Filing for political

offices begins in February
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The filing period for local elections will open in a few weeks, with three seats open on both the school board and county commission.

Filing for all county and state offices begins at noon on Monday, Feb. 11 and ends at noon on Feb. 29. The district-level Soil and Water Conservation board seat held by Thad Taylor will be open for filing on Monday, June 9 and end on Monday, July 7.

The county commission seats are currently held by Democratic incumbents Jim Deal, Winston Kinsey and Mary Moretz. Deal and Kinsey plan to run again but Moretz said she would not be running again, saying she had committed to serving one term only.

On the non-partisan school board, the seats of Terry Combs, Ron Henries and Deborah Miller are up for election. In both races, the top two vote-getters receive four-year terms while the third-place finisher receives a two-year term.

The District 45 N.C. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Steve Goss is up for election, as is District 92 N.C. House of Representatives seat held by Cullie Tarleton. Both plan to run again.

Filing fees are based on 1 percent of the position’s salary. Fees for General Assembly candidacies are $207. The filing fee for county commission is $89 and for school board, the fee is $45. The Soil & Water Conservation District fee is $5.

Fifth District voters will also be electing a U.S. representative, with the seat currently held by Republican Virginia Foxx, who intends to run again. Democrats Roy Carter and Diane Hamby have also announced they will seek the seat. Voters will also select a U.S. senator for the seat currently held by Republican Elizabeth Dole.

The primary is May 6, and the registration deadline to vote in the primary is April 11. Absentee voting begins March 17 and one-stop voting begins April 17. For any questions on filing or voter registration, call the Watauga County Board of Elections office at (828) 265-8061.