Overwhelmingly, municipal officials take pride in their nonpartisan service, but once they’re elected, they don’t just leave their party hats at the chamber doors.

Clyde voters confronted familiar questions this election — how to rebuild after disaster, how to manage growth without losing the town’s identity and how to plan for a future defined by both opportunity and risk. Four candidates competed for two seats on the Board of Aldermen, offering different ideas but sharing a commitment to long-term resilience.

Clyde is a small town surrounded by bigger ambitions. Tucked between Canton and Waynesville, hemmed in by interstate lanes and the Pigeon River, it is both geographically and economically poised on the edge of growth — an edge that has never been sharper than it is now, in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s destruction and amid mounting pressure to plan for a future that’s already arriving. 

Rebecca Fitzgibbon hasn’t breathed easy since her 11-year-old son was put in the back of a police car by his school principal in the parking lot of Shining Rock Classical Academy. Since then, as she’s looked for accountability — or at least answers — she’s faced public scrutiny, legal threats and even criminal charges. 

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. 

A request by the Town of Clyde to disband its police force and contract with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office for policing services was approved by Haywood County commissioners Sept. 8.

Waynesville defense lawyer Mark Melrose filed a civil lawsuit against fellow defense lawyer and Clyde Mayor Pro Tem Frank Lay in Haywood County last week claiming Lay posted false and libelous statements about him on Facebook during his campaign for Superior Court judge.