The candidate filing period for November’s municipal elections that opened on July 7 ends this coming Friday, July 21, at noon, and although things are starting to solidify in some races, there have been and may continue to be some surprises. 

Jackson County is considering the latest round of municipal grant applications that arrived on commissioners desks this week. Among applications from Sylva, Webster, Dillsboro and Village of Forest Hills, municipalities are looking to improve residents’ experience through art, aesthetics and greater accessibility.

While most Americans are looking forward to receiving the $1,400 payments included in President Joe Biden’s $1.88 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) passed by Congress on March 6, counties and towns across the country are also eagerly awaiting a stimulus package of their own.

While the issue has not yet come before county commissioners, the Village of Forest Hills has passed a resolution supporting a request from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to substitute former Principal Chief Walter S. Jackson as the county’s namesake. Other towns in Jackson County are considering similar resolutions. 

Unless someone else signs up to run for Mayor of Forest Hills by noon on Friday, July 26, the Sylva Board of Commissioners will be the only contested race in Jackson County this year. 

With just three days to go before election filing closes, there is still a dearth of candidates for open seats on the Webster Town Council and Village of Forest Hills Council.

The Village of Forest Hills could have a new member on the town council depending on the outcome of this year’s general election.

The sign-up period to run for municipal office is over in North Carolina, but the Jackson County Board of Elections voted to extend the deadline to run for Webster Town Council by one week in hopes that at least one more person will decide to run. The new deadline is noon Friday, July 28.

The sleepy village of Forest Hills could look a good bit different over the coming years if a handful of development concepts under discussion come to fruition.

Neither Webster nor Forest Hills will have vacancies when the new town government terms begin in December, according to official election results. In both elections, write-in votes showed a strong enough consensus to overcome the dearth of candidates to sign up for inclusion on the ballot.