CHRISTIANSBURG -- A seven-way race is developing for three Christiansburg Town Council seats up for re-election on May 6.

Tuesday is the deadline for town council contenders to declare their candidacy and submit their petitions.

Christiansburg hasn't had such a show of interest in past election years.

"I'm not sure why everybody decided to come out right now, but that's the way it is," said Jim Vanhoozier, one of the seven vying for seats currently held by Mike Barber, Steve Huppert and Dan Canada.

The incumbents announced their plans to run in January. Barber is completing his second council term, and Huppert is finishing his first. Canada was appointed to his seat in September 2006, filling the vacancy left by Richard Ballengee when he was elected mayor.

Vanhoozier is joined by Bill Chafin, Sam Bishop and Henry Showalter as challengers. Of the four, Chafin is the only one with council experience, serving from 1984 to 1988.

"I think we have had a lot of growth in the past 20 years," Chafin said of Christiansburg. "It has become one of the better places in Virginia to live."

He said he announced his candidacy because "I promised a number of people that I'd put my name on the ballot. I'm just keeping my promise."

Chafin, 69, retired from the Maytag Corporation in 2001. When he ran for the council in 1984, he was then president of the Christiansburg Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Montgomery County Economic Development Commission. He said he resigned from the council in 1988 because he changed jobs and was unable to continue his service.

"I'm a firm believer in looking ahead and planning for things needed so that you don't have to go with bond issues and that sort of thing," Chafin said of his vision for the town.

Vanhoozier, 65, is a retired military aerospace business development manager who worked with the Northrop Grumman Corp. He has been a member of the Christiansburg Planning Commission since 2005 and was the Division 3 lieutenant governor of Kiwanis International from 2005 to 2007.

Vanhoozier points to his business, civic and town government experience as the motivating factors in his decision to run for the council.

"I am well-qualified to represent the citizens on town council," he said. "I'm going to try to get out and meet every citizen I possibly can."

A town, Vanhoozier said, "is like a business. If it doesn't continue to grow, it will start to deteriorate. The growth needs to be managed in a way so that the town can continue to provide services to the citizens at an affordable cost."

Bishop is a law enforcement officer with more than 28 years experience at the Blacksburg Police Department. After retiring in May with the rank of captain from the Blacksburg force, Bishop went to work as a police manager for Carilion at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Now a life member of the Christiansburg Rescue Squad, Bishop started volunteering in 1988. Running for the town council is something he said he has wanted to do for the past several years.

"I do not have issues I'm campaigning on," Bishop said. "I like to be open-minded and listen to the concerns citizens have."

The Christiansburg native said if he is elected, however, he wants to devote attention to the town's downtown area.

"Christiansburg has changed a lot," he said, pointing to the business expansion along the U.S. 460 corridor in the past 20 years. "I'd like to see us bring some of the small-town atmosphere back downtown. I'd like to see it become what it used to be."

Also a lifelong Christiansburg resident, 37-year-old Showalter said he has no plans to leave his hometown.

"I plan on being here all my life. I had the opportunity to leave but never did," he said, explaining that running for the council is a goal he has had for years.

"Politically, this is as far as I would like to go with it," he said, noting that he thinks he can bring energy to town government.

"A new voice, a good listener may bring about some change -- not huge change -- as to where we're going from here," he said. "Planned development is my theme. In business, you always have to have a plan."

Showalter, a mortgage broker, said his plan for the town would focus on controlled growth.

"We're a growing community. We have to create green spaces, especially with the new pool and Harkrader field," he said.

Showalter said he will have a door-to-door campaign and that he welcomes the large pool of candidates for the three available council seats.

"I think it will be good for the town," he said of the race, one that has drawn a surprising interest.

In 2006, five candidates ran for three open seats. In 2004, four competed for three open seats. Voter turnout, however, wasn't large in Christiansburg with 2,552 in 2004 and 3,682 in 2006. Because of low turnout for May municipal elections, the General Assembly passed a bill in 2002 allowing municipalities to opt for November elections. Blacksburg elected to switch, starting in 2009. In January, Christiansburg initiated a discussion about moving the election date, but council members said they would like to have more input from residents before making a change.

Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz said experience has shown him that big election issues usually mean a big election turnout.

"Generally, to have a big turnout, there has to be an issue that's on everybody's mind," Wertz said. "I haven't heard of any big issues for the upcoming election."

"But," he added, "anything can happen between now and May."