Towns across Western North Carolina will hold elections for town board and mayor on Nov. 3.

The towns with elections include Maggie Valley, Canton, Clyde, Sylva, Dillsboro, Forest Hills, Webster, Bryson City, Franklin and Highlands.

Some elections are very competitive, like Canton where 10 people are running for four seats or Dillsboro where 11 are running for six seats.

Others have a marked lack of opposition, like in Bryson City, where the current board members up for election face no competition.

Webster has such a dearth of candidates that only two names will appear on the ballot despite five openings on the board — leaving three seats unclaimed. After not enough people signed up to run, town residents organized to find people willing to be write-in candidates.

In Jackson County, the towns of Sylva, Dillsboro and Webster will all get new mayors. The long-time mayors of each chose to step down and not run for re-election.

In the Village of Forest Hills, also located in Jackson County, the mayor missed the sign-up period to get his name on the ballot and has mounted a write-in campaign hoping to overcome a challenger who does appear on the ballot.

In Franklin, the sitting mayor is being challenged by one of his fellow board members, creating an interesting interplay.

In addition to the articles in this week’s edition, read about the race in Maggie Valley, Dillsboro, Franklin, Webster and Forest Hills.