ROCKINGHAM — Those who want to take a shot at local elected office have just a few more weeks to make up their minds.
The Richmond County Board of Elections announced this week that filing for the upcoming municipal elections will run from Friday, July 5 through Friday, July 19, starting and ending at noon on those days, respectively.
Every mayor is up for reelection and all of those positions are for two years, except Dobbins Heights and Norman, according to Elections Director Connie Kelly. Each town also has several municipal board seats up for grabs.
For Norman and Hoffman, every seat will be open, as neither of their elections are staggered. Hoffman’s board is reelected every two years.
The filing fees vary depending on the office being sought.
To run for mayor or a seat on the city council in Rockingham, candidates will have to pay a $10 fee.
Up for re-election this year are Mayor Steve Morris and council members Bennett Deane, Anne Edwards and John Hutchinson.
Down the road in Hamlet, the fee to run for mayor is $30 and that for the council is $10.
Mayor Bill Bayless and Councilwoman Wendy Massagee are both up, as are two other council seats.
Those seats are currently held by Maurice Stuart and Joe Robinson who were appointed to fill out the remainder of the terms following the resignations of David Lindsay and Johnathon Buie, respectively, earlier this year.
The filing fees for both mayor and town commissioner in Ellerbe are $10. Mayor Lee Berry and councilmembers Elsie Freeman and Jeremy McKenzie will have to run again this year to retain their seats.
For all other elected positions (mayoral and council seats in Norman, Hoffman and Dobbins Heights) the fee is $5.
Norman Mayor Kenneth Broadway told the RO last month that he did not intend to run again.
“l think it’s time to let someone else try it, maybe try to move the town in a different direction,” Broadway said at the time.
Adrian Robson has said he plans to run for that seat.
Tonia Collins, Stephen Cranford and Cynthia Ingram will all have to run again – and win- to retain their seats.
Dobbins Heights councilwomen Barbara Young and Mary Ann Gibson, along with Mayor Antonio Blue are all up for reelection, as is everyone on Hoffman: Mayor Tommy Hart and council members Ricarrdo Anderson, Rory Kevin Jones, Daniel Kelly, Cynthia Northcutt and John Taylor.
All municipal elections are nonpartisan.
For more information, contact the Richmond County Board of Elections at 910-997-8254.
