After Caroline County Treasurer Brittany Eisenbrown stepped down on Oct. 5 because of health issues, two candidates stepped forward to compete for the vacancy.
Early voting for a Feb. 3 special election began on Dec. 19, and both candidates are in full campaign mode.
The winner will replace Elizabeth Curran, a former longtime treasurer who was appointed to an interim role in October after Eisenbrown’s sudden departure. Eisenbrown’s term wasn’t set to expire until 2027.
Zachary Hulo, a 2013 Caroline High School graduate currently working as the accounting manager at the Omni Richmond Hotel, is one candidate.
Priscilla Voit, who grew up in Stafford County before moving to Caroline 10 years ago, is the other.
“I love the county, and what led me to want to run for treasurer is that I work in finance and accounting already; it’s something I’ve been doing for a little while now,” Hulo said. “When I saw there was a special election called, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get in and participate in local government.”
Voit is a regular on the local government scene. Her husband, Jeff Voit, is a member of the Bowling Green Town Council.
She spent many years assisting her father with his business, recording government meetings for Caroline and King George counties. Her father began recording local government meetings in the 1990s on VHS tapes and supplying the material to an elderly King George resident who was unable to attend, as well as the county library and a local public access TV station.
Voit took over her father’s position in King George in 2011 and in Caroline in 2018. The recordings are now uploaded to YouTube.
“If you’re interested in government, it’s amazing because you really are able to see the process of how things work and why they work a certain way and why things have to be done in a certain way,” Voit said. “You’re able to see that full process.”
After graduating from CHS, Hulo enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from George Mason University and an associate’s degree in business from University of Maryland — Global Campus. He noted that he’s also volunteered in the community and is proud to be an Evangelical Christian.
“I want voters to know that’s who I am,” Hulo said.
Zachary Hulo
Voit noted her 25 years of experience working in finance. She started working with international finance, dealing with federal exchange rates in the United Kingdom and Brazil. She worked with U.S.-based companies such as American Express and Capital One to ensure their financial practices aligned with the countries where they were operating. Voit also served as assistant branch manager of a financial institution in Florida before returning to Virginia and taking over as chief financial officer for her father’s company. She currently works as an underwriter.
If elected treasurer, she said one of her primary goals is to modernize the county’s online bill pay system and to ensure that her office becomes an “information hub” for residents seeking knowledge about personal property tax assistance and other financial issues.
“We have so many benefits that are out there that our citizens don’t know about,” Voit said. “I want to make those well-known and easily accessible for them to be able to see them and utilize them … If you’re having trouble with your property taxes, ‘This is the route you can go’ and give them their options. That’s where I’m at with this whole election. I just want to do right by the citizens.”
For Hulo, transparency is his priority No. 1. Hulo said, if elected, he would generate a weekly or monthly financial report that’s accessible to the public. He said that although the treasurer doesn’t dictate county policy, he believes they can eliminate any “vagueness” involving county finances.
“I really believe what the treasurer is responsible for is ensuring transparency for the finances of the county, really giving voters and residents a place where they can trust where their funds are going, what’s being paid,” Hulo said … “I want to make sure [transparency] is front and center and there is an avenue for residents to get information and see where the money is going.”
