When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.

Marianna Black Library is set for a major expansion and renovation thanks to funding from several parties, including a large allotment in the state budget. 

Sometimes there are awards that call for two winners, like back in the day before the College Football Playoffs system when two schools would sometimes share a national championship. 

North Carolina’s candidate filing period for the 2024 General Election began on Monday, Dec. 4, with candidates slowly making their way to area boards of elections to secure ballot spots in federal, state and local contests. 

As of noon on Dec. 5, first-term Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) had filed for reelection. Edwards has had Primary opposition since April, in the form of Hayesville Republican Christian Reagan. A Buncombe County legislator, Democrat Caleb Rudow, announced his intent to run last week, but hasn’t yet filed.

Incumbent District 43 judges Justin Greene (D-Swain) and Kaleb Wingate (R-Haywood) have filed to retain their seats. Virginia Hornsby (R-Macon) has also filed. Four bench seats are up for grabs.

Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) and Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell) both filed for their seats, as have Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) and Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain). Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon) couldn’t be reached for comment.

The only candidates to file for the two available seats on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners are incumbent Republicans — Chair Kevin Ensley and Vice Chair Brandon Rogers. Both filed shortly after the filing period opened.

Another pair of Republicans, Jenny Lynn Hooper and Michael Jennings, have filed for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. Jennings is competing for the seat of Democrat Mark Jones, while Hooper will face Republican Tom Stribling in the Primary. 

Clint Irons, a Republican, and Wes Jamison, an independent, have both filed for seats on the Jackson County Board of Education in District 3.

In Macon County, Republican Barry Breeden filed for the County Commission District 3 seat currently held by fellow Republican Paul Higdon.

Swain County Republican Eric Watson has filed for a seat on the Swain County Commission.

Candidate filing continues through noon on Dec. 15. The 2024 Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, March 5. The deadline to register to vote in the 2024 Primary Election is Friday, Feb. 9.

For more information, visit ncsbe.gov.

Newly empowered General Assembly Republicans aren’t even trying to hide the fact that the congressional and legislative maps they drew behind closed doors and without substantive public input will disenfranchise Democratic voters across the state — especially in Congress.

New bill includes 2% occupancy tax increase

This year’s state budget process may have been one of the most discordant in recent memory, but Western North Carolina’s legislative delegation was able to secure record-setting funding for critical needs in a relatively poor region that sometimes feels overlooked when Raleigh gets to dishing out the dough. 

It’s been a little over a year since a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling was leaked, and a little under a year since the ruling was issued, overturning Roe v. Wade. Now, North Carolina’s Republican-dominated General Assembly will finally have its abortion bill — if they can get past Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s promised veto.

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.

As the May 4 deadline for crossover approaches in the North Carolina General Assembly, a last-minute push has begun to get a series of bills to crack down on drunk driving to the House floor.