ELKINS — Well into the second week of the filing period for the West Virginia Primary Election, no candidates had emerged for the three Randolph County Board of Education spots that will be up for grabs on the May 12 ballot.

The drought ended quickly, however, as four area residents filed to run for the Board of Education in recent days, including former Delegate Denise Campbell.

Two candidates, Charles Randy Long and Jerry Luby, filed to run for the BOE on Wednesday, while Campbell and Jerod Caligiuri filled out the paperwork Thursday.

Candidates filing for the three BOE seats can be from any of the three districts, Cheat, Elkins or Tygart. The seats available are currently held by Dr. Phil Chua, Dr. Sherri Collett and Janie Newlon.

Campbell, who represented District 43 from 2013 to 2016, and District 37 from 2011 to 2013, told The Inter-Mountain that she spent most of this week wrestling with the idea of returning to public office.

“I had been thinking about it and I put a post out there on Facebook to try and get a little bit of feedback,” Campbell said. “I want to try and make a difference so this morning around 8:30 a.m. I went to the courthouse and filed to run for the Board of Education.”

Campbell, who is currently the director of the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) and BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) programs at West Virginia Wesleyan College, served on the House Education Committee during her three terms in the House of Delegates.

“I’m running because I care about our students, our children, our families, and our community,” Campbell said. “I’m a graduate of Randolph County Schools and both of my sons are. I just feel like I need to give back to what helped me and my family…Many people have told me that it’s not going to be an easy task, but anything that is worth something is worth trying and giving your best.”

One County Commissioner (Tygart District), one Conservation District Supervisor, one County Executive Committee, and one District Executive Committee are the other seats to be on the county ballot in the upcoming election.

“People still have the rest of this week and all of next week to file for public office,” said Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman. “So we definitely could get several more.”

The filing period runs through Jan. 31, and candidates can file in person at the Randolph County Clerk’s office.