With the deadline of noon today to file for office fast-approaching, there are now registered candidates for the two open seats on Hamlet City Council and five have filed for Hoffman Town Council.

One open seat on the Dobbins Heights Town Council is now the only remaining municipal office in Richmond County without a candidate.

Incumbent Abbie Covington and retired Richmond Community College President Dr. Diane Honeycutt made their intentions to run for Hamlet seats official on Thursday.

Covington, who also retired from RCC after being the Accounting Department Chair and Business Division Chair, has already served on the council for 12 years from the mid-70’s to the late-80’s, as well as serving a decade as Mayor of Hamlet. She was most recently elected to the council in 2005.

“I would like to continue the emphasis on downtown Hamlet we’ve started,” she said. “I’d like our community knitted together for the common good.”

She and her husband Jim have two children, and one granddaughter, and attend First United Methodist in Hamlet.

Honeycutt has sat on numerous boards and committees, but has never held public office in the past.

The daughter of Alma Kendall, and the late Jack Kendall, she served RCC for nearly 40 years, with her career culminating in the college’s top position.

She is also a member of the First United Methodist Church in Hamlet.

“I would like to see a united Hamlet, and work to clean the city up,” she said. “A lot has already been done, but we need to continue this effort, along with attracting new business and industry.”

In the Hoffman Town Council race, all five incumbents have filed for reelection.

Lee Butler registered Wednesday.

“I am serving my second two year term on the Hoffman Town Council,” Butler said. “I have been in charge of street improvements and worked directly with CSX Railroad to maintain the right-of-way. Being an ardent advocate for the families with children who attended Hoffman Elementary School I plan to take an integral role in the facility’s future for the Town of Hoffman.”

Butler and his wife Angela have been married for 23 years and have lived most of their lives in Richmond County. Living first in Hamlet, they made Hoffman their home for the last 16 years, where they are raising their youngest daughter while the two oldest children attend college.

Butler has worked in farming, horticulture and environmental management for more than 32 years, earning various certifications, and currently works as the pre-treatment manager at the Rockingham Perdue facility.

He is currently the Secretary for the Board of Directors of the United Way of Richmond County, and is politically active in several venues during his spare time, including writing a column for the organization Frontiers for Freedom and the statewide publication “The North Carolina Conservative.”

Incumbents Rory Jones and Terry Thomas have also filed, but were unable to be reached at press time.

Incumbent Brenda Chambers has also signed up for reelection to Ellerbe Town Council.

The vice president of the usher’s board at Parson Grove Baptist Church, she also serves on the kitchen committee and as an usher.

She has two adult children, and works as a certified nursing assistant at Liberty Nursing Services.

She’s served on the Ellerbe Town Council since 1997, and has been the department head for the water and sewer department, the administrative office, parks and recreation and the Ellerbe Cemetery. She also has served on the Board of Directors Committee for the Rankin Museum and Kemp Memorial Library, and as the Mayor Pro-Tem.

She was unable to be reached for comment.