Friday (July 16) at noon is the deadline for potential candidates to declare their intentions for local municipal offices across the county. Candidates must file with the Alamance County Board of Elections.
Check back on Friday afternoon for a final recap listing of all candidates.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the already crowded Mebane city council race got even more crowded with the filing by Roger Parker, who becomes the sixth candidate seeking one of three open council seats.
Parker is a former member of the city’s planning board and served during part of 2016 as an appointed (Republican) member of the county’s board of commissioners. He was also an unsuccessful Republican candidate against then-state rep. Alice Bordsen back in 2010.
Also filing Thursday were Dale Hunt and Gayle Andrews, becoming the fourth and fifth candidates seeking one of three available seats on the Village of Alamance board of aldermen.
And in Gibsonville, former alderman Paul Dean became the third candidate seeking one of two seats on the board of aldermen. Neither incumbent – Ken Pleasants and Shannon O’Toole – had filed for re-election. Also running are Paul Thompson and Bryant Crisp. Dean served one four-year term on the board (2015-2019) before narrowly losing re-election in 2019.
Meanwhile, in Green Level, no one has filed for either of the two council seats – now held by Michael Trollinger and Carissa A. Graves-Henry, who serves as mayor – that will be on the 2021 ballot.
Earlier this week, an additional city council candidate in Burlington, the fifth, has triggered a primary election for the two available city council seats that will be held one month prior to the November 2 general election. Retired police officer Wendy Jordan filed Tuesday for a city council seat, joining one incumbent and three other candidates who had already filed.
Former city manager Harold Owen who has served one term has filed for re-election; joining him are former county commissioner Bob Byrd; and newcomers Charlie Beasley and Dejuana Warren Bigelow.
A primary on October 5 will whittle the five candidates (and any additional candidates) for Burlington city council to the top four who will face off in November.
A primary has already been assured in the mayor’s race which has four candidates thus far. Incumbent mayor Ian Baltutis now faces three challengers: Walter Boyd, Donna Vanhook, and Caleb J. Massey, who filed Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Graham, first-term incumbent Melody Wiggins has filed for re-election Monday; also filing for a council seat Monday was Bobby Chin, a member of the city’s planning board, and Joey Parsons. They join Daniel Alvis and Edith J. Montoya. Graham does not have a primary system, however, so the five will face off for the two seats on this year’s ballot.
Also in Graham, council members Chip Turner and Jennifer Talley are both running for mayor. Long-time mayor Jerry Peterman is not seeking re-election.
Haw River may have a lively contest for two council seats, as well. Filing for re-election is Lee Lovette; he will be joined on the ballot by Kristin Smith, one of two candidates who sought appointment to the board in 2020, however, the board deadlocked on the appointment and did not fill the vacancy, leaving it open for this year’s election; also filing previously are Shawn Riggan and Cathy Belamy Dickens.
In Elon, alderwoman Emily Sharpe, who is up for re-election, instead filed to run for mayor. She faces Michael Woods, who filed last week; Woods ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board of aldermen in 2019, placing fifth among the five candidates for three seats that year. Long-time mayor Jerry Tolley opted not to seek re-election.
In the Village of Alamance, Elizabeth Powell, who has been advocating for more enforcement of the speed limit along NC 62 through the village, has filed for a seat on the board of aldermen. Naydine Sharpe and Gayle Andrews have filed for re-election to the board of aldermen. One other incumbent – Mike Baldwin – has not filed; however, Philip C. Cheap and Lacey Steger have filed. They were joined by Dale Hunt and incumbent Gayle Andrews on Thursday.
Also joining an already crowded ballot in Mebane is Katie Burkholder, who filed on Monday. She joins incumbent Tim Bradley, former planning department employee Montreena W. Hadley, Charles Lopez, and Jonathan White in seeking one of three seats on the city council.
Other Mebane council incumbents, Everette Greene and Jill Auditori, are not seeking re-election.
See earlier coverage from last week’s edition here: https://alamancenews.com/2021-campaigns-competitive-mayor-races-in-burlington-graham/
