JCC Supes Set Date for Jamestown Seat Interviews, May Have Few More Applicants

By Desiree Parker Monday, January 23, 2012

The James City County Board of Supervisors decided Saturday to try to interview six candidates for the vacant Jamestown seat all in one day, with the hopes that a judge will agree with its selection.

One applicant is traveling overseas and will not return until February 4. The Board decided to interview all the candidates together, so they chose to set February 6 as the tentative interview date (as long as all the applicants are available that day).

Because this interview date is past the 30-day period they have to make a selection, the issue will need to be decided by a Circuit Court judge. County Administrator Robert Middaugh said he expects that if the Board tells the judge the circumstances, he will agree to appoint whomever the Board selects.

Middaugh will ask the judge to make sure he is agreeable to the idea. If the Board fails to make a decision, the judge will need to make a selection.

The Board will ask the applicants a few pre-chosen questions, and then will have a chance to ask follow-up questions as time permits. The public will be able to view the process.

Kelly Mihalcoe

Mihalcoe has been a photographer for many years. She has photographed celebrities as well as citizens, including the Queen of England during the 2007 visit to Colonial Williamsburg, President George Bush as well as other recent Republican candidates (see some of her photos on her website). She graduated from the Art institute of Atlanta.

Her application does not indicate whether she is affiliated with a political party, but a Daily Press article from 2010 notes that Mihalcoe, 47, helped Arch Jones (Board Chair Mary Jones’ husband) hand out sample ballots at the Williamsburg James City Community Center.

The story says she lost her job as a photographer with Colonial Williamsburg a few years earlier, which is when she became “politically active.”

In her application she says, “I grew up here in Williamsburg and know the people and area. My family has a great deal of history here, having helped start this great town 14 generations ago.

“It would be an honor to serve this community and its citizens!”

Robin Bledsoe

Bledsoe has not yet filled out an application for the Board vacancy, but she had applied to be on the Planning Commission in 2008.

She is currently the president of B&D Capacity Builders, and served previously as Executive Director for Avalon: A Center for Women and Children. Prior to that, she led the Court Appointed Special Advocates in Williamsburg.