Christiansburg native and U.S. Army vet Major Cody Rush has thrown his hat into the ring to run this November for the office of Montgomery County Circuit Court clerk. Rush announced his intentions last week.
He said he would continue a lifetime of service and be a working clerk,
“Every eight years the citizens of Montgomery County get to choose their Clerk of Court. I’m running for all the same reasons I raised my right hand to serve this country in uniform,” Rush said. “Our community means everything to me, and our community’s values have shaped me into the leader I am today. Our motto is Freedom Increases Responsibility, and I’m excited to take on this campaign and work to earn the votes of our citizens over the next year,”
Cody Rush is the son of former state delegate and member of the Montgomery County board of supervisors Nick Rush.
Cody Rush is a fourth-generation service member. After graduating from Christiansburg High School in 2007, he attended Virginia Tech on a four-year U.S. Army scholarship and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. In 2011, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in leadership and was commissioned as an active duty armor officer.
After he completed the armor officers basic course at Fort Benning, Ga., Rush was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, and served as both a tank and a scout platoon leader in the 1st Cavalry Division. As a platoon leader, he deployed to the Republic of Korea in 2014 as part of the first regionally aligned combat arms battalion deployed on the Korean Peninsula. Following his time as a platoon leader, he transitioned to the signal corps.
After graduating from the Signal Captains Career Course, Rush was assigned as a Battalion S6 in the 82nd Airborne Division. In 2017, he deployed to Iraq to support Operation Inherent Resolve where he advised an Iraqi general officer to help defeat ISIS and protect Baghdad. After this deployment, Rush commanded his brigade’s Signal Company until he was selected for the Army Congressional Fellowship.
In the spring of 2019, Rush and his family moved to Northern Virginia, where he served as a legislative liaison between the Army and the Virginia House of Representatives. In this role, he advised members of Congress and U.S. Army senior leaders on military, veterans, and defense-related legislative issues.
In July of 2022, Rush and his wife decided to make the move from active duty and move back to Montgomery County to raise their children in the community they love. He continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Rush holds two master’s degrees: Information Technology Management from Webster University and Legislative Affairs from George Washington University.
His military education includes the Armor Basic Officer Leader Course, the Signal Captains Career Course, the Basic Airborne Course, U.S. Army Jumpmaster School, the Air Assault Course, the Army Reconnaissance Course, and Winter Mountain Warfare School.
His awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Army Meritorious Unit Citation, and the Army Staff Badge.
During his announcement, Rush laid out his plan for the office. “I will lead the clerk’s office in a fiscally responsible way, always practicing budgetary restraint to save Montgomery County citizens’ money,” he said.
As the circuit court clerk, Rush said, he will serve as a leader of character and integrity, “as I did in the military, continuously innovate, and always be forward-looking as Montgomery County grows into the future.
“I will continuously seek out and incorporate new technology into office procedures to better serve Montgomery County’s increasing population,” he said. “As the county’s official records keeper, I plan to continue digitizing records to ensure our citizens have access to records of historical significance. I will work with local historical societies to explore their ability to display historical documents and help them tell the story of our community.”
The Army Reserves would also like to explore offering plastic card versions of the Virginia Concealed Weapons Permit and offering U.S. Passports in the office, which was indefinitely suspended during COVID-19.
So far, Rush is the only announced candidate for the local post. Longtime Clerk of Court Erica Williams has not made any announcement about her plans.
