A meet and greet with Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford was held Thursday in Pavilion IX as part of her reelection campaign.
The event was hosted by Nursing School Dean Dorrie Fontaine. Students, volunteers and campaign organizers attended, as well as Jon Zug, a colleague of Lunsford and current candidate for Clerk of Court for Albemarle County.
University student campaign volunteers helped organize the event with the goal of giving Lunsford and Zug a platform to reach out to University students and other people in the community.
The opportunity to connect with students was a good way to touch base, Lunsford said, especially considering her involvement with students cases, including the death of Hannah Graham.
Lunsford is the state's lead prosecutor on the case.
“I have cases involving University students and things happening over here that involves university students and other citizens who are over here, so this is just a way to reach out and touch base with this community,” Lunsford said.
This event was also a push to get students to take part in the upcoming election that will determine whether Lunsford remains Albemarle County Commonwealth’s attorney. The election will take place Nov. 3 and registration closes on Oct. 13.
College third-year Sam Tobin, vice president of the University Democrats, said he went to the meet and greet to show support for Lunsford and Zug and to encourage other students to vote.
“I am here to show support for our local candidates,” Tobin said. “I think local elections are very important to governance and to our democracy and I think that unfortunately sometimes they’re overlooked in mass elections.”
Lunsford, a Democrat, is running for her third term as Commonwealth Attorney for Albemarle County — a position she has held for the past eight years — against Republican candidate Robert Tracci. As lead prosecutor in the jurisdiction of the county, Lunsford deals mostly with rape and murder cases.
Lunsford and Zug began the meeting with why they were running for their positions, then opened the floor to students. Lunsford and Zug said they hope to continue to foster a strong relationship with the University Police Department, and answered students’ public safety concerns.
“We want to be involved,” Lunsford said. “When I first decided to run for a third term it was because I really love the job and I feel that I’m good at the job.”
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