Races are on: Last-minute filings bring interesting twists to local, regional politics

The filing period is over, and the races are set.

In a recent editorial, we decried the lack of competition for most local public offices up for election. But after a last-minute flurry of activity at the Board of Elections, some interesting contests have shaped up.

One of them involves the superior court judicial race in which incumbent Arnold Jones II will face challenges from former superior court judge Jerry Braswell and Goldsboro attorney Will Bland. The race is nonpartisan, and the two top vote getters in the March primary will advance to the November ballot.

Another judicial race should be closely watched as well. Curtis Stackhouse of Goldsboro will face recently appointed Annette Turik of Kinston for one of the district court seats.

Another interesting contest will be the one for the District 3 seat on the Wayne County Board of Education, where four candidates have filed: incumbent Patricia Burden, Taj Jamal Polack, Trebor J. Jackson and Charles Wright Sr. Also, Ven Faulk and Raymond Smith Jr. will vie for the at-large seat on the school board.

The Wayne County Board of Commissioners must be doing something right -- all but one of the sitting commissioners face no opponent. In the District 3 race, incumbent John Bell faces a challenge from Constance Corum, who earlier dropped out of the race for register of deeds. Both are Democrats, so the winner will be determined by the March primary.

In an interesting turn, state Rep. Larry Bell will face a rare challenge, from Scotty Smith of Warsaw. Bell has represented House District 21 for years without competition. Both candidates are Democrats. In House District 10, incumbent Republican John Bell will square off against Democrat Evelyn Paul of New Bern.

Overall, it still looks to be a relatively non-competitive election. But some of the above contests could change that.

Published in Editorials on December 28, 2015 12:09 PM