Primary ballot is official
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on March 1, 2006 1:58 PM
The filing period ended Tuesday with races shaping up for several Wayne and Duplin county public offices.
Ken Edwards filed as a Democratic candidate for sheriff. A retired Goldsboro police sergeant, he will face incumbent Republican Carey Winders in November. Winders is seeking a fourth four-year term in office.
Four seats on the Wayne County Board of Election are up for election, but only one will be contested. Former school official Dave Thomas filed for the District 1 seat held by Lehman Smith. The race is non-partisan. John Grantham in District 4, George Moye in District 5 and Rick Pridgen in District 6 face no opposition. Terms are four years.
Four candidates filed for Clerk of Wayne County Superior Court. Incumbent Clerk of Court Marshall Minchew is retiring at the end of the year. Filing for his post were two Democrats -- Pam Minshew of Princeton and Jo Ann Summerlin of LaGrange -- and two Republicans -- Amy Carter Scott of LaGrange and Randy Winders of Pikeville. The term in office is four years.
District Court judge Beth Heath will face no opposition in her bid for another four-year term. Her seat is the only one of the five district court judgeships in the 8th Judicial District that is up for election. District Attorney Branny Vickory also faces no opposition to another four-year term. Both are Democrats.
State Sen. John Kerr, a Democrat seeking his eighth term in office, will face opposition from Todd Siebels of Greenville, a Republican. The term is two years.
Three candidates filed for the District 10 seat of the state House of Representatives held by Republican Stephen LaRoque of Kinston. Rep. Willie Ray Starling will oppose LaRoque in the May primary. Democrat Van Braxton of Kinston also filed for the seat and will face the winner of the primary in the November election. The District includes all of Greene County and portions of Lenoir and eastern Wayne.
In the District 11 House race, Democrat Ronnie Griffin will face incumbent Republican Louis Pate in November. The district includes the northern and western sections of Wayne.
Rep. Larry Bell, a Democrat, faces no opposition in his bid for re-election to the District 11 House seat that includes portions of Wayne and Sampson counties.
Terms in the state House are two years.
In the race for the District 3 seat in Congress, Democrat Craig Weber of Pine Knoll Shores filed to run against incumbent Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican . In the District 1 race, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, will run unopposed. Terms are two years. Portions of Wayne are included in both districts.
In Duplin County, three people have filed for the state House District 4 seat currently held by Rep. Russell Tucker of Pink Hill, a Democrat. Tucker will face Martin Herring of Rose Hill in the Democratic primary. Republican Richard Kaiser of Faison will face the winner in November.
Four candidates are seeking the District 3 seat on the Duplin County Board of Commissioners now held by Democrat Arliss Albertson. Albertson filed for re-election. He faces Democrat Rebecca Judge in the primary. Two Republicans, Harold Raynor and Titus Swinson, will square off in the primary and oppose the Democratic winner in November.
State Sen. Charlie Albertson, who represents District 10, filed for re-election. He is a Democrat and will face Republican Adrain Arnett in the general election.
The Duplin clerk of court race will be settled in the Democratic primary, when incumbent Katie Harrell faces Hubert Merritt. The District 2 seat on the Duplin school board also will be settled in May. Democrat incumbent Johnni Blackwell is opposed by Democrat Jennings Outlaw.
Duplin Sheriff Blake Wallace faces no opposition in his bid for another four-year term. Wallace is a Democrat.
Also, Duplin County Commissioner Larry Howard is running unopposed for his District 2 seat, as are school board members Emily Sloan Manning of District 3 and Chuck Farrior of District 4.