OUR VIEW: Best local race is for supervisor in Stevensburg

» The three-way matchup pits incumbent chairman Bill Chase against challengers Gardiner Mulford and Dewayne Payne.

Apart from the governor’s race, there won’t be a lot of intrigue when voters head to the polls Nov. 3. The exception is the three-way showdown to become Culpeper County supervisor in the Stevensburg District.

Longtime incumbent Bill Chase, who is running as an independent and is chairman of the board, faces upstart Republican Dewayne Payne and outspoken independent Gardiner Mulford. This one has all the makings of a close finish between Chase and Payne.

For starters, Chase has the experience and cache with constituents to be re-elected. But he’s also getting up there in age, and he’s often joked that he’d be more than willing to turn over the reins. We’ll see if voters take him up on that offer.

In addition, Chase won’t have the all-important (R) next to his name — that label belongs to the young Payne, who serves the district on the Culpeper County Planning Commission. The wildcard is Mulford, whose presence could be akin to Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election. In other words, he’ll grab some votes, but we doubt he’ll win.

As for the second-best contested race in Culpeper County, the Ed Scott (R) vs. Matt Carson (I) matchup in Virginia House of Delegates District 30 will likely result in another victory for the incumbent Scott. We’d like to say it’s surprising that the Democrats didn’t field a challenger for this race, but when it comes to regional contests on the state and national level, the local party is virtually irrelevant, unable to field viable candidates.