Adam Campbell with a decisive win in Staunton City Council race

STAUNTON — Adam Campbell has won the closely watched special election for Staunton City Council. He will serve for one year, filling the unexpired term of Andrea Oakes. The seat will be up for election again next November for a full four-year term.

Campbell won with 63.99% of the vote, defeating Wilson Fauber 4,031-2,239. Voter turnout in Staunton was 39.57%.

"It was an incredible day, an incredible experience," Campbell said. "When I started this process I had a vision for how I wanted to serve my community. It was so rewarding to have a swelling of support and a buy in from the community the past few months. To have the results of today, yeah, it's been amazing."

Campbell will fill the unexpired term of Oakes, who resigned in January, 2023. Council appointed Terry Holmes to fill the seat on an interim term. Campbell said he was operating on the assumption he'd begin in January, but at the last council meeting City Attorney John Blair said that Campbell could take the seat as soon as the election is certified. That will likely be for the Dec. 14 meeting, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

Campbell said his main objectives as a council member are improving communication between the city and its citizens and finding ways to get residents involved in the decision making. He has seen improved communication in just recent months, something he's happy about.

"That's where we have opportunities for immediate improvements, low-cost improvements to be implemented," Campbell said.

He said in a candidate forum that he wants to focus more attention on other parts of the city outside of the downtown area. He's specifically mentioned the West End, Greenville Avenue and Uniontown as areas he wants the city to shift its attention toward.

Campbell said that the new juvenile and domestic relations court that will be built at the site of the former Chestnut Hills Shopping Center provides an opportunity to help with the revitalization of the West End.

He has also said his focus will be on collaboration and creativity, exploring new city partnership opportunities, both public and private, to benefit Staunton.

Campbell and his wife, Katie, moved to Staunton in 2014 from Northern Virginia. They have two sons. Campbell, who works for the Virginia Department of Transportation, has been serving on Staunton's Planning Commission.

Campbell's opponent, Wilson Fauber spent the final few months of his campaign defending himself after homophobic posts he had written in 2015 resurfaced. While he told The News Leader that he would be able to fairly represent all people if elected, in the weeks before Election Day Fauber seemed to go on the attack through social media.

"Traditional Christian values and morals do matter in our city government," he wrote in a Facebook post just two days before Election Day. "In fact, they are extremely important for maintaining a civil, safe city. My opponent has the support of Black Lives Matter groups and LGBTQ+ groups. He has chosen some very questionable characters as his advisors. Affirm OUR values Tuesday, Nov. 7, by voting for Wilson Fauber for Staunton City Council."

He also held what he called a conservative values forum and rally in Staunton on Saturday, Nov. 4, promoting the event as one about "God ~ Family ~ America ~ Politics ~ Pro-life ~ Parents Rights ~ Gun Rights."

The News Leader reached out to Fauber for comment late Tuesday night but he didn't immediately respond.

Fauber's biggest campaign issue, outside of what he called traditional values, was lower real estate taxes in Staunton.

His message didn't seem to resonate with the voters. He also failed to show up for the two candidate forums in Staunton this fall, missing a chance to discuss the issues with Campbell, who was at both events.

— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Adam Campbell with a decisive win in Staunton City Council race