with vice mayor.

Here’s a look at the candidates, who are all running as independents.

Steve Rush
Age: 53

Occupation: Real estate agent for Scott and Bond

Family: Married with two grown children

Experience: Six years on the Bedford City School Board

Why he is running: “I am running because I want to see the reversion to town status go through as a cost saving to the taxpayers of Bedford City. I would also like to see more done on economic development in the city by utilizing the existing manufacturing facilities.”

Skip Tharp
Age: 61

Occupation: CEO of Tharp Funeral Home and Crematories, of Bedford, Lynchburg and Smith Mountain Lake

Family: Married with a son who serves as president of Tharp Funeral Home and Crematories

Experience: Served Bedford City Council since 1992

Why he is running: “To complete projects under way that currently impact the city of Bedford.”

Robert Wandrei
Age: 69

Occupation: Attorney

Family: Married

Experience: Served Bedford City Council since 1996

Why he is running: “No special reason. I think the reversion to town status will be a benefit to both the city of Bedford and Bedford County. We never should have become a city in 1968. We’re not big enough …”

Jeff Hubbard
Age: 38

Occupation: Attorney

Family: Married with two children

Experience: Served Bedford City Council and Bedford City Planning Commission since 2003

Why he is running: “I look forward to working with the citizens of Bedford to formulate solutions for the issues we will be facing in the next four years, including reversion to town status, energy costs, and economic development.”