Candidates sign up for Franklin race
Only two candidates have signed up to run for four open seats in the Franklin Town Council as of Tuesday afternoon.
Incumbent councilmember and former mayor Joe Collins signed up to run for another four-year term on the board last week. Collins served 10 years as mayor before retiring in 2013, but then came out of retirement in 2015 to seek a seat on the town council. He won that election and is now seeking a second term on the board this go around.
Dinah Mashburn, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of her late husband Billy Mashburn in January 2018, has signed up to run in order to fill the remaining two years of the term, but the other incumbents Adam Kimsey and Brandon McMahan have not yet signed up to run for a second term on the board.
The race for Franklin’s mayor will be contested with incumbent Bob Scott running against current Councilmember Barbara McRae. Scott is running for his fourth two-year term as the town’s mayor. He also served on the town board for 10 years before running for mayor.
McRae has served on the town board for two four-year terms alongside Scott, but this is the first time she’s run for mayor.
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Town of Highlands
Over in Highlands, three seats are open on the Board of Commissioners. Incumbent Eric Pierson has signed up to run again as well as challengers Marc Hehn and Hank Ross.
Bryson City
No one new has signed up to run for the Bryson City Board of Aldermen race since last week. The mayor and two seats on the board are up for re-election. Incumbent Mayor Tom Sutton has signed up to run for a third term in office, but neither incumbent aldermen — Heidi Woodard-Ramsey and Jim Gribble — have put their names in again. Though the incumbents have not yet signed up to reclaim their seats, newcomer Chad Smith has thrown his hat into the ring.
Candidates have until noon Friday, July 19, to sign up to run for office.
