Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

All the candidates are set for the upcoming municipal elections later this year. Some candidates will be running unopposed while others will face challengers on the ballot.

The filing period ended at 12 noon on Friday, July 21

Municipal races are held to elect representatives to local government – usually as a mayor or town commissioner/council member – who then make decisions throughout the year on municipal development, policing, water and waste services, local taxation, and other issues.

There will be no municipal elections in Gates County this year, but there are a number of races on the ballot for citizens who live within towns throughout Bertie, Hertford, and Northampton counties.

In Bertie County, unlike other towns, Powellsville and Windsor both follow the Nonpartisan Primary and Election method, meaning that a primary election will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 10 if the number of candidates for the race is greater than twice the number of seats to be elected. The need for a primary will be determined after the filing period is closed.

In Powellsville, Camille Taylor, Hattie Askew, Carlyle Hoggard, Antonio E. Hoggard, and James Gerald Waters filed for the three seats open for town commissioner. No one filed for the Powellsville mayor race.

There were also three seats open for Windsor town commissioner. The candidates who filed for that race include Camille Holmes Rascoe, Cathy Wilson, and Randy Walston.

Other Bertie County municipal elections will be held without a primary, regardless of the number of candidates.

In Askewville, Gloria Bryant is the sole candidate for mayor, seeking another term in the position. For Askewville town commissioner, Nicholas Pritt, Michael Baker, Carla Sue Pesce, and Kay W. Brantley were the candidates who filed for the three open seats.

Bryan A. Morings, who is currently serving as Mayor Pro-Tem of Aulander, filed for the mayor’s seat. He is running unopposed.

Aulander has two full-term town commissioner seats and three more seats with unexpired terms up for grabs. John Byrum, Phillip L. Thomas, David Clinton Conner, and Tommy P. Hale filed for the full-term seats. Richard Jernigan is the only candidate who filed for an unexpired seat.

Candidates who are vying for a seat with an unexpired term will only serve out the remainder of the term left before the next election. All of those unexpired terms are set to end with the municipal elections in 2025.

Bill Harrell was the only candidate to file for mayor of Colerain. He is currently already serving in that position.

No candidates filed for Colerain town commissioner.

In Kelford, Ahmad Vaughan submitted his name for the mayor race. He will face off against the current incumbent, Randy D. Robtoy.

Kenneth (KC) Cain, Michael A. Johnson, Sr., Timmy Eaton, and Raymond S. Eaton are all candidates who filed for a chance at the five seats on Kelford’s Town Commission.

Lewiston-Woodville has four seats open on their town council. Candidates who filed include Gary Parker (At-Large), Jim T. Wiggins (At-Large), Shela Gilbert (Lewiston District), L. Michelle Gilliam (Woodville District), and Patrick Walton, Sr. (Lewiston District – unexpired term).

Gary Johnson, the incumbent mayor of Roxobel, filed for a chance at another term in that position. Alton H. Parker also filed for the mayor race.

Roxobel voters will also select four members for town commissioner. Those candidates include Dillon Pruden, Robert L. Phelps, Sharon L. Jones, Joseph E. Pittman, III.

In Hertford County, all municipalities other than Como will elect a mayor and five town council members.

In Ahoskie, Weyling J. White is unchallenged for another term as mayor.

There are also two open seats on Ahoskie’s Town Council, one for each district. Candidates for filed for those races include Charles Simmons for Ward A, and Donald Kirkland, Charles Reynolds, and David D. Robertson for Ward B.

June S. Wynn has filed for another term as mayor of Cofield. She is running unopposed. The candidates for Cofield Town Council are Dacia Jenkins, Stephen Lassiter, Hermea Pugh, Jr., Rhonda Taylor, and Pamela Winborne. There are five seats up for grabs in this race.

Henry Nuss is the sole candidate who filed for Harrellsville mayor, where he already serves in that position.

Five seats are available on Harrellsville’s town council, and the candidates who entered that race include Deborah Baker, Thomas Grimes, Lisa Hunnicutt, and Ronnie Revell, Sr.

The municipal races in Murfreesboro will be hotly contested with newcomers challenging incumbents in both the mayor and town council elections.

Current Murfreesboro Mayor Hal Thomas will face off against Peter B. Griffith and Sarah Whitley Wallace.

There are five seats available on Murfreesboro’s Town Council. Candidates who filed include David Brown, Michael Bunch, James Byerly, Craig L. Dennis, James (Jimmie) Foster, Mitch Kelly, Jay Revelle, Michael Saner, Berna Lawrence Stephens, Bill Theodorakis, and Gilbert Tinkham.

Several candidates have also submitted their names for Winton’s Town Council race. With five seats up for grabs, those candidates include Blake Blythe, Danny Greene, Michael Hinton, Bessie Pierce, Orlanda Reed, Clifton W. Sexton, and Emy Winstead.

Evans Heath, the current mayor of Winton, is the only candidate who filed for that race.

There are plenty of familiar faces and new names in Northampton County’s municipal elections as well.

Walter Lee Duke, Jr. is the only candidate who filed for Conway’s mayoral race. He was appointed to that position previously and now seeks election to fill out the rest of the mayor’s unexpired term.

Conway also has three full-term seats open on their Town Commission, and one unexpired term seat. Candidates for the full-term seats include Michael Johnson, Jeff Daughtry, Jonathan L. Martin, and Stewart Woodard. The only candidate to file for the unexpired town commissioner term was Steven W. Walls.

In Garysburg, eight candidates will vie for five town commissioner seats. Those candidates include Semiko N. Jacobs, James Mayo, Rita C. Williams, Curtis Williams, Lola Ausby, Ky’Juan Faison-Mobley, Wallace Ransom, and Iris F. Williams.

Garysburg’s mayor race, however, will be much quieter. Roy L. Bell, who has already served many terms as mayor, is the only candidate to file in that race.

Gaston residents will elect three people to their town commission. Candidates who filed in that race include Terrance Lamont Smith, Donald W. Conner, Christopher Jones, Kimberly Dickens, and Gloria Motley Branch.

For the Gaston mayor race, incumbent Deborah Lee James will face challenger Carlton Arp.

In Jackson, the current mayor, Monty Hux, will run unopposed for another term in that position. Voters will also choose candidates for two Jackson town commissioners. Those candidates are Bill Futrell, Stevie Harrell, and Garry Elliott.

The names on the ballot in Lasker will be familiar to voters as they head to the polls. Dick Collier, the incumbent mayor, is running unopposed for another term. The three candidates for the three Lasker town commissioner seats include Joan Lassiter, Charles M. Daughtry, Jr., and Steven Flythe.

Several candidates filed for a chance to serve as mayor or town commissioner in Rich Square.

Current mayor Reginald White will face off against Rodney Majette and Victoria Newcombe for a chance at another term. Candidates in Rich Square’s town commissioner race include Linwood Bryant, Raymond Joyner, Peggy Cary, Marcia P. Majett, Charles Eason, and Larry Godwin. There are five seats available.

Seaboard voters will elect two people to their town commission. Candidates who filed for that race include Carmelitia J. Coleman and Verlene D. Stephenson.

In Severn, George McGee filed for another term as mayor. He is unopposed in his race. There are also five seats available for town commissioner, and those candidates will be Eloise Martin, Marshall Lassiter, Parker Watson, Paige Pinnix, and Tony Herman.

Woodland voters will elect a mayor and two town commissioners. Randy Beale, the current mayor, is the only candidate who filed for that position. Rickie Edward Morris and Barbara Outland both filed for the town commissioner race.

Northampton County voters who live in the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District will also have a chance to vote for three seats on the district’s Board of Directors. Those candidates include James E. Kerr, II and Jon Baker.

The 2023 municipal election date is Tuesday, November 7. Beginning with the 2023 municipal elections, North Carolina voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote.