麻花视频

The Franklin County Registrar's Office released the list of qualified candidates earlier this week with several new additions coming in the final weeks leading up to the June 17 deadline. Five additional candidates were able to file paperwork to get on the Nov. 4 ballot.聽

These new candidates include J. Mike Meredith and Shawn Davis, running for the Boone District seat and Snow Creek District seat, respectively, on the county board of supervisors. For the school board, Ron Shiflett will run for the Snow Creek District seat, and both Todd Martin and Edward Jamison will run for the At Large seat.

Noticeably absent from the list of candidates is the Franklin County Board of Supervisors' current Boone District Representative and Chairman Ronnie Thompson, who announced he will retire at the end of his term. First elected in 2009, he is currently the longest serving member on the board.

"I've had a great career," Thompson said of his time on the board. He said he came to the decision after talking with his family.

Dawn McCray announced early last month she would be running for Boone District seat. She currently serves as the Boone District representative on the Franklin County School Board.

Meredith is a new addition to the race. He has worked as a special education teacher at Franklin County High School as well as an administrator at STEP Inc. Life's Academy for students with special needs. He has also spent time as a small business owner in the county.

"I've had a desire to give back to the community," Meredith said of his decision to run.聽

Davis filed paperwork last month to challenge Nick Mitchell for the Snow Creek District seat this November. He is the owner of a small business in the county that deals with disaster restoration.聽

"I'm running because I feel there are issues in Snow Creek and Franklin County that the citizens want accomplished," Davis said.

Some of the issues he plans to take on include making sure lifesaving crews are staffed 24 hours a day at the Snow Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad. He also mentioned the need for better internet and cell service options in the district and pushing to complete the career and technical education building.

Mitchell won the Snow Creek District seat in a special election in 2022. He was elected to serve the remaining three years of previous representative Leland Mitchell (no relation) following his death.聽

Mitchell said he has fulfilled all the promises he made when running for the seat in 2022, but he still has more work to do. One of his goals in the next term is to continue moving forward with plans to create a career and technical education facility in the county.

"I really want to see this CTE project through," Mitchell said.聽

The Rocky Mount District seat will also be on the ballot this November. Incumbent Mike Carter has previously announced plans to run for reelection. He is being challenged by Billy Ferguson, the county's former director of public safety, who also announced he would be running last month.聽

For the Franklin County School Board, Jeff Worley announced last month he would be running for a third term. He was elected in 2017.

Shiflett announced last month he would be running for the Snow Creek District seat on the school board. Current representative Carletta Whiting announced last month she will step down at the end of her term this year.聽

Shiflett previously ran for the Snow Creek District seat on the Franklin County Board of Supervisors in the 2022 special election. He placed second to Mitchell.聽

Martin and Jamison are both running for the school board's At Large seat. Current representative Kevin David will be stepping down from the position when his term ends this year.聽

The school board's Boone District seat is currently without a candidate, as no one provided the paperwork necessary to run for the seat this November. Current representative McCray is running for the Boone District seat on the board of supervisors.