Filing for municipal offices has ended in the Roanoke-Chowan region.

Despite that fact, there will be a number of blank lines on the November ballot as many incumbents chose not to seek reelection.

The biggest void is in the Town of Woodland where neither Mayor Jay Jenkins nor Commissioners Sidney Joyner and Joseph Mitchell filed for reelection. No newcomers filed for the post either, leaving the fate of the town in the hands of write-in candidates.

Jenkins said work duties led to his decision not to seek reelection.

“I have a lot of obligations and work is taking me further away from Woodland every day,” he said. “I feel like I can’t do the job justice because it is a fulltime job.

“We’ve accomplished a lot in the last six years, but there is so much more to be done,” he added. “I don’t feel like I’m the right person because I can’t give it the time it needs. The town of Woodland deserves better than that.”

If not for professional obligations, Jenkins said he would have been glad to continue.

“I wish I was in a position that I could continue this role for as long as the citizens would have me, but unfortunately I’m not,” Jenkins said.

Colerain Mayor Burney Baker also chose not to file for reelection, leaving a vacancy in the top office for that town. The mayor’s office will be filled by the person who has the highest write-in votes.

One of the two town council members in Colerain up for reelection did file. Thomas A. Waicul will seek election to the town board, but incumbent Ronnie F. Felton chose not to file. That means one seat in the town will be filled by write-in.

Other towns that lack a full slate of candidates include the town of Askewville where two incumbent commissioners – Rodney Thomas and Michael Baker – did not file. Only Commissioner Kay Brantley filed. Mayor John Pierce filed and is unopposed.

Aulander will also need a write-in candidate for town board as one seat had no one file. Neither incumbent Jeanette Tinkham nor Tony Todd filed to retain their seats on the board. Newcomer Corey E. Balance Sr. did file for the board, but that left one seat unfilled.

Larry Drew is running unopposed in his bid to remain as mayor and Commissioner Ron Poppell is unopposed in his bid to fill the unexpired term he was appointed to earlier this year.

Roxobel will also need a write-in candidate to fill a seat after Commissioners Manuel Joyner and Carroll Minton did not seek reelection. Current Commissioners David L. Baisey and Stanley Harrell did file to seek office. Also filing was former Commissioner Henry Boschen who ran unsuccessfully for mayor two years ago.

Roxobel Mayor Gary Johnson is unopposed.

The town of Lasker will need a write-in candidate as well after Commissioner Charles Mallory did not file to retain his seat on the board. Mayor Dick Collier and Commissioners Robin Gibson and Charles Daughtry Jr. did file to remain on the board.

Another Northampton County town that will need a write-in to complete their slate is Conway where only four of the five incumbent commissioners filed. Commissioners Alan C. Harris, Phil A. Matthews, Gail C. Wade and Willie G. Simmons all filed for reelection while Commissioner James T. Jilcott chosen not to seek another term.

Conway Mayor Brian E. Bolton is running unopposed.

Only one Hertford County town will need a write-in candidate to fill its slate and that is Harrellsville. Mayor Robert Dantz filed for reelection along with incumbent council members Deborah A. Baker, Jo M. Liles, Mary L. Thompson and Roy Worrells Jr.

Councilman Coleman Taylor did not seek reelection.

While there are an abundance of town’s without full slates, there are a few that will see competitive races.

Two Roanoke-Chowan towns will have a choice in the mayor’s office.

In Cofield, longtime Mayor Hermea Pugh Sr. will be challenged by political newcomer Norris Kirk Taylor. In Gaston, a pair of political novices will seek to replace Mayor Tim Andrews, who did not file for reelection. Running in his stead are Jason Neal Moore and Alice Patrick Delbridge.

The town of Cofield will also have a choice when it comes to the town board as six people have filed for five seats on the board. Incumbents Anthony Archer, Nettie Teen Combo Brickers, Stephen Lassiter, Darrell T. Partlow and Hermea Pugh Jr. have filed along with newcomer June Sherrod Wynn.

The same is true in Gaston where four people are vying for three seats. Newcomer Deborah Lee James will challenge incumbents Franklin Manning, Donald W. Conner and Jerry Dickerson.

The town of Rich Square will see six candidates vying for five seats on the town board. Incumbents Reginald White, Linwood C. Bryant, Raymond Joyner and Charles Eason all filed to retain their seats. They are being challenged by Nannie Ellen Branch and Deborah A. Deloatch. Mayor Doris “Peggy” Risper is unopposed.

Murfreesboro will see two new council members seated after Molly Eubank and Lloyd Hill did not file for reelection. Seven people are vying for the five seats, including incumbents Sarah W. Wallace, Gloria Odum and Bill Theodorakis. Former council member Bill Parker is also running for a seat on the board along with challengers Randy Roberts, Hal Thomas and Craig Dennis.

Murfreesboro Mayor John Hinton is unopposed in his bid for election to the post.

Change is also coming to the small municipality of Winton where longtime mayor Calvin Hall did not file to return to his post. Instead, newcomer Tiffany M. Lewis will seek the office.

All five Winton Town Council members are running for reelection and are unopposed. They are Ernest Green, Charles Jones, Wesley Liverman, William McCoy Pierce and Will Liverman.

Towns that have full slates, but no opposition include (I denotes incumbent):

• Severn – Mayor: George H. McGee (I); Commissioner: Troy Holloman (I), Eloise Martin (I), Rita McKeown (I), Franklin Ferguson (I) and Royal Parker Watson Jr. (I);
• Seaboard – Commissioner: Reid V. Harris II (I), Edward L. Stevens (I);
• Jackson – Mayor: Jim Gossip (I); Commissioner: Stevie G. Harrell (I), William R. Futrell Jr. (I);
• Garysburg – Mayor: Roy L. Bell (I); Commissioner: Lola Ausby (I), Darryl W. Whittle (I), James Mayo (I), Iris F. Williams (I), Woodrow W. Harding Jr.;
• Como – Mayor: Irvin L. Stephens (I); Commissioner: Kevin J. Higbee (I), Susan W. Kennington (I), Stephen Frank Pearce (I), Ann E. Spruill (I);
• Kelford – Mayor: Bailey Parker (I); Commissioner James H. Bland (I), Wayne Bland (I), Frank Harris (I), John “Timmy” Eaton, Letitia J. Harris;
• Windsor – Commissioner: Bob Brown (I), Collins Cooper (I), Hoyt Cooper (I);
• Powellsville – Mayor: Thomas Asbell (I); Commissioner Carlyle Hoggard (I), James Peele (I), J.T. Watford (I).