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Iredell election fields are complete
[August 13, 2011]

Iredell election fields are complete


Aug 13, 2011 (Statesville Record & Landmark - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Statesville City Council will have at least one new member and Mooresville will have a new mayor and commissioner by the end of the year.



This possibility became a reality when, true to their word, Ward 1 Councilwoman Paula Steele and Mooresville Mayor Chris Montgomery allowed the clock to run out on the filing period without throwing their hats in the ring for another term.

Filing period ended at noon Friday.


Instead, the election attracted two political newcomers and one repeat candidate to vie to take Steele's place.

Kevin Ross, who ran for an at-large seat on the council in 2009, will go up against Roy West and John Larue.

The other two ward races in this year's elections also will have three candidates on the Oct. 11 ballot.

In Ward 4, incumbent Michael Johnson will face challengers Sunny Laghari and Ron Moore.

And the Ward 6 race will feature incumbent Flake Huggins and challengers Mike Caruso and J.D. Williams.

At-Large Commissioner Miles Atkins and former Air Force officer Jared Esselman filed to run for the mayor's office in Mooresville, which Montgomery is vacating after a pair of well-publicized political missteps.

The single Iredell County municipal race that attracted the most candidates this year was the at-large seat being vacated by Atkins on the Mooresville Town Board.

Six men and one woman -- William Washburn, James Snyder, Raymond Gardner, Skip Alexander, Bobby Compton, David Roueche and Dawn Huston -- filed for the seat.

The candidates in the at-large race will now compete in a primary election, which will also take place on Oct. 11.

The top two vote-getters in the Mooresville race will automatically move on to the Nov. 8 municipal election.

In the case of Statesville, the Oct. 11 election would decide the winner unless the top vote-getter fails to attain more than 50 percent of the vote and the second-place finisher in each race calls for a run-off election. In that case, the second election would also be held on Nov. 8.

Mooresville's other two races each attracted two candidates each.

The Ward 1 race will feature incumbent Mitch Abraham against challenger Eddie Dingler. And in Ward 2, incumbent Thurman Houston will face challenger Billy Hendrix.

Both of these elections will be held on Nov. 8 along with races in Troutman, Harmony and Love Valley.

In Love Valley, the death of Mayor Andy Barker, who was the only person to file for the office, caused the filing period to be extended in that race to allow other candidates to file.

Iredell County Board of Elections Director Becky Galliher announced that filing will be allowed this Monday at 8 p.m. through Friday at 5 p.m. in the Love Valley mayor's race only.

To see more of the Statesville Record & Landmark or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.statesville.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Statesville Record & Landmark, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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