Filing for elections to start soon

A political year that could end with Iredell County having three or four residents serving in the North Carolina General Assembly and two women in the U.S. House of Representatives officially kicks off in the Tar Heel state in less than three weeks.
The filing period for seats on everything from the Iredell-Statesville Board of Education to the desk in the Oval Office begins on Feb. 13.So far, the three incumbents on the I-SS board – Chairman David Cash and members Keith Williams and Charles Kelly – have all said they plan to run to keep their seats. While the school board is a non-partisan race, other contests in Iredell County are expected to fall squarely in the GOP column.
The last Democrat to be elected in Iredell County in a partisan race was former Register of Deeds Brenda Bell, who lost her run for a fourth term in 2010 to political newcomer Matt McCall.
That kind of political imbalance has placed a greater importance on the May primary election here than might exist in other counties. In fact, races in the county that will be greatly impacted by the primary elections are numerous.
In 2010, the race for one of three Iredell County Board of Commissioners seats essentially ended the night of the GOP primary.
Eight Republicans were whittled down to four when fourth-place finisher Renee Griffith called for a runoff election against third-place finisher Alice Stewart. Griffith then won that election.
But that election attracted only one Democrat, Theodore Geary, who was not given much of a chance and who garnered less than 12 percent of the vote.Only one of the county’s seven General Assembly races in 2010 was actually a race at all in that six incumbent Republicans ran unopposed that year.
Again, the primary election will likely be where the real races are for state legislature seats. With redistricting, Iredell will only have four General Assembly seats – two each in the state Senate and House of Representatives – and there is already a race in two of them.In the state Senate District 44 contest, former Mooresville mayor pro tem and current District 41 Sen. Chris Carney said he will file to run, as did Lincoln County optometrist David Curtis. District 44 was redrawn to closely mirror District 41.
In state House District 84, longtime Iredell Clerk of Court Rena Turner has filed her paperwork with the Board of Elections to form an organizing committee for the seat.
A man named Kirk Sherrill with a Statesville post office box as an address also filed forms for the District 84 seat. However, a check of the state Board of Elections website lists no one with that name as living in Iredell. That website does list a Kirk Sherrill living in Davidson in Mecklenburg County. District 84 does not include Mecklenburg and state law requires General Assembly members to live in the district they represent.
Also in the running for the District 84 seat is Iredell County Commissioner Frank Mitchell, who has not formed a committee but has told the R&L of his plans.Mitchell served six terms in the state House beginning in 1993.
In the House District 95 race, former Iredell GOP Chairman Charlton Allen said he will run for the seat being vacated by state Rep. Grey Mills, who said his two terms in office were all he wanted to serve.
There have been no announcements made so far regarding the state Senate District 34 seat, which has been occupied for 10 years by Davie County consultant Andrew Brock.
Mitchell’s candidacy for the state House will leave an opening on the Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Griffith has told the R&L she plans to run for a second term. Commissioner Ken Robertson, whose term also expires this year, has not formally committed to file again but has indicated he may.
I-SS Board of Education member Bill Brater has formed an organizing committee to run for the Board of Commissioners, as has Statesville resident Jeffery Bustle.
Other seats up for grabs this year in Iredell include those in U.S. House districts 5 and 9 (now held by representatives Virginia Foxx and Sue Myrick); the state district attorney District 22A seat (now held by Sarah Kirkman); and several judge seats.
Statewide seats to be voted on include those of the governor (Bev Perdue), lieutenant governor (Walter Dalton) and attorney general (Roy Cooper).