North Carolina had a general election on November 3, 2020, with early voting options and mail-in voting. The Chatham County Board of County Commissioners is a group of five members elected for four-year, staggered terms. They work closely with departments whose directors are selected by state boards, like the Board of Elections or university officials. They also have a voice in determining important policies affecting our daily lives, including land use planning, recreation, utilities, building inspections and permits, waste disposal and recycling, libraries, tourism and emergency response. The Board of Health and the Economic Development Corporation, and the Board of Social Services members are appointed by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners. They also help with funding education at the K-12 and community college levels.
This year, three of the board’s five seats will be on the 2020 general election ballot. Democrat Mike Dasher and Karen Howard were both on the ballot and reelected as Chatham County Commissioner this year. Mile represents District 2, and Karen represents District 1. Mike ran against republican Jimmy Pharr, and Karen ran against republican Jay Stobbs. Andy Wilkie, a Republican, was the third person on the ballot. He represented District 5 before he lost against Franklin Gomez Flores this election. Diana Hales for District 3 and Jim Crawford for District 4 were not on the ballot this year because their 4-year term is not up yet.
The terms of five North Carolina Court of Appeals Justices will expire on Dec 31, 2020. The five seats were up for partisan election on November 3, 2020. Court of Appeals Judges Linda McGee and Wanda Bryant both did not run for reelection. Only one candidate from each party filed for each seat, so no party primary elections were needed. Judge Reuben Young and Christopher Brook, both Democrats, were appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to fill a vacancy through the end of 2020. Chris Dillion, a Republican, won the 2020 general election, so he will continue to be a judge on the NC Court of Appeals.April C. Wood, a republican and North Carolina District Court Judge won a seat this election. Fred Gore,a republican and North Carolina District Court Judge also won a seat.
The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state’s highest appellate court that is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Court has six Associate Justices and one Chief Justice. They are elected through partisan elections and serve 8 year terms. Governor Roy Cooper appointed Associate Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, to become Chief Justice through 2020 after she won against Paul Martin Newby. Newby, a republican, is the incumbent Associate Justice. Since Newby ran for Chief Justice, his seat is up for election in 2020. Phil Berger Jr., a Republican and incumbent Court of Appeals Judge, ran against Lucy Inman, a democrat and also an incumbent Court of Appeals Judge. Lucy Inman won the Associate Justice seat. Since Beasley was appointed as the new Chief Justice, her Associate Justice seat was empty. Tamara P. Barringer, a Republican and former state senator, ran against Mark A. Davis, a Democrat, and incumbent Associate Justice. Davis won the seat. Robin Hudson, Samuel Ervin IV, Michael Morgan, Anita Earls are the other Associate Justices.
Article by Loren King. Graphics from Unsplash and Canva.
