Few make last-minute trips to file for election
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on August 7, 2005 2:05 AM
Friday's noon deadline for filing for municipal offices passed with little fanfare at the Board of Elections offices, leaving no candidates for Eureka in Wayne County and Calypso in Duplin.
Late filers Friday morning in Wayne County included Jessie Jack Faison for the at-large seat on the Mount Olive town board and Willis Underwood for the Walnut Creek Council's unexpired term seat. But no candidate waited until the last minute to file. In Wayne County, there are 52 candidates for 34 seats.
Eureka candidates were noticeably absent, said Gary Sims, director of the Board of Elections in Wayne County.
"I believe it's the first time ever that we've had absolutely nobody file," he said. Whoever is elected to those seats will be elected by write-in votes, he said. Open seats in Eureka are those of Mayor Randy Bass and commissioners Shirley Hobbs and Sandra Bass, both of whom were appointed in 2004.
Mount Olive could have the liveliest races, with Gilbert Usher of County Road challenging Mayor Ruff Huggins, and all of the town commissioners facing opposition.
Jessie Jack Faison and Rick Kraft are going after Ray Thompson for his at-large seat on the Mount Olive town board.
Former town zoning officer Kenny Talton challenges Ora Truzy for her seat representing District 1.
Hosea Manley challenges Paul Smalley in District 2.
Newcomers Tom Preston and Billy Rivenbark are going after the District 3 seat that will be left open by town commissioner Lloyd Warren when he steps down in December.
Gene Lee is going after Jimmy Kornegay's District 4 seat on the board.
Two people are going after the mayor's seat in Seven Springs. Town Commissioner Danny Carter and former Seven Springs Mayor Jewel Kilpatrick have filed for that job.
Former Seven Springs Commissioner Stephen Potter and incumbent Rodolph Adams have filed for the two open seats on that board. Town Commissioner Peggy Jones did not seek reelection.
Pikeville has four seats open and contested races for town commissioner. Pikeville Mayor Herb Sieger is unopposed in his bid for reelection.
Pikeville commissioners Lyman Galloway and Edith McClenny and newcomer Dennis Lewis are going after two seats on the board. Rosie Colvin and Johnnie Weaver are going after Weaver's seat to fill that unexpired term, which ends in 2007.
Three seats are open in Walnut Creek -- two four-year terms and an unexpired term of two more years.
Walnut Creek Mayor Darrell Horne has filed for his seat for four more years on the village council. Council member Kathy Daniels has filed for another four years, and newcomer Greg Ricker has filled to run for one of the four-year seats.
Tom Shaw has filed to run for two more years on the council, to which he was appointed in 2003, and he faces opposition from Willis Underwood.
There is no change in the Belfast-Patetown Sanitary District race, which has five seats and five candidates, Ben Casey, Landis Davis, Edwin Beamon, Fred Newcomb and Ray Sullivan.
Carl Mozingo became No. 5 on the Eastern Wayne Sanitary District Board's docket of five seats. The other four candidates are Darryl Anderson, Jerry Bean, Ivey Kivett and Ernie Schmid.
Four candidates are going after three seats on the Fork Sanitary District Board. They are Henry Braswell, Milton Ingram, Donald Neal and Dexter Taylor.
Southeastern Wayne Sanitary District has six candidates going after five seats on its board. They are Charlie Holloway, Albert Williams Jr., Sam Casey, Bobby Outlaw, Edith Smith and James Taylor.
Southern Wayne has four people going after two seats on its board. They are Sally Bowles, Tom Wiley, Dale Gainey and Jesse Jernigan.
Duplin County
No one in Calypso wants to run for public office.
Nobody filed for any of the seats open in Calypso on the final day of filing Friday, but the other towns will have races this fall.
The Calypso seats have been held by Mayor Tom Reaves and town commissioners Greg Day, Ralph Britt Diane Lewis, Sandra Oates and Rubylene Lambert, who was appointed to replace Dick Lewis when he resigned.
Two more newcomers, Sheila Brock of Winnefred Street and Alison Johnson of Forest Street, have filed to run for Faison town commissioner. That places the number of contestants for three seats on the Faison town board at eight.
Elmer Flake was the only person to file for the Faison mayor's job. Incumbent Mayor Bill Igoe filed for a seat on the board. J.E. Andrews filed for re-election, and several other newcomers filed for the town board, including Sheila Brock, Rich Kaiser, Bill Creech and Lisa Patterson.
Six people are going after three seats open in Warsaw.
Mayor Win Batten was the only person to file for his job.
Five people, four them newcomers, are going after the two Warsaw town commissioner seats. Town commissioner Johnny Hollingsworth filed for re-election, but commissioner W.E. Foster did not seek re-election. Newcomers Angela Mainor of Pershing Street, Mattie Tucker of Railroad Street, Johnny Jenkins of Hill Street and John McCoy Sr. filed to run for his seat on the board.
In Kenansville, the mayor's post and two seats on the town board are up for election.
Mayor Betty Long was the only person to file for her job.
Incumbent commissioners Stephen Williamson Jr. and Hortense Hasty filed for reelection, and newcomer Laura Jones of Seminary Street filed to go after one of those seats.