FARMVILLE – J. “Jamie” Davis has announced his candidacy for the Ward E seat on Town Council being left vacant by incumbent Otto S. Overton, who has announced he will not seek reelection on May 1.

The 35-year old father of two is a member of the Farmville Industrial Development Authority and owner and operator of Custom Floors in downtown Farmville.

Davis, an 18-year resident of Farmville, graduated from Cumberland County High School and attends New Life Assembly of God, where is a member of the Board of Deacons, also serving on the church's school board.

“We absolutely love this community,” Davis said about himself and his wife, Ginger, who have two sons-six-year old Worth and Ryder, who is three.

The couple decided to call Farmville home after they were married 18 years ago, Ginger having lived in the Pamplin area.

“I love the community, always loved the feel of the community, the people, as a whole, always genuine…We really want to be here,” he said. “We love this community. We're very proud of it.

“Every once in a while you hear somebody from out of town make jokes about Farmville; they think of the game (FarmVille) on the internet. We always say, 'You've got to come to our community.' I can tell you countless times we've had friends-in fact we friends who live in Baltimore. He's a doctor at Johns Hopkins and she's a stay-at-home wife. They came down here to shop at Greenfront and they just couldn't believe this place. The comments were: they can't believe how clean it is. I just feel good here. Some of those intangibles that really make a difference in the community.

“For us, this is where we're going to raise our children and we want it to continue getting better,” he said, explaining his candidacy, “not just stay what it is. It's come a long ways but it can continue growing.”

Davis said he has “always been passionate about leadership and business and I just want to see the town continue that way, to move and make some good strong decisions that will help get us to the point where we can actually say it's better for our children than it was for us.

“So that and representing Ward E, I know a lot of people in our ward, from people that I went to school with, to people that I've done work for, to people I live across the street from, and I feel I can represent them well,” he said, “because I know the people in our ward and how they feel and how they view things.

“And I believe in the fact that government is for the people and it is by the people,” he said. “And doing what is right always supercedes what feels right. Doing what's right is better than doing what's right just for now but right forever, as far as we can see down the road anyhow.

“I believe in that and I believe if we don't continue to strive to make things better for the next generation then it won't automatically happen that way. It's kind of like a relationship. They're never neutral. It's either going forward or backward. There's no such thing as neutral in a relationship and in government there's no such thing as neutral. It's either going forward or it's going backward.

“I don't have these couple of things that are being done bad or wrong or anything like that,” he said, reflecting on what is driving his candidacy. “I just believe that sometimes when you focus in on the wrong you end up doing wrong. I would rather focus on what's right and strive to continue to do better and to continue to examine issues for the whole community-not just your own personal viewpoint,” he said, when asked what was motivating his candidacy.

“One of my issues I've had with government in the past is that-not necessarily our local government, but government in general-people often have a tendency to do what they think is right versus the people they represent,” Davis continued. “So that's kind of how I feel about our ward is I feel like I know the people well and I'm really looking forward to getting to meet some new people, too. Like I said, I know a lot of people in our ward but I really look forward to getting to meet some of the other people in the ward and getting a good grasp on things.”

When asked what personal qualities he would bring to Town Council, Davis recounted being asked, when he was 22 or 23 years old, how he would define himself in a single sentence.

“And I really believe that what it boils down to for me is just do the right thing, whatever that is…and I think that most people who know me would probably (agree), at least I hope so anyway, but that's just my driving force, to do what's right. Not what's popular, but just what's right,” he replied.

Davis said he has read extensively about different leaders and the qualities of leadership. “Integrity, accountability, determination,” he said, naming some of those qualities.

“I know the only way to become a good leader is to become a good follower,” he said, noting the types of individuals he has sought out for guidance on his life's journey.

“I've had mentors in my life and to this day I have mentors, people that I seek counsel from that are financially intelligent, that are spiritually intelligent,” he said. “People that have had successful marriages, who have had extreme difficulties in all those areas as well. I continually seek that.

“One of my goals is to be a life-long learner…The more you learn,” Davis said, “the more you realize you don't know.”

“When I think about Town Council, or even our community, I think about a statement Margaret Mead said…'Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.' That's inspiring to me,” Davis said, “as a father, as a husband, as a family person.

“That it's the small things. My wife and I talk about it all the time. Rarely does somebody get all the big decisions wrong. But it's those little decisions every day…making good quality decisions every day that lead up to not having a financial crisis. Or the small decisions every day that lead up to not having a family crisis,” the Ward E candidate said. “I know this-we'll go through struggles, as a community, as a family. Everybody goes through those struggles but I think the viewpoint that you have going through those struggles really can determine how the end result comes out.”

Davis hopes the end result on May 1 finds Ward E voters electing him to Town Council.

The ballot will also include Ward D, where Donald L. Hunter is the incumbent, and one of the Town's two at-large seats, the one held by incumbent David E. Whitus.

The deadline for registering as a candidate is 7 p.m. on March 6 at the Prince Edward County voter registrar's office.