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Franklin Town Hall
Friday, Oct. 8 is the deadline for Franklin and Highlands residents to register to vote in the upcoming town elections.
Municipal elections are open only to people living in and registered to vote in the city limits. Voters must have lived in the municipality for at least 30 days prior to the election to qualify to vote. The registration deadline for the 2021 election is 5 p.m. Friday.
One-stop early voting will be conducted Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 14 through Oct. 29 and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30. Early voting will be held at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin and the Highlands Civic Center.
The Leaf Lookers Gemboree will be taking place on Friday, Oct. 22 at the Macon County Community Building, but voters can go straight in rather than through the admission line for the Gemboree.
“We are hoping for a good turnout,” said Judy Fritts, election specialist for the Macon County Board of Elections. “We are expecting a little higher turnout in Highlands because of the mayor’s race.”
Tuesday, Nov. 2, will be Municipal Election Day with voting at Franklin Town Hall and the Highlands Civic Center. Polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail will be 5 p.m. Oct. 26.
Sample ballots are available. For more information, call the Board of Elections at 828-349-2034 or visit the website at maconnc.org/board-of-elections.
Franklin Mayor
Franklin Vice Mayor Jack Horton is running unopposed to fill the mayor’s seat for a two-year term. Current mayor Bob Scott is not running for re-election, having served as mayor since 2013 and served on the town council 10 years prior to that.
While Horton is serving his first term as town council member, he has more than 35 years of experience in city and county management. He served as county manager for Macon County from 1985-1991 and 2008-2013.
Horton currently serves as vice chair of the Macon County Airport Authority and serves on the Macon Citizens Habilities board. He is chairman of the State of Franklin Health Council for Senior Citizens, is a life member of the North Carolina City / County Managers Association and a member of the Franklin Rotary Club. He holds a master’s degree from Appalachian State University.
Franklin Town Council
The Franklin Town Council has three seats up for election – the two currently held by David Culpepper and Dinah Mashburn, and the seat of former Vice Mayor Barbara McRae, who died in March. Mashburn is not running for re-election.
In addition to incumbent Culpepper, four others are running to fill the town council seats: Stacy Guffey, James “JimBo” Ledford, Rita Salain and Frances Seay. (Look for interviews with the town council candidates in the Oct. 13 edition of The Franklin Press.)
With Horton moving into the mayor’s position, that will leave a vacant spot on the council.
The council will appoint someone to fill his seat once he takes office as mayor.
Highlands Election
Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor faces challenger Marc Hehn for re-election. The Highlands mayor serves a four-year term. The Highlands ballot will include two town commissioner seats currently held by Amy Patterson and Donnie Calloway. Calloway is not running for re-election.
In addition to Patterson, the ballot includes Pat Allen, Mary Alice Bynum, Thomas Craig, Nicolaus McCall and Eric Pierson. The commissioners serve four-year terms.
County Elections
Although there are already campaign signs up for the sheriff’s and clerk of court races, Fritts wants to remind voters that those races are not on the ballot for November 2021. The primary for county races will be March 8, 2022.
Filing opens Dec. 6 for the offices of sheriff, clerk of court, register of deeds, three county commission seats, two school board seats and two seats on the Soil & Water Commission.