Municipal election candidates set; Hoffman mayorship unfilled

ROCKINGHAM — The filing period for the November non-partisan municipal elections ended promptly at noon on Friday.

For the town of Hoffman, all incumbent council members (Daniel Kelly, Cynthia Northcutt, Ricarrdo Anderson, Kyonna Jones and Rory Kevin Jones) filed for re-election. Incumbent Mayor Tommy Hart opted not to run again, and no other candidates have filed for the position.

Hart stated that he wanted to cut back on his some of his “many responsibilities”, which involves serving two churches, in a phone call Friday afternoon.

According to Deputy Director Deborah Knight at the Board of Elections, she will send an email to Director Shannon Hearne informing her that there is a position that no one has filed for. Hearne will then send an email to the state board of elections, and an extension of 24 or 48 hours may be granted early next week. It’s not exactly clear what the process is if no one files for the position, although there could be some guidance in the town charter, which is maintained unique to each municipality. Hart stated that he was not sure if their charter addressed this scenario.

Incumbent Rockingham Mayor John Hutchinson is running unopposed. Former mayor and council member Steve Morris did not file for re-election. Incumbents Bennett Deane III and Gene Willard filed for re-election, with two challengers, Jeff Benson and Holly Howe.

In Hamlet, Mayor Bill Bayless has a challenger in Amy Guinn. Incumbents Abbie Covington, Oscar Sellers and Maurice Stuart all filed for re-election. Also running for Hamlet city council is Ray Mills.

There will be no major changes in the townships of Ellerbe, Dobbins Heights and Norman.

Ellerbe Mayor Brenda Capel is running unopposed for a second-term. Council members Jeremy McKenzie and John Sears, Jr. are also running unopposed. The terms of council members Jean Fletcher, Elsie Freeman and Bennett Hawks do not expire until 2025.

Longtime Dobbins Heights Mayor Antonio is running unopposed. Council members Mary Ann Gibson and Revonna Magee are unopposed, and the terms of Angeline David and Tyre’ Holloway do not expire until 2025.

Norman Mayor Tonia Collins is running unopposed, and council members Stephen Cranford, Terry Parsons and Nancy Paxton have all filed for re-election. Parsons was appointed by the council last year to fill the vacancy of Renate Mann, who moved out of state.