There are two types of mayors — the ones who show up to shake hands and kiss babies and the ones who take an active role in their town to make it a better place. 

Maggie Valley Mayor Ron DeSimone certainly fell into the latter category.

SEE ALSO:
• Family and friends honor DeSimone’s memory
• DeSimone dies in construction accident
• Write-in likely to run for mayor in Maggie following tragic death

The tragic accident that killed Mayor Ron DeSimone last week has left a hole in upcoming town elections this fall.

The dust has settled following a last-minute scramble of candidates signing up to run for the Waynesville town board last week, and voters now have their work cut out.

The election for the Bryson City Board of Aldermen looked like it would be a landslide for the incumbents early last week, but that had all changed by last Friday as four more people signed up to run for office.

With so many roads needing to be repaved in Bryson City and so little money to do it with, the town board of aldermen has to make tough decisions and try to prioritize a short list of projects each year.

There’s one more in the race to become Sylva’s next mayor following Alderman Danny Allen’s decision to run for the seat.

When election candidate sign-ups begin next week, at least one town board member plans on putting her hat in the ring for the mayor’s seat.

Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

He campaigned on the promise of making Franklin fertile ground for new ideas and encouraging more openness and transparency in government. 

A meeting of the Sylva Town Board took an unexpected turn last week when mayor-elect Christina Matheson announced that she would not be able to accept the office. The board then appointed outgoing Mayor Maurice Moody to continue in office until the next municipal election.

The race for Sylva town board was won by only a hair on Election Day.

The results show Mary Kelley Gelbaugh edging Danny Allen off the town board by a mere four votes. Allen has been on the town board on and off through the years, with a total of 10 years in office if you add it all up.