Editing Highland County, Virginia (section)

==Government and politics==
The local government of Highland County consists of a three-member Board of Supervisors who are elected [[at-large]] to serve four-year terms.<ref name="overview2"/>  Three magisterial districts divide the county, which are, from west to east, Blue Grass, Monterey, and Stonewall.<ref name="govt">{{cite web|title=Comprehensive Plan: Government Structure and Finance|publisher=Highland County|url=http://www.highlandcova.org/Compplan/Gov_verb.htm|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=County of Highland - Magisterial Districts|publisher=Highland County|url=http://www.highlandcova.org/Compmaps/1%20-%20Magisterial%20Districts.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.highlandcova.org/Compmaps/1%20-%20Magisterial%20Districts.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>  The Board of Supervisors oversees all "legislative and administrative affairs of the county."  A chief administrative officer of the county is selected from the three members of the Board. The Board of Supervisors also appoints a [[county administrator]] who handles the implementation of county policies and ordinances. In addition to the Board of Supervisors, other elected members of the county government include the "County Treasurer, the Commissioner of Revenue, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Commonwealth Attorney, and the County Sheriff."  Monterey, the county seat, is an [[incorporated town]] and thus has its own government officials consisting of a town council and a mayor.<ref name="govt"/>

Highland County levies a 1% sales tax, a 1.5% personal property tax, a 1% machinery and tools tax, and a .37% real estate tax.<ref name="overview3"/><ref name="tax">{{cite web|title=Highland County Local Taxes|website=Regional Data Center for Virginia's Central Shenandoah Valley|publisher=Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission|url=http://rdc.cspdc.org/getreport.aspx|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>  46% of the county's total revenue in 2010 was derived from local taxes, of which 76% was accounted for in property tax levies. The remaining 54% of the county's revenue was from state and federal sources.<ref name="govt"/>

Highland County has historically been one of the most consistently reliable strongholds for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in national elections, voting for the Republican candidate for [[U.S. President]] in every election since 1936.<ref name="CQPressResults">{{cite web | url=http://library.cqpress.com/elections/avg1956-1VA2 | title=CQ voting and elections collection (Web site) | publisher=CQ Press | access-date=July 18, 2016}}</ref><ref name="countyElections">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|title=Presidential General Election Results|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=December 27, 2013|author=Leip, David}}</ref>  Also, since the [[Virginia gubernatorial election, 1989|1989 Virginia Gubernatorial Election]], the county has voted for the Republican candidate.<ref name="countyElectionsGov">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|title=Virginia Gubernatorial Election Results|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=December 27, 2013|author=Leip, David}}</ref>  Currently, Highland County is located in [[Virginia's 6th congressional district]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Virginia Congressional Districts: 113th Congress|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior: U.S. Geological Survey|website=nationalatlas.gov|url=http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/congdist/pagecgd113_va.pdf|access-date=December 27, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228020236/http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/congdist/pagecgd113_va.pdf|archive-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref> which is represented in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] by Republican [[Ben Cline]].<ref name="US house">{{cite web|title=Directory of Representatives: Virginia|publisher=United States House of Representatives|url=http://www.house.gov/representatives/|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>  The county, along with the rest of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is represented in the [[U.S. Senate]] by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] Senators [[Tim Kaine]] and [[Mark Warner]].<ref name="US Senate">{{cite web|title=Senators of the 113th Congress: Virginia|publisher=United States Senate|url=https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=VA|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>  Highland County is located in the 25th [[Senate of Virginia]] district represented by Democrat [[R. Creigh Deeds]]<ref name="VA Senate">{{cite web|title=Senator R. Creigh Deeds: Democrat-District 25|publisher=Virginia Senate|url=http://apps.lis.virginia.gov/sfb1/Senate/senatorwebprofile.aspx?id=383|access-date=December 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229064000/http://apps.lis.virginia.gov/sfb1/Senate/senatorwebprofile.aspx?id=383|archive-date=December 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the 20th [[Virginia House of Delegates]] district represented by Republican [[Richard P. Bell]].<ref name="VA House">{{cite web|url=http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/a7b082ef6ed01eac85256c0d00515644/635e5948f470a43485257c27007dc7bc?OpenDocument|title=Virginia House of Delegates 2013: Delegate Richard P. Bell|publisher=Virginia House of Delegates|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>

The county is a [[dry county]], meaning the "on-premises sale of [[liquor]] by the drink" is prohibited. Highland is the northernmost of ten dry counties in Virginia.<ref name="abc">{{cite web|title=Retail Privatization Options|publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control|page=34|year=2011|url=http://www.reform.virginia.gov/docs/VA_ABC_Final_Report_January_10_2011.pdf|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110203211046/http://www.reform.virginia.gov/docs/VA_ABC_Final_Report_January_10_2011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2011|access-date=January 16, 2014}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|+ '''Local Officials'''<ref name="commerce govt">{{cite web|title=Highland County > Government|publisher=Highland County Chamber of Commerce|url=http://www.highlandcounty.org/government.html|access-date=December 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001320/http://www.highlandcounty.org/government.html|archive-date=December 31, 2013}}</ref><ref name="leaders">{{cite web|title=Highland County Leaders|publisher=Highland County|url=http://www.highlandcova.org/leaders.html|access-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref>
|-
! Board of Supervisors
! County Administrator
! County Treasurer
! Commissioner of Revenue
! Clerk of the Circuit Court
! Commonwealth Attorney
! Sheriff
|-
| David Blanchard, Harry Sponaugle, John Moyers
| Roberta Lambert
| Lois White
| Yvonne Wimer
| Judy Hupman
| Melissa Dowd
| Ronald Wimer
|}

{{PresHead|place=Highland County, Virginia|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=December 8, 2020}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|1,095|416|24|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|1,092|417|24|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|958|371|62|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|924|459|30|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|930|590|34|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|982|522|16|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|942|453|42|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|631|446|144|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|686|494|220|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|807|456|23|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|997|398|11|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|751|487|40|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|629|493|10|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|774|206|17|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|619|284|166|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|511|476|2|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|527|401|4|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|633|432|26|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|696|419|3|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|579|423|88|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|641|535|0|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|628|549|5|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|522|515|3|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|355|464|19|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|623|371|0|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|454|508|10|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|474|379|4|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|310|370|3|Virginia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|221|313|98|Virginia}}