Rick Swink hopes to put his financial expertise to work for Patrick County if he is successful in his November bid for the Smith River District seat on the Board of Supervisors.
A financial advisor with Edward Jones, Swink said his professional background in personal finance and budgeting gives him a solid foundation to help the county navigate fiscal challenges.
“While personal finance and public finance are slightly different, the basics are the same,” said Swink, 40, who currently works remotely for the firm’s home office.
He will face Malcolm Roach in the race. Incumbent Doug Perry is not seeking reelection.
Swink said he decided to run after hearing from several community members and spending time in prayer.
“Apparently, being new to the area is a good thing. I moved here back in September, and one of the hesitations I had about this is because I was new to the area that I thought I might not be well-received, but apparently new to the area is a pro in a lot of people’s books,” he said.
Swink relocated here from the New River Valley. Since considering a run for office, he said he has binge-watched Board of Supervisors meetings to get up to speed.
“It seems to me there’s kind of a need for transparency and responsibility—both fiscal and to the citizens of the county and the district—and freedom to live the way people want to live out in this part of the state,” he said.
Swink noted that many residents value the absence of zoning laws and want to maintain the ability to do what they wish with their property.
“And balancing that with people’s desires to not have certain things nearby them is a little bit of a decision to make, but there is a responsibility to the citizens of the district to vote in their best interest,” he said.
On transparency, Swink said he’s heard concerns about closed-door meetings and wants to better understand what topics are legally required to be discussed in executive session.
“Me being new to the county, I don’t know how pervasive that is. This is just what I’ve been hearing from people here that I’ve spoken to… so it’s going to be a learning experience for me on what legally should be in behind-closed-door meetings and what can be public,” he said.
Still, Swink believes maximizing what is visible to the public is a good thing.
While he hasn’t yet studied the county budget in depth, Swink said he’s concerned by what he’s seen and heard—particularly the reliance on contingency funds and the lack of earmarked allocations within the general fund.
“Everything’s just kind of lumped into a general fund rather than divvied out, earmarked for specific things,” he said.
He also cited concerns about the potential for tax increases.
“You can’t always avoid raising taxes because costs of everything are going up all the time, but doing whatever we can to minimize or to not raise taxes is important,” he said.
Swink, who earned a degree in residential property management from Virginia Tech, worked in real estate and property management from 2007 to 2019 before transitioning into financial advising.
While he hasn’t yet laid out specific goals for his term if elected, Swink said he plans to listen closely to his constituents.
“For me, it’s just going to be listening to the people that talk to me, listening to the folks here in the Smith River District and seeing what they want and trying to get those things done,” he said. “I’m new to even the decision to run, so what I hope to accomplish is what the citizens of the district want me to accomplish.”
Swink is also an active member of the Smith River Rescue Squad and the Woolwine Volunteer Fire Department. He lives with his American bulldog, Sam, and is learning to keep chickens. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, camping, riding his motorcycle, and sitting by the fire pit.
