A small group of property owners in Maggie Valley are taking advantage of Rep. Mark Pless’ offer to de-annex them from the town, with at least one citing development restrictions and others saying they’re not getting what they’re paying for. 

Maggie Valley is gonna Maggie Valley.

It comes with the territory. To win a seat on that town’s board of aldermen one has to endure some contentious moments, likely over a residential development or (gasp) a park. 

Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next four years. 

With more contentious development on the horizon, residents of the small town of Maggie Valley have plenty to consider at the ballot box this year.

The field of candidates for the two Maggie Valley alderman seats up for election this November just got a little smaller, after one candidate dropped out just two days before a preliminary hearing into her alleged residency issues.

UPDATE: Barrett dropped out of the race on Sept. 13, one day after this story was updated for print. Read about that here.

An election protest filed at the Haywood County Board of Elections has initiated proceedings by which a candidate would be removed from the November ballot if the allegations are substantiated.

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. 

Haywood Republican Rep. Mark Pless is closer than ever to getting partisan local elections in his district — part of a growing trend by North Carolina conservatives hoping to “out” Democrats at the polls this coming November, or sooner.

In the interest of transparency, all responses from local officials regarding the Jan. 6 insurrection have been published online, in their entirety. Some submissions may have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation or to conform with AP style. 

Incumbents wasted little time in declaring their intentions to defend their seats after municipal candidate filing opened at noon today, but there are already two incumbents hoping to move up in the ranks, if their campaigns are successful.